Covid lockdowns put a two-year hold on the outdoor activities of the Dales Canoe Club, but members of all ages will soon be taking to the water once more.

The multi-generational, family-focused club has 40 paddlers aged from 11-year-olds to people in their mid-70s, who come from across the Harrogate district..

They keenly await April 28, when they will head for the River Nidd in Knaresborough for their first meet of the season.

Between then and September, the Thursday evening gatherings will be held on rivers and canals throughout the Yorkshire Dales and further afield.

Winter practice at Starbeck Baths.

Fundraiser Jeremy Dunford has been involved with the club since 2015, when his son Reuben started as a novice.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We had a boost with a successful application to the National Lottery, which brought nearly £10,000 and we have also received financial support from North Yorkshire County Council.

“The money has ensured that we are able to take all the new paddlers on the river at the same time over the summer.

“A key principle of the club is to ensure that paddling is affordable to all and the equipment can be expensive.

“We keep a certain amount of stock but this ages quickly as well as getting damaged. All our new paddlers have access to club kit for as long as they need (including kayaks and paddles).”

The club caters for people of all ages, from children to grandparents

Through the winter, members have been practicing at Starbeck Baths, but with the warmer weather and lighter nights they will be back on river banks across the region and ready to go immediately after the Easter holiday.

Educational and enjoyable

Mr Dunford said:

“Paddlers often use their involvement with the club as a springboard to academic progression elsewhere. One is currently studying outdoor adventure sports at uni having done, as my son did, a BTec in outdoor adventure sports at  Askham Bryan and this in turn has enabled them to get places on camp in Canada.

“Some members also use the club as part of BTec course evidence, GCSE Sports Science and D of E awards evidence.

“We welcome, paddlers with conditions such as epilepsy, autism and ADHD, all of whom have had their paddling experience adjusted to ensure their needs are met.”

Members enjoy the social, as well as the sporting activities of the club.

Long-term members

The club started in 1976. and Maurice Young, a retired GP now in his 80s who took his sons along from day one, has been chairperson since 1978..

Dave Titchmarsh, who is the second in command, is a paddler in his 70s and has been with the club for many years as well.

One of the club’s senior members, Ted Walton, started as a teenager and is now in his 50s and leads a lot of activities.

The club, which adheres to all safety standards, currently has a full complement of members but opportunities for more people to join in September will open up as some move on to university.

Further details are available by clicking here.

Read More:

• A sport for all across the Harrogate district
• Harrogate man wins gold at Parkinson’s table tennis world championships

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Skipton Road ‘improvements’ have made delays worse

At 9.30am today (Wednesday) it took me 16 minutes to drive between the New Park and Empress roundabouts in Harrogate, a distance of just over a mile.

The recent ‘improvement’ to the traffic lights at the junction of King’s Road and Woodfield Road has made Skipton Road jams much worse, in both directions.

When will North Yorkshire County Council return to remedy these problems where the traffic lights are not giving anything like enough time to motorists on the main Skipton Road, and how much has this wasted work cost so far?

Liz Carnell, Knox Way, Harrogate

Get it beeping right!

I read your articles about beeps at pedestrian crossings.

I have reasonably good eyesight and hearing but I entirely agree with Mr Raho that beeps are really necessary at pedestrian crossings and should be installed, as they do help so much when trying to cross.

Patricia Perry, Harrogate

Our MP is in first gear

I read last week’s letter about Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones’ lack of communication on his website.

It’s because it’s such a safe seat and he thinks he will walk it again at the next election — he’s in first gear all the way.

Michael Ward, Knaresborough

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

The Inn South Stainley is to introduce parking charges for people who do not use the venue.

The pub, midway between Harrogate and Ripon on the A61, has a 36 bus route directly outside.

Some people going to Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds use the site as a free park and ride.

Meters and signs have been introduced explaining that it will cost £2 to park for up to two hours, £4 for up to three hours and £5 for up to 10 hours.

Anyone using the pub, or the adjoining 12-bedroom accommodation, will be able to put their vehicle details into a touchpad screen when they enter to avoid the charge.

Read more:

• Parking meters installed in Ripley car park
• Residents submit complaint over South Stainley solar farm decision

Bar manager Chris Chapman said:

“Because the bus stop is right outside, people park and jump on the bus to go to Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds.

“We won’t be charging customers.”

The Stray Ferret revealed in February that parking meters had been installed in Ripley Castle Car Park.

The car park was also used for free by some people who then caught the 36 bus.

A woman has died in a house fire in the village of Brearton near Knaresborough.

Fire crews from Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon and Boroughbridge were summoned to the home by concerned neighbours at just after 10pm last night.

