Ghost hunts to investigate Harrogate’s haunted sites

A freelance entertainer is hoping to explore some of Harrogate’s most haunted places when he launches a series of ghost hunts this month. 

Paul Forster is a mind-reader, magician and tour guide and has already led almost 2,000 paying visitors around Harrogate’s haunted hotspots – or rather, cold spots – over the past 18 months during his twice-monthly ghost walks. 

He is now offering tickets for a ghost hunt at the historic Crown Hotel, and has been given exclusive access to some of its darker recesses. 

He said: 

“People always want to know what’s waiting for them behind the doors they’re not allowed to open, and now we can take them there.

“The Crown Hotel has some really interesting hauntings. Second World War RAF airmen have been sighted there, disembodied voices have been heard, and there has even been poltergeist activity in the cellar.

“This will be the first time the hotel has been investigated, so it will be fascinating to see what we turn up.”

The ghost hunt will take place between 9pm and 1am, with 30 guests splitting into small groups in the hopes of capturing evidence of unusual activity.

Paul will be working in conjunction with paranormal investigation firm Angelic Forces, using techniques including table-tipping and glass divining, as well as specialist equipment such as digital thermometers and thermal imaging cameras to measure temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic fields. 

There are just six tickets left for the event on April 29, but Paul has already scheduled further events at the Crown Hotel on June 10 and at the Turkish Baths on June 16. 

He said:  

“I’d always sat on the fence when it came to paranormal activity, but then I went to the Turkish Baths to speak to members of staff who had seen some apparitions, and I saw my first ever ghost when I was there. I even heard her laugh. It changed my entire belief system.” 

Paul – whose book, Haunted Harrogate, was published last year – now believes some apparitions may simply be an imprint, or “recording”, of one moment in someone’s life, rendered visible because energy has been left behind in objects, such as stone – a phenomenon described by the “Stone Tape Theory”. 

He hopes the events will attract both die-hard ghost-hunters and curious sceptics, but says whatever happens, the events will be unlike anything else. He said: 

“It’ll be interesting, different and exciting, and that’s just what Harrogate is. There are a lot of ‘stone tape’ ghosts in Harrogate. Because it’s a spa town, I think it may be something to do with the water flowing beneath us – it acts like a plug socket, giving them energy.  

“We can’t guarantee we’ll see some ghosts on the night, but, having spent time in these places myself, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we did.” 

Tickets for the Harrogate Ghost Hunt cost £49 and be booked online at www.harrogateghostwalk.com. 

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Unique ‘Brighouse Bugatti’ to feature at Newby Hall sports car show

Organisers are expecting a record turn-out next month for Sports Cars in the Park, the annual celebration of classic vehicles and super cars held each spring at Newby Hall. 

A firm favourite in car enthusiasts’ calendar, the event was started by Yorkshire businessman Chris Crossley because he was fed up with all the good car events being held in the South. 

The show, on Sunday, May 7, brings together exhibits from car clubs and individual car enthusiasts across the region, attracting more than 1,000 sports cars and 5,000 visitors. Cars attending must be a roadster, a sporty car, modified or unusual or fun in some way. 

This year’s event is expected to bring together a wide range of prestigious car marques. Highlights will include the “Brighouse Bugatti”, the sole survivor of 10 cars made between 1922 and 1928 by Brighouse engineer Frederick William Bond.  

There will also be a rare LaFerrari, a car so refined it was priced at $1.5 million when it was first released 10 years ago.  

Visitors will also be able to spot a Ferrari Enzo and a Porsche Carrera GT, as well as a wide variety of sports cars including examples from Aston Martin, Lamborghini, McLaren, Lotus and TVR. The displays range from new BMW and Audi cars to classics like the Ford Cosworth and Minis. There will also be several hybrid and electric cars, and a range of trade stands. 

Stuart Gill, commercial director at Newby Hall, said:

“We’re delighted to welcome Sports Cars in the Park again this May. It’s great to see so many enthusiasts sharing their passion for their prized cars with visitors in our perfect setting.” 

Newby Hall, which is located across the River Ure from Bishop Monkton, is one of the UK’s finest Adam houses and its 25 acres of gardens include an “enchanted” woodland walk and a miniature railway. Entry to Newby’s award-winning gardens, adventure playground, dolls house and teddy bear exhibitions is included in the admission price.     

