Covering fifty eight acres of the North Yorkshire countryside with ancient woodlands and ornamental gardens, wildflower meadows and streamside borders, RHS Garden Harlow Carr is the perfect place to visit on a weekend break in Harrogate with Holiday Extras.
Located in the heart of Yorkshire, the town of Harrogate attracts visitors from across the globe thanks to its architecture, historic buildings, gardens and attractions. The historic spa town, known for its mineral spring water dating back to the 16th century, retains much of its impressive Victorian architecture which can be seen all around the town. With a thriving shopping, food and drink scene, it’s a fabulous location for a weekend break.
Disclosure: This visit to Harrogate and RHS Garden Harlow Carr was a press trip organised by Holiday Extras, including hotel accommodation and attraction entry. As always, all views and opinions are my own.
RHS GARDENS AND HOTEL STAYS WITH HOLIDAY EXTRAS
I have been using the HOLIDAY EXTRAS website as my ‘go to’ for Airport Hotels and Parking for as long as I can remember. With a great range of deals including parking, fastrack, lounges and hotels, the website is a great platform to find the best deals to suit our needs. Alongside their airport based products, Holiday Extras offer a wide range of short breaks options. Historically, these were generally focused around London theatre breaks or national theme park breaks. More recently, Holiday Extras have branched out to offering a wide range of short break products including UK attractions, heritage breaks and one that particularly caught my eye – RHS Garden Breaks.
Short Breaks with Holiday Extras generally offer a one night stay and entry to an attraction, theme park, or theatre production. The packages provide exclusive savings, prime seats at the theatre as well as a guarantee to never be beaten on price. There are three RHS Gardens available on the short break deals including RHS Bridgewater in Greater Manchester, RHS Wisley in Surrey and RHS Garden Harlow Carr located in North Yorkshire. Being a lover of nature, the great outdoors and gardening, as well as being keen to visit Harrogate, the RHS Garden Harlow Carr option worked well for me.
With partner hotels available for each destination within close proximity to the gardens, prices for the breaks start from £57 per person and vary dependent on location and booking dates. With two hotel choices available for Harlow Carr, both located in the centre of Harrogate, this provided the perfect opportunity to explore both the gardens and enjoy a weekend break in Harrogate.
A WEEKEND BREAK IN HARROGATE WITH HOLIDAY EXTRAS
No matter where you turn while walking the streets of Harrogate, you’ll capture a little bit of history of this stunning spa town. The beautiful sandstone Victorian buildings that line the streets offer a glimpse of bygone eras and many of the impressive buildings have a story to tell. Coupled with fabulous outdoor spaces to enjoy, as well as a rich variety of boutique shops, artisan cafes, restaurants and traditional tea rooms, Harrogate is a fabulous all round destination to explore.
SPENDING A NIGHT AT CROWNE PLAZA HARROGATE | CROWNE PLAZA HARROGATE certainly stands out from the crowd in this historic town. A modern building with an 11 storey mirrored façade, this hotel is located next to the Harrogate Convention Centre and only a mere few minutes walk from everything the town has to offer. With a stylish interior along with spacious rooms and a number of dining options, the Crowne Plaza is a great base to stay for a weekend break in Harrogate, while visiting RHS Garden Harlow Carr. At just under two miles from the town centre, the RHS gardens can easily be accessed by road, or there is a great walk through parkland to get there. An underground car park provides direct lift access to the spacious lobby area where check-in is located.
THE ROOMS AT CROWNE PLAZA HARROGATE | With a number of room options at the Crowne Plaza Harrogate, ranging from Standard through to Premium and Suites, there is plenty of versatility to cater for everyone. A friendly and efficient check-in experience saw me head with my key card to a Super King Premium High Floor room. At around 250 square feet, this spacious room on the 8th floor had stylish and modern décor, finished in shades of grey and blue. The large and comfortable super king bed sat between two bedside tables and feature lamps hung from the ceiling on a cord. With a comfortable armchair and side table located to the corner, the room also featured a large sliding wardrobe as well as a mini-bar fridge.
The bathroom, simply decorated in white tiles and black marble counter featured a bathtub with shower over and a range of Antipodes luxury products. The key selling point to the high floor room was the incredible view. The north facing window offered a wonderful scene of the traditional sandstone streets and historic buildings of Harrogate, with a backdrop of St. Luke’s Church perched on the hilltop. With 180 degree views from west to east, these rooms are a fabulous spot to catch an early sunrise or a wonderful summer sunset across the North Yorkshire countryside. For a weekend break in Harrogate, this is the perfect spot.
DINING AT CROWNE PLAZA HARROGATE | Located next to the lobby area of Crowne Plaza Harrogate, Springs Bar is a great place to relax with a drink after exploring Harrogate and RHS Garden Harlow Carr. This fabulous bar area, has a number of cosy seating areas, and serves food from 10am. With a menu packed full of options from small plates and mains including burgers and pizzas, Springs Bar is ideal for a casual dining experience. Located on the first floor of the hotel, the Springs Restaurant offers a more formal setting for dinner. This contemporary restaurant is spacious with a wide range of options on the menu. Breakfast is also served at Springs Restaurant from 6.30am on weekdays and 7.00am at the weekend. A buffet style breakfast with a variety of hot and cold options, be sure to arrive early if you have morning plans as it can be really busy, especially if there is a conference taking place.
