We set off from London on a quick trip north to Harrogate in North Yorkshire. This town is very near and dear to Michael and I because it is the town where we first met and started dating all those years ago. We’ve been talking about going back to visit for so long now, so we were so excited when we finally got the chance this past winter. We stayed at the Country Living St George which was right in the middle of town and gave us great access to everywhere we wanted to go.
We started off with a quick bite at the Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant. This restaurant was just across the street from our hotel and has a dish called prawn toast that I dream about every now and then. The interior is gorgeous and food is really good, if you’re in the area definitely pop by.
After dinner we took a little stroll down the main streets of Harrogate reminiscing about our teen years spent in this little town and popped into a pub for a couple drinks before heading to bed after our long travel day. Harrogate is quite a sleepy little town and we had forgotten how early everything closes, by around 6pm the only thing open in town was Asda (basically England’s Walmart)!
The next morning we were up bright and early for a day of exploring. We started our day with breakfast at Hoxton North, a cute little cafe with great coffee and food just around the corner from our hotel. Once we finished up breakfast we took a walk through Valley Gardens, which is where Michael and I had our first date (awwwww). I was so happy walking along the paths and remembering what it was like to be there almost 9 years ago now. We also loved how many people were there walking their dogs and it made us want to move back and bring Levi (our goldendoodle pup) with us.
We then made our way back through town to the bus station and caught our old bus back to Ripley, the town where Michael used to live. We wandered around the old streets and the castle grounds (where we had our senior prom) and it was so magical.
Later, we made our way back to town for afternoon tea at Betty’s! This was really a treat, we sat in the Imperial Suite where a pianist played for us throughout lunch and had the most amazing time. The tea was great and the scones were just how I remembered them! It was so fun people watching while we were there too and imagining how lavish it would be to be able to go there every weekend for a spot of tea and sandwiches (ah, luxury).
After lunch it was about time to say goodbye to Harrogate as we made our way up to Scotland, with a little pitstop in York.
We arrived quite late so all we could do was pop into a couple shops and wander around the Shambles, and we may have spent an hour too long here given the time we arrived but it was nice to see either way. Then we hopped on our last train of the day and made our way to Edinburgh!
Bon Voyage!
Partners in Flight
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