Hooray for Harrogate – a place of wealth, abundance, gardens, tourism and friendly folk.
Jacky
We felt so at home here because when you stroll around with two German Shorthaired Pointers, everyone wants to talk to you. in the coffee shops, we were offered the best seats in the front window so everyone could admire these beautiful creatures.
Tilly
Woody
Gerry
It looked like it was just over a two hour trip from Preston to Harrogate for our journey to Richard and Jo’s house. But as we are learning in England there are few short trips. With traffic and roadworks, you can probably add on another 50% in time to your estimated travel time. When we arrived at their lovely, spacious home we were greeted by the two adorable German Short-haired Pointers, Woody and Tilly. Tilly was more reserved, while Woody was extremely affectionate from the get-go. Richard and Jo were very hospitable and well organised. Jo had cooked dinner for us as Richard served us some exquisite red wine from their French excursions. Because they had done their welcome pack and given us plenty of information about the dogs, house and surrounding area, we started to relax immediately. Before dinner, they took us on their normal dog walk through the Valley Gardens, part of the city centre, and then back through the parks to their house. They had a great routine with the dogs, which allowed us to keep up the consistency while they holidayed. When you have owners who take the time to train their dogs it is such a pleasure to look after them. We love all the pets we care for but these two became something extremely special to us.
We generally prefer four criteria that make for a great house sit.
- Beautiful pets
- Fascinating local area (great weather helps!)
- The house itself (functional, clean)
- The information the owner supplies us for our stay (most specifically the info about their pets)
This sit had all four of the highest order. It was a real credit to Jo and Richard. They could not take credit for the city of Harrogate other than picking it to live in but it was gorgeous as well. From the moment we started on our first doggie walk as we walked through forest, gardens, boutique coffee shops, historic buildings and local parks and playing fields we felt really buoyant. All literally within ten minutes walk. It was historic but it was fresh, clean and neat.
Jo and Richard left early the next morning, we meant to get up and say goodbye but they didn’t want to disturb us so they snuck out. Lovely of them! I think Tilly and Woody were the two dogs that settled in almost immediately making us feel at home. We could go anywhere with these dogs. First day into Nero’s Cafe for coffee and as soon as we sat down they did as well and everyone starts coming over and making a fuss about them. Great way to start conversation with the locals. We didn’t know that Woody and Tilly were already local celebrities and almost everyone knew them from walking through the parks. We took these two almost everywhere because they were so easy and loveable. This happens quite often with a lot of families who have pets where the dog who is a bit reserved or stand-offish turns out to be the most affectionate. Tilly had become quite attached to us already which felt so good.
Knaresborough was the first little town we visited as we were looking for a farmer’s market to pick up fresh fruit and veggies as we normally do when we start a new sit. Well, we missed the markets by a day as we found out after searching through town. But what a gorgeous little town with a castle, (J: Gerry’s first castle!) Roman viaduct bridge and lots of cafes, restaurants, pubs, paddle boats and canoes along the picturesque river that runs through the centre of town. We had a wander around, a bite to eat and a taste of the local brew at the pub. Then home to our doggies.
Ripon was a road trip with Tilly and Woody, they were so good in the car just sat on their blanket and stared out the window. We found a forest area to take them for a walk and Tilly managed to find some bunny rabbits to chase. Fortunately not catching any but it was interesting to watch how she would hunt. Woody obviously wasn’t much of a hunter, just along for the ride. We met a lady in the park from South Africa originally, with a little poodle who had a bit of play with the big boys. We perused the markets in the town centre but didn’t see much that we fancied. Lovely town! On the way home we stopped at a pub called The Inn where I think it was an old hunter’s lodge by the look of the decor. Just about everyone asks us where we are from and we told the bartender we were from Australia. He said he thought he heard that in our accent. We had a bit of a chuckle, as I’m from Canada and Jacky is from England! He also said that Aussie had managed to achieve a draw in the world cup against Denmark.
York has to be my favourite place to visit on the trip so far. We did a Park and Ride getting a bus on the outskirts of York. This was a great idea by Jacky as there was barely enough room for two normal cars on the streets of York let alone tour buses galore bringing it down to one lane. Once we got dropped off near the city centre we strolled down to the restaurants along the canal in between bridges which were very popular. We couldn’t get a table outside anywhere. We headed off to find the York Minster and then just before we reached the ancient building we came across The Shambles. They are the conglomeration of the original buildings in the streets of the old parts of the original city. Not many constructions have been built with levels or straight lines in mind (so much character). Have a close look at some of the pics from here.
Then on we went to the York Minster. I had never been in a large cathedral before and when I saw the detailed work, the time it must have taken, along with the planning, it blew my mind. It had taken over 200 years in the restoration process and there were still projects going on. Then we went below the structure to see some of the remains of the foundations of a Roman fortress that it had been built on almost a thousand years ago,. I was astonished! Since I have never been to a country that has existed more than a couple of hundred years it was hard to get my head around what I was experiencing. After the York Minster, we walked on top of the Roman wall that protected the barracks with spectacular views back over the city and the cathedral. We finished off at an old pub claiming to be one of the oldest in the city. The lager was delightful after a big day of sightseeing. We caught the bus back to the Park and Ride station and had a stress free drive back to Harrogate and our excited dogs as we walked in the door. The joy it gives us when we receive their unconditional love is beyond words.
Last Day.
We had a bit of a hiccup as we were going to stay until Richard and Jo got home and then head off to Preston around 7 pm. But the Channel Tunnel that runs under the Sea between England and France closed down due to a power outage and they didn’t know how long it was going to take to come back online. They both had to work the next day so they diverted to the nearest port and grabbed the next available ferry back. They got home about four hours late at 9.30pm. It was still great to see them before we left and Woody and Tilly were generous with their affection until our departure. One more unexpected thing happened on our ride back to Preston. As it is still light until after 11 pm at this time of year, the journey would normally be fine. But we found roadworks along the way and we got detoured on to B roads which are like country lanes. The views were fabulous but we were kind of looking forward to a nice quick ride along the motorway. This journey has certainly been a lesson for us in not to expect normal routine things to happen.
Be prepared for anything!