Sports Cars in the Park will be held on Sunday, May 7 from 10am to 4pm. Ticket cost £18 for adults and £15 for children (aged 4-15). A family ticket costs £56, but under-4s are admitted free of charge. 

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Harrogate restaurant relaunches following £30,000 refurbishment

An Italian restaurant in Harrogate town centre is set to relaunch next Thursday (April 27) following a £30,000 overhaul. 

The refurbishment of Piccolino on Parliament Street sees the return of the ground-floor bar that was popular when the site was run as Restaurant Bar & Grill.

When it became a Gino D’Acampo restaurant in 2017, the ground floor was turned into a deli, but owner Individual Restaurants rebranded it to Piccolino in January 2022 and is now bringing back the bar area in response to local demand. 

Andrew Garton, CEO of Individual Restaurants, said: 

“I spent 10 years of my life living in Harrogate and enjoyed every minute of it. On taking my position as CEO at Individual Restaurants, bringing the bar back to Harrogate was the top request from my friends and contacts – and this is exactly what we have done. We look forward to bringing back the buzz to the local community as well as ensuring that we continue to serve the finest Italian food and drink. 

“I encourage everyone in Harrogate to come and relive the good times and experience the best venue in Harrogate.” 

The re-launched bar will serve cocktails and host sets by local DJs. The roof-top terrace and private dining room will also be reopening. 

Seated customers laughing and chatting in a busy Piccolino Italian restaurant in Harrogate.

The Harrogate restaurant is one of 18 Piccolino sites around England, most of which are in the North.

The venue will be led by a new general manager, Salvatore Cataldi, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, including stints at San Carlo and Grantley Hall. He said: 

“I am super excited to be joining the Piccolino Harrogate team as general manager. I can already see how this will soon become the ‘go to’ place for dinner and late evening drinks in our new bar. 

“I also have a strong business network within the local community, and I think our private dining room and rooftop terrace space will be a hit with local businesses looking to surprise and delight their teams and clients! I look forward to welcoming our guests to the restaurant over the coming months.” 

The Manchester-based Individual Restaurants group has 18 Piccolino sites across the UK, including Harrogate, Ilkley, Collingham, Sheffield, Bramhall, Birmingham, Chester, Didsbury, Hale, Knutsford, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Stockton Heath, Bristol, London and Virginia Water. It also has restaurants operating under other brands in Leeds, Hull and Marlow. 

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Village pub to be converted to homes as permission is finally granted

Planning permission to convert a Bishop Monkton pub to residential use has finally been granted on appeal – just days after one of the applicants died. 

Landlords Trevor and Carol Pawson had spent three years trying to get permission to create five new homes from the Lamb & Flag Inn, but Mr Pawson died on March 25. The couple’s appeal was approved on April 5, the day before his funeral. 

Mrs Pawson told The Stray Ferret she intended to press ahead with development work, but did not yet know when it might start. She said:  

“We won, so I’ll carry on, but for the time being I’m just taking one day at a time.”

Mr and Ms Pawson bought the Lamb & Flag Inn 30 years ago and ran it as a village pub until declining trade and ill-health forced them to close it permanently at the start of the covid pandemic in 2020. 

In the autumn of that year, they applied for planning permission to create five new dwellings – two from the conversion of the pub, one from the conversion of some holiday lets in an outbuilding, and two to be built in the pub car-park.  

They withdrew that application a few months later, but reapplied in April 2021, only to be turned down. Harrogate Borough Council planning officers refused the application on the grounds that “insufficient marketing” had been done to demonstrate that the pub could not be used for community use. 

The Pawsons appealed, providing evidence of marketing, leading planning officer Paul Cooper to conclude that there was “no compelling evidence that operation of the facility would be financially viable”. 

In his decision, Mr Cooper added: 

“The proposed dwellings would have a neutral effect on the conservation area and not […] be harmful by their design or impact on the landscape or settlement as a whole.” 

The Lamb & Flag dates back at least to the 1830s and was at one time one of seven pubs in the Bishop Monkton parish. Only one now remains – the Masons Arms, which still opens five days a week. 

