Yesterday's walk was cut short due to the incessant rain, and today we didn't even bother starting a walk but decided to drive the 40 miles to Harrogate as neither of us had ever visited there as a tourist - we'd seen rugby there, we'd attended a dinner/dance there, and I'd worked there, but all those instances never included time looking around the town itself.
When we left Settle it was raining, as we drove the hour or so across to Harrogate it continued to rain - at times almost monsoon-like, and for the few hours we walked around the town it rained - however we managed to stay dry most of the time. That said, we did get the odd break in the cloud when I could take a few photos. This week I'm 'road-testing' the Sony Cybershot compact that I'd replaced the Samsung ST220F with, but I'm still not convinced about lower end compacts.
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| The Pump House |
I'd exchanged the ST200F as I wasn't happy with the battery life, although I was very pleased with every other aspect of the camera. What I wasn't aware of though when I exchanged it for the Cybershot was that battery life isn't a strong point in a lower end compact - so I'm not sure I'll be 100% happy but will give it more time. The Cybershot if I'm honest isn't as a good a camera, the buttons are very small and fiddly, and the shutter release button is easy to catch and take a photo with, plus the zoom button on the back isn't as user friendly as the one's on the top that the majority have. Anyway, this isn't a camera review...
We arrived in Harrogate at noon and parked in the Montpelier area of the town and were immediately impressed with the buildings and the narrow Montpelier Mews - however much of the rest of the town disappointed. I understand that towns can't survive and deli's and bistro's alone, but for me there were just too many of the 'standard' shops you see on any other high-street. Maybe our expectations were too high.
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| Sign inside and old shopping arcade |
The famous Betty's tea-rooms were certainly a pull, you could see that with the large queues of people waiting their turn make a visit - some to revel in the delights of the food on offer, and no doubt some just to say they'd been. I must admit though that part of the pull of Harrogate for me was all in my imagination. I thought that there was a Roman Baths there and was looking forward to the visit, however I realised not long after arriving that it isn't the case, and the Royal Baths in the town were now frequented by a large Chinese restaurant, what looked like a nightclub, plus a sort of Turkish Baths Spa. How embarrassed did I feel with myself!
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| Betty's Tea Rooms |
Also, many of the old buildings sat amongst more modern fare, we were far more impressed with our visit to Worcester a few weeks ago. We couldn't decide whether we wanted to dine or not, and by the time we gave in and chose to have a bit to eat we ended up in Wetherspoons as it was close to the car and our parking was limited! Not exactly what we were after but it did serve a purpose. Now for the drive back in the rain...and in hindsight we wished we'd gone to Richmond.
Fingers crossed better weather tomorrow so we can get out in the hills.
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