Trip 14, Bilton Park, Harrogate.
We arrived at 11.30am and we have a pitch near the Stewards. Unfortunately the sun is in the wrong position or is that us. If we sit outside we are in shade but the weather is not the best today anyway.
After lunch we walked towards Harrogate to find the nearest bus stop so we know when to get off on the trip back from Harrogate.
We walked back to the Gardeners Arms for a drink and we sat in the garden. The sun came out now and then along with a quick shower.
The barmaid told me that she likes to draw when not busy. Her favourite subject is Unicorns so as we left I asked her if she had a picture and she showed me a couple of drawings which were really very good.
Tonight we had spicy chicken which was not my cup of tea.
Day 2:
We walked into Knaresborough today. We found our way to the market place and our favorite bakery. Sue bought a sausage roll and a couple of Danish pastries. We found the Wetherspoons but it was a bit early for us to stop for a beer.
We made our way to the river but we got the wrong bridge however we found another pub but again we passed it by.
We found a road parallel with the river and we eventually got back to the railway viaduct bridge that we usually sit near and eat our lunch.This time the seats were not in use due to some subsidence.
We found a bench in the park overlooking the river so we ate lunch there before making our way home. We stopped off at the motorhome to get a fleece before heading to the Gardeners Arms for a beer. It got a bit cool so we just stopped for one and then walked home.
Day 3.
We walked into Harrogate via the Nidderdale Greenway, the old railway line that is now a path.
We made our way to the park and walked all around the Sun Pavillion. The flowers were still amazing despite the dry summer.
We made our way to the Winter Gardens pub that is now a Wetherspoons. The building was a dance hall, a Turkish bath and a key part of Victorian Harrogate.
It is certainly well worth a visit to see the splendour of the building. We had lunch there and it was very good and great value.
We left the pub and headed for the bus station to catch the number 2 bus back to Bilton. We did get off at the wrong bus stop but it only added a couple of hundred yards extra to the walk.
The afternoon had very mixed weather so we stayed inside and read.
Day 4:
We took the windbreak down this morning before it rained. It was then time to start another walk, today we were going for an ice cream at Ripley.
Ripley is 3.4 miles from Bilton but the path is the Nidderdale Greenway which is the old Nidderdale railway line.
It took just over an hour to get to Ripley, the famous Ice Cream shop had moved to bigger premises with both inside and outside seating and an indoor cafe and shop. We had double scoop ices and we sat inside to eat them, it was not very warm outside with a strong wind.
After the ices we walked to the church and browsed the gravestones some from 1700.
We walked to Ripley Castle next door. We did not go in, it looks more like a big posh Manor House.
There is a pub in the village but we gave it a miss today.
We set off home and we arrived back at the campsite at around 14.15. The walk measured 8.26 miles in total.
It had started to rain so we stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon. It is not the weather to sit out in the pub garden today.
Another great 4 days away, quite a few walking miles (24 miles). Sadly only two more trips planned for this year at present.
More pictures are on our 2022, 2023 & 2024 Bilton blogs.