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Back-bedroom start-up to smash £1 million barrier 12 years after launch

The story is sponsored by Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors.

A firm of chartered surveyors founded in a back bedroom 12 years ago is on track to break through the £1 million turnover barrier this year, its founder has revealed. 

Kempston-Parkes has grown its client base and turnover every year for over a decade, and is now the foremost Harrogate firm in its sector, with nine professionally qualified members of staff and six administrators. 

The landmark turnover figure comes as a welcome milestone for Andrew Kempston-Parkes, who founded the firm in 2011. 

Having started his working life at the Valuation Office Agency – part of the Inland Revenue – he received his professional qualifications from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 1997. He started carrying out residential valuations and survey work in 1999, and worked for over a decade at a national firm of chartered surveyors in Leeds and then Harrogate before branching out on his own. He said: 

“Working for such a large company, I’d progressively moved further away from the client; in fact, I was encouraged to have as little communication with the client as possible, which I felt flew in the face of professionalism. 

“Setting up on my own was the right decision. There is a healthy market for honest, personal service with clear communication and a human touch.” 

Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors focuses on pre-purchase surveys (RICS Level 2 HomeBuyerReport and RICS Level 3 Survey), along with valuations for all purposes: purchase, inheritance tax, capital gains tax and matrimonial assessments, as well as Party Wall Act boundary disputes and Land Registry plans. 

Mr Kempston-Parkes said a lot had changed since he first entered the profession, including the approach to customer service: 

“There’s a lot more diversity in the workforce now, which is great, and the technology’s developed beyond all recognition – we have iPads, laser measurers, drones, thermal imaging equipment, telescopic poles – lots of technology to help us see things that are out of reach.  

“And as an industry, we’re concentrating more and more on what clients need. We’re a lot more responsive. If you have a problem with land or property in the Harrogate area, we’re the people to come to.” 

Find out more: 

Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors provide surveys and valuations for all purposes, including purchase, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, matrimonial assessments, boundary disputes and Land Registry plans.  
For more information, go to www.kempston-parkes.co.uk, or for a confidential conversation about your requirements, call 01423 789111. 

 

New £70,000 tennis courts open in Dacre with free taster sessions

State-of-the-art sports facilities have arrived in Nidderdale, with the laying of three brand-new artificial grass tennis courts at Dacre Tennis Club. 

The new ‘Savanna’ playing surfaces have replaced old and worn tarmac courts at a cost of £70,000.

The sum was paid for by a combination of cash, grants and loans from various sources.

Dacre & Hartwith Playing Fields Association, which owns the Max Pullan Recreation Ground where the club is based, contributed over £8,000, the North Yorkshire County Council’s Locality Budget provided a grant of £1,000, and a sizeable donation was also made by a club member.

Other members provided 10-year loans to the club, which itself also contributed reserves built up for the purpose and sold some 10-year memberships to make up the shortfall. 

Club committee member Charles Andrew said: 

“It’s a big investment, but the club is a real hub for tennis in the middle and upper dale and an important facility for all the people and villages there. 

“It’s a lovely surface to play on and some club members went and tested it out and were really impressed.” 

A ground-level view of members playing on the new artificial grass courts at Dacre Tennis Club in Nidderdale.

Dacre Tennis Club is volunteer-run and holds frequent social tennis sessions, runs competitions, and competes in local leagues.  

To introduce players to the new courts, volunteers will be opening up the club up for some free, informal Come-and-Play tennis sessions, starting from this weekend.  

Club secretary Jane Robinson said: 

“It’s a really exciting project and we’re hoping to attract lots of new members.” 

The sessions will be held at the following times: 

The club suggests people bring their trainers or tennis shoes and a racket if they have one; if they don’t, they may borrow one from the club. 

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Landmark Harrogate business put up for sale

A Harrogate family business has been put up for sale after 26 years of trading from its landmark location. 

Motorhouse has been selling used cars from its premises on Ripon Road between New Park and Killinghall since 1998, but now owner John Steele has decided to sell up. 

The property, called Harrogate View Grange, includes Motorhouse’s showroom with garage and workshop, a 25-car forecourt, and a three-bedroom house with undercroft garaging. 

