AUTUMN 2021 VISIT TO RHS GARDENS AT HARLOW CARR, HARROGATE NORTH YORKSHIRE
2021 October day trip to Royal Horticultural Society Gardens at Harlow Carr
Harrogate North Yorkshire
Good day readers
We recently went to visit the RHS gardens at Harlow Carr Harrogate.
Usually we go every week or so to walk round the gardens, sometimes we take our
grandson. When we go on Saturday we try to arrive at the car park by 8.30 am.
The gardens themselves do not open to 9.30 am, however, adjacent to the gardens
is one of the famous outlets of Bettys Tearooms (where queuing starts at 8.40
or so). We generally have our second breakfast in the café although this summer
we have taken to having tea and scones from the Bettys kiosk in the gardens.
There are two facets to the company known as Bettys and Taylors group,
they were separate companies founded in Harrogate and Bettys bought out Taylors
in the 1960s.
Bettys was founded in 1919 in Harrogate by a Swiss confectioner called
Frederick Belmont. The hygiene level is outstanding and customer care is the
best. Bettys is a world famous chocolatier and their craft bakery makes all
their breads, cakes and fancies. All food at the café is prepared fresh from
the finest ingredients (not a microwave in sight) and served by outstanding
staff.
Taylors of Harrogate are tea blenders and coffee roasters founded
around the same time as Bettys. The most famous of their products are Yorkshire
Tea and Taylors Coffee Bags.
Harlow Carr Gardens was first formed after WW2 by the world famous
Gardener Geoffrey Smith (of Gardener’s question time) and prisoners of war. The
site was one of Harrogate’s famous spa springs of sulphorous water. The Bath
house is still present within the gardens and is currently used as an art
gallery. The gardens extend to 30 acres and has many pleasant trails to walk
through. There are gardens with flowers, trees, shrubs and plants that give
interest throughout the year. Children are welcome and there is always an
adventure trail to follow and play areas for different ages. Another aspect of
the RHS is to promote courses in gardening (from design to planting), there is
also a garden centre to browse and buy. The RHS website includes a virtual tour
of the gardens, sorry no virtual Bettys.
I have included two photos, one of the gardens and one of the Bettys
kiosk in the gardens.
My book Port
St James: Cliff Farm was published by Austin Macauley on
31st August 2021and is available on line,
from most bookshops and as an ebook. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I
did writing the novel. If so please post a review on
https://austinmacauley.com/book/port-st-james
Thank you and all the best Philippa
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