Yorkshire (near Harrogate)
Our Yorkshire showroom is in Bishop Thornton,
3 minutes outside Ripley, and just 10 minutes north of gorgeous
Harrogate.
Harrogate is one of England's finest spa towns.
Founded in the 17th Century, it has stunning architecture,
including the Royal Pump room built in 1842, as well as the Stray,
an amazing park, brilliant for picnics, flying kites, or as I do
regularly, falling asleep in the Yorkshire sun.
In summer, you will find some of Britain's best
displays of urban flowers, which is maybe one reason why Harrogate
has recently been voted Britain's third best place to live.
It also has Betty's tea rooms, where I had what
I can only describe as the best breakfast of my life, whilst
setting up our new showroom. The special Rostii breakfast with an
additional sausage on the side, with a fresh orange juice, that
even the Spanish couldn't beat was as my kids might say…..awesome.
If the Rostii is puzzling you, then that makes two of us, but my
god it tastes good, and the staff can fill you in on their Swiss
connection.
www.harrogate.gov.uk
www.bettys.co.uk
We all love Ripley too. Its compact, and for
its size, it has plenty to look at. There is the castle set in a
1,700 acre estate; a glorious combination of stone cottages and
cobbled squares; a 15th century church, and a series of marks on
the east wall created by Cromwell's soldiers as they executed
Royalist prisoners after the battle of Marston Moor.
If that is all too worthy for you, the town
also claims to be the home of Ripley's world class Ice cream. A
competitor for Vivoli's in Florence? I will let you be the judge of
that. The Boars head Hotel is also where we sometimes rest our
weary heads in the evenings. It has good beer, and damn good food,
if all that history has begun to make your tummy grumble.
www.chromavision.co.uk/yt/ripley.htm
www.ripleycastle.co.uk/hotel.html
3 miles north of our showroom is Fountains
Abbey, an 800 year old Cistercian abbey; the largest abbey ruins in
Britain, and now a World Heritage Site. I have visited more times
than I can remember, and at the risk of sounding corny, it still
brings joy to my soul every time I arrive.
www.fountainsabbey.org.uk/
Fancy a really top notch lunch, to celebrate
the sofa you have just bought? In that case, The Malt Shovel at
Brearton is pretty hard to beat. The food is seriously good, which
means finding the energy to walk afterwards is well nigh
impossible.
http://www.themaltshovelbrearton.co.uk/index.html
If you have the kids with you, Lightwater
Valley Theme Park is 175 acres of action-packed adventures.
www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/
www.newbyhallandgardens.com/