Motorhouse

An aerial view. Pic: Myrings

It is being sold via online auction by Harrogate estate agent Myrings, with a starting bid of £800,000. The auction is due to close at 2pm on Thursday, April 27.

Myrings’ description says:

“Motorhouse is a successful family business since 1967, and offers a unique and rare opportunity to acquire a prime car supermarket site and adjoining period three-bedroom house with undercroft garaging.”

Mr Steele started out in the motor trade in 1967, with a van-for-sale advert in his local newspaper. As his business expanded, he acquired sites in Leeds and Wakefield, before eventually moving to the current premises in 1998. 

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Harrogate Family Law expands its young team

This story is sponsored by Harrogate Family Law.

A Harrogate lawyer says the enthusiasm of his latest three recruits has transformed the working culture of his firm. 

Andrew Meehan, who is founder and director of Harrogate Family Law, has hired a solicitor apprentice and two paralegals over the last few months to help the firm service an expanding client list. He said: 

“The best thing about them is their enthusiasm. They’ve come straight from school and university and their keen interest in things we take for granted is infectious. They’ve really invigorated the rest of us.” 

At 19, Freddy Wharton is the youngest of the bunch. He was spotted by HFL director Laura Mounsey when she gave a careers talk at St Peter’s School in York, where he was a sixth-former. Recognising his potential, HFL offered him a contract as a solicitor apprentice, and he started the programme in January. 

Andrew said:

“Freddy works four days a week on the job, and does a mix of online and face-to-face learning one day a week at the University of Law in Leeds. He’s mature beyond his years and is doing very well. In six years’ time he’ll qualify as a solicitor with a law degree. It’s a great way to enter the profession.” 

Harrogate Family Law’s two new paralegals are Tija Purandere, who earned a first-class degree in law from the University of Liverpool and took a Masters degree at Durham University, and Charlie Main, who graduated from the University of Leeds last year with a first-class degree and a prize for excellence in European Union law. 

Both started at HFL in November and will complete two years of on-the-job training, passing their Solicitor Qualifying Examinations (SQE1 and SQE2) before being signed off as fully-qualified solicitors by Andrew. 

Andrew said: 

“We find it difficult to find good, trained solicitors who are still in their 20s and want to work in Harrogate. So, we identified fresh talent straight from education and train them the way we want to. 

“When we’re looking for someone new, we look for people who are very bright, personable and empathetic, and Freddy, Tija and Charlie all fulfil that brief very well. 

“Taking them on makes good business sense too. From an internal perspective, it’s reinvigorated the team, and from a client’s perspective, it’s cheaper to have the more routine work done by paralegals rather than by me. Everybody wins.” 

Andrew Meehan founded Harrogate Family Law in 2010. The firm has grown significantly over the last couple of years, almost doubling in size to cope with client demand. The firm is consistently ranked as a leading law firm for divorce and family law in Yorkshire by prestigious legal guides Chambers UK and Legal 500. An office move to bigger premises to accommodate the growing team is planned for the summer. 

Find out more:

When going through divorce, getting the very best legal advice can make a huge difference to your future.

If you think you may benefit from a free telephone consultation with acknowledged experts, call Harrogate Family Law on 01423 594 680. 

 

Beer festival season starts with three-day Henshaws event

The festival season kicks off this month with a family favourite in aid of one of the Harrogate district’s best-known charities. 

Henshaws Beer Festival will return with three days of fun for all ages from Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30.

There will be two adult evening sessions and two family-friendly daytime events.  

The beer festival will raise funds for Henshaws, which supports people living with sight loss and disabilities across the north of England. 

Festival-goers will be able to choose from a range of beers, gins, wines and ciders, all produced in Yorkshire.

Local breweries Cold Bath Brewing, Daleside, Harrogate Brewery – all in Harrogate – and Roosters and Turning Point, both in Knaresborough, will again be joining forces to support and supply the annual event.

An eclectic mix of live music across two stages will feature sets from local performers including Rory Hoy, reggae band Drop Leg Steppers, Hot Sauce and rapper Lence. 

Pop-up vendors will be serving a selection of freshly-cooked food, including pizza, Mexican and BBQ. There will also be fun activities and games for the children running throughout the day.   

