Knaresborough’s festival feel this month will be lubricated by the return of the town’s annual beer festival.

Beer will be flowing from 5pm on Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 20 at Knaresborough House. Entry is free.

Knaresborough Lions has once again organised the event as part of the town’s 10-day arts festival Feva.

Drinkers will be able to choose from 22 beers and seven ciders, along with lager, Prosecco, wine, Aperol Spritz and non-alcoholic drinks. There will also be a burger bar.

The beers include local favourites from Harrogate-based Roosters Brewing Company and other Yorkshire breweries as well as ales from further field, including Cornwall and Norfolk.

Ciders range from a traditional scrumpy to a perry or a marmalade-flavoured offering.

The main date is the Saturday afternoon when the beer festival will run alongside Feva’s Picnic in the Park at Knaresborough House.

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Lions president Bob Godsell said:

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed for sunshine again this year.

“Our profits from the beer sales help finance Picnic in the Park, so we’re looking forward to people being able to enjoy the live music with a delicious pint in hand.”

Visitors can buy a starter pack of six tokens for £12 which entitles them to three pints and a commemorative glass. Otherwise tokens will be on sale for £2 each with all pints priced at £4.

Sessions run from Friday 5pm-11pm, Saturday midday-11pm and Sunday midday-5pm — or until the beer runs out.

Further information, including taster notes, is available on the Knaresborough Lions Facebook page.

Photo shows (left to right), Lions Lynn Nudds, Jeremy Crow, Mark Flood, Martin Brock, Jon Smithells, Tony Pedel and Matt Walker

Several thousand people are expected to flock to Ripley on Sunday for one of the oldest village shows in the country.

Ripley Show, which dates back to 1849, is a traditional country show that celebrates agriculture and horticulture.

Held in the grounds of Ripley Castle, it is one of the larger village shows with more than 100 stands to browse, as well as numerous activities. An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people attend.

There will be Terrier racing and Shetland pony racing in the main ring, heavy horses, giant tortoises, sheep dog trials and ferret racing, as well as lots of judging of produce and children’s activities.

Sheep entries have been particularly strong this year, with more than 600 set to be judged in the various categories.

The sheep show returns and this year sees the introduction of a donkey show for the first time.

The event takes place from about 8.30am to 5pm and dogs on leads are welcome.

Ripley and District Agricultural and Horticultural Society organises the event on the second Sunday of August annually.

Show secretary Tammy Smith said:

“Visitors can expect a lovely traditional local show with lots of different attractions to keep them entertained all day.”

Early bird tickets, which are available here until midnight on Friday, cost £12 for adults and £5.50 for children aged five to 16. Family tickets, which allow for up to two adults and three children, are £30 and children under five can attend for free. The prices rise to £16, £7 and £36 on Saturday and on the day. Parking is free.

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Masham and Fountains councillor Felicity Cunliffe-Lister has written to the government urging it to help rural areas without broadband get connected.

About 300 homes in Masham and Fountains — about nine per cent of the total — are without fibre optic broadband to their premises.

A meeting organised by Cllr Lister last month heard this number might not reduce for several years.

This has prompted her to write to science, innovation and technology secretary Michelle Donelan asking her to bring back a voucher scheme that enabled people to install their own gigabit-capable connections at reduced cost.

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister, a Liberal Democrat who was elected to North Yorkshire Council this year, said in her letter:

“A voucher payment could, for example, help subsidise the cost of a Starlink satellite connection (£500), or for a community to pay to install a mobile mast or wireless broadband transmitter.

“This would otherwise be out of reach for most of my rural residents who are largely hill farmers, agricultural workers or otherwise on a relatively low income.”

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said the roll out of broadband had been effective in urban locations in North Yorkshire but “rural residents will be feeling more remote and isolated than ever before”.

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She added:

“There are many issues that are a daily challenge to living in remote locations, but a good broadband connection would be transformational and would help breathe life back into communities that are struggling to survive.

“In terms of the levelling up agenda, these are the residents who should have been first in the queue.”

A councillor has called for an urgent review of litter bins in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate after reports of dog poo bags piling up.

North Yorkshire Council has removed three bins close to Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre — formerly the Hydro — and replaced them with two larger bins.

The old bins were situated in areas used by walkers and dog owners but the new ones are alongside main roads.

This makes them easier to empty but less convenient for people using the fields around the leisure centre to use.

Consequently litter and dog waste bags are being left to pile up.

Councillor Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents the area on North Yorkshire Council, said the new bins were designed for dog waste and general waste and are emptied by household waste collection crews rather than requiring a separate collection.