VISITING RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR IN HARROGATE
With Holiday Extras RHS Gardens and Hotel Stays, you can opt to visit the attraction on either the day you check in, or check out, providing some versatility depending on your travel plans. With RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR only a short ten minute drive from the centre of Harrogate, I opted to visit on the morning of the day of arrival, which would allow me some time to then enjoy my weekend break in Harrogate and enjoy quality time at the hotel.
Established in 1950, the gardens at Harlow Carr were created by the Northern Horticultural Society, with the intention of creating a garden where plants could be trialled in the relatively difficult growing conditions of the North. Created in an area once known for its natural springs, the site was once home to a bath house and hotel in the mid 19th century, which would later become known as the Harrogate Arms – a building which still stands on the site today. The garden has come a long way since it opened in 1950. Backed by a large woodland and arboretum, there are lakes, streams, formal gardens and borders alongside rock gardens, kitchen gardens and an alpine house. The perfect setting to explore on a summer morning.
EXPLORING THE MAIN GARDENS AT RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR | The main entrance to the gardens is located centrally in a raised position providing views across the garden and woodland backdrop. A number of pathways lead in all directions with lawns and borders directly ahead packed full of colour, showcasing a fabulous array of perennials including Iris, Candelabra Primulas and towers of Lupins. Heading south from the entrance, passing the Bramhall Learning Centre, there are a number of lakeside gardens featuring lily ponds, beautiful landscaping and displays of purple planting including roses, foxgloves and beautiful allium globes swaying in the wind. Pathways leads from here to the Thaliana Bridge crossing the entry point to Queen Mother’s Lake. This rust effect curving metal structure stands out against the natural greens of the surrounding landscaping leading to a wildflower meadow beyond.
Heading north from Queen Mother’s Lake, a beck cuts through the centre of the gardens with pathways to either side. The banks of this waterway are rich in planting suited to moisture loving specimens, ranging from Gunnera and Hosta, through to the ferns and Acer alongside the garden’s signature primulas adding splashes of bright colour. With a number of bridges crossing the beck, built from local stone, there are plenty of opportunities to cross or get some wonderful views from these vantage points.
Continuing along the Streamside Walk will lead to the Sandstone Rock Garden, the Main Borders and onwards to the Kitchen Garden, Sub Tropicana Garden and the Alpine House – a glasshouse with over 2,000 plants including delicate alpine plants native to mountain regions. The beds are created from rocks reused from a previous rock garden, and also containing some fabulous succulents and cactus specimens. To the rear of the Alpine House, walls of tufa rock are brimming with interesting and colourful alpines. This was one of my favourite parts of the gardens.
WOODLAND WALKS AT RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR | Heading across the valley and crossing the beck, pathways lead to RHS Garden Harlow Carr’s wonderful Woodland area. A quieter and more tranquil area of the gardens, dapple shaded pathways lead through the trees, providing glimpses of the formal gardens through the leaves. To the northern end of the woodland, the Arboretum area is peaceful and serene, planted with exotic specimens, alongside a wildflower meadow and children’s play area. Heading south and nestled into the woodland, a rustic treehouse provides great adventures for the younger visitors, while meandering pathways and steps lead up to five impressive columns surrounded by beautiful Rhodedendrons. These columns – the Doric Columns, were the original columns forming the entrance to the Cheltenham Pump Room in Harrogate, saved when the building was demolished and presented to Harlow Carr in 1961.
MAKING TIME FOR TEA AND A BITE TO EAT | You can’t visit Yorkshire without having a good strong cup of tea, and where better than at Betty’s Tea Room. With a history dating back to the early 1900’s, Betty’s Tea Rooms have become a staple and iconic part of the town of Harrogate and nearby York. A visit to RHS Garden Harlow Carr also provides the opportunity to experience Betty’s, with a café and shop onsite next to the entrance to the gardens, as well as a kiosk within the gardens themselves. Having spent an hour or so exploring the gardens, reaching the northern end, I found the Betty’s Tea House kiosk tucked away, with a lovely shaded outdoor seating area. With teas, coffees and a wonderful array of cakes and pastries, I opted for a strong cup of tea with a Fondant Fancy. Taking a seat at one of the wooden tables, I was surrounded by the sound of birdsong, whilst making a few friends along the way with visits from Robin’s and Chaffinches searching out for morsels of food.
Once lunchtime arrived, whilst there is the option of the main Bettys Café Tea Rooms, I chose to have lunch at the recently opened Harrogate Arms Café, set within the gardens. Steeped in history, this grade II listed building was built in 1844 as a Victorian Hotel with an adjacent bath house which still stands next to Betty’s Tea House. The spa hotel closed in the 1920’s and over the 20th century saw many incarnations as a hotel, pub, nightclub and restaurant before finally closing to the public in 2014. A complementary restoration of the building now sees it open as a spacious café serving breakfast and lunches including artisan sandwiches and salads, alongside great coffee and cake.
I spent four hours exploring RHS Garden Harlow Carr, which allowed enough time to fully explore the gardens, with time to stop for a mid morning snack and some lunch. This then allowed plenty of time to get back into the town and enjoy my weekend break in Harrogate with Holiday Extras with further exploration. RHS Garden Harlow Carr is open from 9.30am to 6pm seven days a week from March to October, with shorter opening times until 4pm during the winter months. There is an adjacent RHS Garden Centre which is also open daily, offering a range of plants and garden products for sale.
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