Henshaws’ fundraising development manager Gemma Young said:

“The Arts and Crafts Centre offers a unique outdoor setting for the festival with a large stage area, undercover spaces and outdoor and indoor seating. For last year’s event, we welcomed over 850 guests and served over 4,000 drinks, and this year given the addition of the Friday night we look forward to welcoming even more visitors!”

Photo of Henshaws art-maker Ebonie, raising a glass at the Henshaws Beer Festival in 2022, with another Henshaws service-user in the background.

Henshaws art-maker Ebonie raises a glass at the Henshaws Beer Festival in 2022.

For 2023, Henshaws Beer Festival’s title sponsor is Harrogate-based 4Life Wealth Management. The company’s operations director, Gary Nash, said:

“We are delighted to support this popular Henshaws event and help the charity raise much needed funds for the brilliant work they do. This festival represents a fantastic opportunity to come together as a community.”   

Founded in 1837, Henshaws is one of the oldest charities in the UK. It employs around 360 members of staff and 232 volunteers, who support individuals, families and their carers who are living with sight loss, as well as a range of other disabilities.

The charity’s specialist college in Starbeck offers day and residential places for young people aged 18 to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities, and its Arts and Crafts Centre in Knaresborough helps people living with disabilities realise their artistic and personal potential. 

Tickets for the Henshaws Beer Festival are available online for £15, or £18 on the door (£5 for children over the age of three), and each visitor will receive a limited-edition souvenir pint glass and two half-pint drink tokens.  

Pic shows (left to right), Matthew Joyce, sales manager at Harrogate Brewing Co, Joe Joyce, owner at Harrogate Brewing Co, and Gary Nash, operations director at 4Life Wealth Management

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Falklands veteran meets ambassador in Ripon to return Argentinian soldier’s letter

A veteran of the Falklands War has presented a soldier’s letter he found 40 years ago to the Argentinian Ambassador to the UK in the hopes of finding its original owner. 

Jim Phillips, who lives in Ripon, was serving with the Royal Engineers in Port Stanley when he found a “bluey” – a blue-coloured airmail letter often used by soldiers posted overseas – which had been written by an Argentinian soldier to his wife or girlfriend back home. 

Knowing how much soldiers and their families in all countries value hearing word from each other, he wanted to return the letter, but it was lost during a house move. 

Fortunately, the letter came to light again just before Christmas 2022, when Jim was looking for something else. He said:

“I instantly sent an email to the Argentine embassy in London to help me get this letter to either the sender or recipient, or either of their families. I informed the embassy as I was coming down to London I could pop it into reception. No, they said, the ambassador will come to Ripon to accept the letter from me personally.” 

So last week, Jim met the Argentinian Ambassador to the UK, Javier Figueroa, over lunch at Grantley Hall, near Ripon, to hand over the lost letter.

Mr Figueroa, who has long taken a special interest in the Falkland Islands and last year said the war had been “stupid”, promised to do everything he could to ensure the letter got back to its rightful owner, a Corporal Balbuena.

In an Instagram post on the embassy’s account, Mr Figueroa called the the episode a “heartwarming story”, and said he “appreciated Mr Phillips’ gesture“.

A photo of a letter written by an Argentinian soldier called Corporal Balbuena to his wife or girlfriend during the Falklands War of 1982. The letter was found in Port Stanley by Royal Engineer Jim Phillips, who 40 years later has handed it to the Argentinian Ambassador to the UK, Javier Figueroa, in the hopes of finding its original owner.

The Argentinian soldier’s letter 

Jim said: 

“Hopefully, the Argentine soldier concerned is still alive and this letter will find its way back to him and perhaps he can then deliver it personally.

“On a personal note, I would like to thank Ambassador Figueroa for taking the time to come to Ripon to accept the letter, also to thank him for his hospitality, friendship and help in getting this letter home.” 

The Falklands War was fought over 10 weeks in 1982 and began when the right-wing military government of Argentina sent a surprise invasion force, which took possession of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia on April 2. 

The UK, then led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, dispatched a task force of ships, aircraft and soldiers to take back the islands, which are internationally recognised British Overseas Territories.

The conflict, which ended on June 14 with a British victory and the capture of more than 11,000 Argentine soldiers, claimed more than 900 lives, over 70% of them Argentinian. 

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