He added:

“These have been successfully rolled out in the other villages I represent after some initial teething problems.

“I am however aware of the specific concerns raised in Jennyfields and have asked for an urgent review of the number and siting of the bins.”

Dog owners are discarding dog waste where the bins used to be on the fields rather than carry it to Ripon Road.

Jennyfields residents have contacted the Stray Ferret with their concerns since the new bins arrived last week.

Elizabeth Horner said:

“I live near the Hydro fields and the amount of rubbish from having no bins in area has got disgusting.

“Sadly I’ve counted 15 bottles on the field today.”

Dog walker Diana Salama added:

“I have spoken to seven other dog walkers who regularly walk their dogs at the Hydro. All were puzzled and confused as there is nowhere to easily dispose of poo.

“One lady commented that to go up to the main road meant a long detour and putting the dog on a lead and she would not do this.

“Two were confused and had ended up taking poo home but had no intention of doing this ongoing. Two had left poo bags where the bin used to be.”

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She added:

“No one felt the new concept was effective for dog walkers even though it’s clearly better for the council.”

Ms Salama said there was particular anger at the removal of the bin next to the basketball court.

The field near the basketball court.

The Stray Ferret spoke to several dog walkers in the area this morning who agreed. They said the amount of litter and dog waste in this area, where young people congregate, was worrying.

We asked North Yorkshire Council why the change had been made and whether any consultation had been carried out.

However, a spokesperson said the officer responsible was currently on leave and therefore it could not comment.

New bins being rolled out across Harrogate district

The new bin policy is being rolled out across the Harrogate district. About 250 small bins are being replaced by larger ones.

Dog walkers in nearby Knox expressed concerns in June when the change was implemented there.

Maxie Schiffman-Rowinski has complained to the council about the new dog waste bin in front of her house in Knox.

Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on the council, said the situation would be reviewed at the end of next month.

Cllr Haslam said the new approach freed up time for the street cleansing team to do other jobs, such as sweep streets.

He added it was also more environmentally friendly because the larger bins contained wheelie bins that could be emptied by machines whereas the smaller old bins contained plastic bags that had to be replaced regularly.

A flood-hit road near Ripon is expected to reopen to traffic on Friday.

A section of Dishforth Road on Sharow Lane closed on Monday following a burst water main.

The incident caused some of the carriageway to collapse, leaving a hole in the road.

It means motorists travelling to and from Ripon and up to the A1 are having to use alternative routes along Berrygate Lane and New Road at Sharow and through Copt Hewick to avoid the blockage while workmen carry out repair work.

The road on Monday

The road remains closed today but a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said:

“A team was sent to Dishforth Road to complete a repair following a leak.

“The repairs are underway, and we expect the road to be reinstated and opened on Friday.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused we thank customers for their patience.”

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A sword that saw action in the Charge of the Light Brigade will go under the hammer at an antiques and fine art sale in Ripon on Saturday.

The sword was carried by Lieutenant John Chadwick, a troop leader in the charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854.

Measuring just over a metre in length, the sword has been put up for sale by Lt Chadwick’s descendants and is expected to fetch between £500 and £700.

Regarded as one of the most infamous days in British military history, the battle lasted only 20 minutes and resulted in the deaths of 110 British soldiers with a further 161 wounded.

The near-suicidal charge was immortalised in Alfred Tennyson’s poem, depicting the plight of the 600-strong cavalry who rode into the ‘Valley of Death’.

Lt John Chadwick was one of only two officers taken prisoner at the battle. He managed to reach the Russian guns but his injured horse was unable to move any further and he was knocked from the saddle by an enemy lance.

The officer was taken prisoner by the Russians and released 12 months later at the end of the Crimean conflict. He died in Liverpool aged 52 in 1869.

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Made by London firm Firmin & Son, the sword is decorated with an 1847 pattern. It is etched with a crowned VR royal cypher and accompanied by the name XVII Lancers, which is surrounded by scrolling foliage.

It is one of more than 700 lots at Elstob Auctioneers sale in Ripon

Auction house director David Elstob said:

“It is amazing to have an object with such a fascinating backstory.

“The Charge of the Light Brigade is such a well-known event in its own right but the fact that we know such a lot about the sword’s owner adds even more to its appeal.

“Lt Chadwick’s Crimea Medal, with clasps for Alma, Balaclava and Sebastopol were sold for £14,000 at a London auction house in 2020, so we are expecting a considerable amount of interest in the sword.”

