Blob out, Shopping and Betty's

We decided to have a quieter day. A trip to the shopping centre in the morning, and an afternoon tea at the iconic Bettys Tearooms. The weather was lovely, clear skies and 18C.

The walk into town was surprisingly quick - less than 15 minutes. We checked out a few interesting shops and then located the Victoria Shopping Centre (yep, there’s one here too). We visited this six years ago on a day trip to Harrogate. It still looked the same - including the TK Maxx store at the top of the building, full of remaindered designer gear. I got myself a light sweater, an overshirt (like a light jacket) and some Pierre Cardin socks. I was happy - the ladies didn’t find anything and we then went to Primark (sublime to the ridiculous if you ask me, but nobody did), where the ladies did buy stuff.

We walked back for lunch after I found a butcher's selling pork pies. We then set off again to find Betty's Tearooms. We had to queue to get in. We had a cuppa, each with our own teapot, etc. Tricia consumed a vegan Sultana Scone, while Christine and I had a proper Vanilla Custard Slice. It’s very quaint and charming (and not cheap).

On our way back, we stopped at a Marks and Spencer's Food place and picked up some salads for tea. After tea, I wandered up the road to the strangely named 'Devonshire Tap House' for a hand-pulled pint of Timothy Taylor Boltmaker. Nice.

A grand day out.Read more