Posh Quarters and a Garden

We decided to stay closer to home today. The weather looked great again, so we decided to take a leisurely stroll across town to the Valley Gardens. The ladies packed our normal picnic of dry cheese sandwiches and a packet of crisps. This was a good counterpoint to the excellent dining out experiences and preparation for a good meal in the evening.

We walked our usual route into town and walked on to the Montpelier Quarter which was new to us. This district is a posh area of fancy stores and cafes (Betty’s is on the edge), and lots of green space. It looked gorgeous in the morning light. Once we were through this are we entered the Valley Gardens. This park has many trees, grass, flowers and shrubs. Many park benches, with quite a few in use. We occupied one in the sun and enjoyed our sumptuous comestibles (well, the crips were nice). After people-watching for a while, we made our way to the far end of the gardens to find the advertised New Zealand Garden. This was a large corner with NZ plants and some sculptures. It was initially opened in the 1950s to commemorate some Kiwi aircrew buried in the area. They even had a wooden bench with ‘Absolutely Positively Wellington’ engraved on the back. Wellington is a sister city with Harrogate. We all felt a little twinge of homesickness.

We walked back via a Japanese Garden. After leaving the gardens, we returned via some streets we hadn’t seen before, raiding yet another op shop. We also detoured to Primark and a hat shop, where we purchased two flat caps (one for me and one for Mike). Back home for a sit down.

At 5, we went back into town to the Sukhothai Restaurant for a Thai meal. The surroundings, meal, and service were excellent, but the 10% service charge that was added to the bill somewhat dampened the experience. That ‘feature’ is creeping into places here.

Another great day in Yorkshire.Läs mer