The silver, jewellery, antiques and fine art sale features ceramics and glass, metalwork, silver, Asian art, objects of vertu, militaria, textiles, rugs and carpets, clocks and instruments, antique furniture and Yorkshire oak.

Other militaria highlights in the sale include an officer’s full dress sabretache of the 2nd Durham Artillery Volunteers, Seaham – a flat leather pouch with long straps traditionally worn by cavalry officers to the side of the waist belt – and a Victorian officer’s full dress sword belt of the Ordnance Department.

The auction starts at 9.30am on Saturday. All lots can be viewed online at www.elstob.co.uk and bidding on the day of the sale can be made in person, over the telephone or online.

Items can be viewed at the Ripon-based saleroom the day before the sale from 10am until 4pm.

Plans have been submitted to install 12 electric vehicle charging points at Wetherby Services.

Gridserve, a sustainable energy firm in Kirk Deighton, has applied to North Yorkshire Council for the scheme just off junction 46 of the A1(M).

Gridserve was granted planning permission in November 2021 to alter the service station car park to create an electric vehicle charging hub for 24 vehicles. The application also included the creation of 17 additional car parking spaces in a new parking area.

The hub was completed in July 2022 but is not yet in use.

The new proposal, which appeared on the council website this week, has downsized the scheme to 12 charging spaces — half as many as the previous application — and no longer includes a new parking area.

Gridserve is also seeking permission to install electrical equipment that would enable the charging bays to be activated.

The company said in a letter to the council:

“The development is similar to that previously granted permission at the site, but at a smaller scale and with the addition of detailed specification of supporting electrical infrastructure to allow operation of existing and future chargers.”

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The letter adds:

“Gridserve is implementing and building a network of high-power chargers across the country that will provide UK motorists with fast, easy and low carbon charging solutions.

“Many will be located at existing destinations such retail parks and garden centres and will allow customers to use those amenities whilst being able to access dependable charging infrastructure.”

It added the government had a target to deliver at least six high powered EV chargers at every motorway service area across England by 2023.

The charging bays will be situated at the most northerly area of the car park, next to to the Days Inn hotel.

About 70 pheasants were killed today after gas cylinders caught fire near Ripon.

Firefighters from Ripon, Knaresborough and Harrogate rushed to Aldfield, which is about four miles west of Ripon, at 11.36am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said:

“Crews located five propane gas cylinders well alight that then spread to nearby pheasant sheds.

“Crews extinguished the fire before cooling the cylinders and damping down hotspots.

“The fire resulted in 100% fire damage to all of the cylinders, fire damage to a number of the pheasant sheds and approximately 70 pheasants died.”

Last month more than 32,000 chickens were killed in a fire at commercial premises near Upper Dunsforth in the Harrogate district.

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The Royal Mail has massively reduced the opening times at its Harrogate delivery office on Claro Road.

The site, where people collect mail they missed when it was delivered to their homes, is now open for just 14 hours a week.

It previously served customers for 42 hours a week, which means the service has been cut by two-thirds.

It is now open from 8am to 10am Monday to Friday and from 8am to noon on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.

It was previously open from 8am to 4pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8am to noon on Monday and from 8am to 6pm on Thursday. It opened from 8am to noon on Saturday and closed on Sunday.

The Royal Mail is reducing its opening times to two hours a day at half of its delivery offices.

Local people have expressed anger on social media about the changes, with many saying the times are inconvenient for people who work. One said:

“Why bother opening, most people are at work between them times. Saturday mornings are going to be busy.”

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‘Reduced need’

The Royal Mail said there was reduced need for customer service points, such as those provided at Claro Road in Harrogate.

A spokesperson said:

A Harrogate conservationist has called for signs to be put up urging children and dogs to avoid entering Oak Beck.

Keith Wilkinson described the situation as “desperate” after a series of incidents over the last fortnight have seen the beck turn brown.

The Environment Agency said last week it was “investigating the possible source of the pollution” after receiving “a number of reports of discoloured water”.

But after a brief recovery, the beck was heavily discoloured again today.

Oak Beck in Jennyfields this morning

Mr Wilkinson, who is honorary secretary of Bilton Conservation Group and chairman of the Nidd Gorge Advisory Partnership, said:

“The Oak Beck situation is desperate with daily pollution events for two weeks now — sand and silt from construction work, solids escaping from the open storm drain near The Hydro and a constant stream of what looks like detergent foam from high up near Birk Crag.

“It is totally unacceptable. Signs are needed urgently to warn children and dogs to keep out of the water.”