The home suffered severe fire, heat and smoke damage to the living room, hallway and front of the property, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A statement issued by North Yorkshire Police this afternoon sadly confirmed that a person had died:

Despite the efforts of firefighters and paramedics to save her life, a woman aged in her late 60s sadly died at the scene. Her family are being supported by the police.

Firefighters had to put the blaze out and ventilate the smoke-filled property.

There were no other occupants, and no neighbouring properties were damaged.

The police and fire service are asking people to come forward with any information that could help the inquiry.

If you can help, contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room. Please quote reference number 12220056029 when providing details.

Read More:

• Firefighters battle large wildfire near Brimham Rocks
• Man suffers serious head injuries in minibus collision in Knaresborough

After 10 years in its town centre location, Harrogate Montpellier Petanque Club is set to expand to a new home this year. 

The club has been based at the pierhead bouledrome close to Bettys since it was founded in 2012. 

However, with a growth in membership and a change in the way people are playing, it has outgrown the site and has ambitions to develop further.

Club chairman Nigel Clay told the Stray Ferret: 

“Petanque has been a life-saver for a lot of people during covid. It was something you could do which was relatively safe: it was sociable but at a distance. 

“It has changed the pattern of play – it has been far more informal and become far easier. Rather than just the fixed times organised by the club, people have formed a WhatsApp group and are meeting up whenever they’re free.” 

The sport – also known as boules – is closely associated with France. However, it has origins in ancient Greece and is widely played in south-east Asia. 

The Harrogate club was set up by Nigel after he moved to Harrogate in 2009, having established petanque terrains near his previous home in Leeds. 

The new location for the Harrogate Montpellier Petanque Club 

With club membership now around 50 – just a small percentage of the number of people who have used the terrains over the years – a larger site is needed to add to its existing four pistes. Expecting to outgrow the pierhead, Nigel had already been researching potential locations before covid struck. 

Now, over the coming weeks, 10 pistes will be built on the current car park at Pannal Ash Junior Football Club near Almsford Close in Harrogate. Not only will this provide more playing space, but the clubhouse facilities – including a kitchen and toilets – can also be shared by petanque club members. 

The central terrain in Harrogate has proved a good way to drum up interest in the past, with passers-by often stopping to ask about the game, and Nigel hopes the new suburban location will continue the club’s growth in the coming months. 

Surrounded by family homes and adjacent to a primary school, the terrain will welcome players of all ages – and the open surroundings will allow people to come and watch. Both he and the football club hope the site will become more vibrant over the coming years. 

“They share our vision of providing a community resource for residents. It’s like the pierhead: if it’s standing there doing nothing, what is it?  

“If people see us playing and ask questions and you say, ‘come and have a game’, it develops interest.” 

Read more:

• Work to begin on new boules court in Darley
• Pannal Ash juniors take home the cup
• Foundation to run sports clubs for disadvantaged children in Harrogate

Nigel said as well as being accessible to people of all ages and levels of fitness, one of the most appealing aspects of petanque is its affordability. A set of boules costs around £20 and will last for many years.  

For anyone wishing to join the club, membership costs a similar amount, and playing time is limited only by daylight and weather conditions. 

And there is good news for the many people who have enjoyed seeing the town centre pistes in use: they will remain in situ for both club members and the public to use whenever they want.

In 2008, Claire Baxter was struggling to get a post as an art teacher.

She was pregnant and needed to work.

So to make money, she turned towards her artwork and started to exhibit with the White Rose Artists, hanging her work on the railings in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens hoping for some sales.

National art award

Fast forward to 2022, Claire is a successful artist with her own gallery in Pateley Bridge and has just been nominated for a national art award.

But the mum-of-two, from Bilton, is the first to admit it has not been an easy road to success.

“I had various jobs after university, where I did a fashion degree, and then had jobs in retail. I then became a teaching assistant and then trained to be an art teacher and eventually qualified in 2007.

“In 2008 I still didn’t have a position. I was not long married, I was pregnant with my daughter and did a solo exhibition in a Harrogate nursing home, Larchfield Manor.

“From there I was asked by a lady who was part of a group called the White Rose Artists, and they exhibited in the Valley Gardens on certain Sundays in the summer and would I like to join them. I did that for 10 years. People started to learn that I would be down at the gardens and it helped me to build up a following.”

Inside Claire’s gallery in Pateley Bridge.

‘I worked every hour possible’

Claire, who was born and raised in Knaresborough, did eventually manage to get a teaching post in 2009.

But after her second child was born in 2012, her career as an artist really took off.

She said:

“I worked every hour possible, painting and developing a distinctive style, bagging greetings cards, creating a website and building up social media following, knocking on gallery doors, booking fairs and making new contacts.

“I started to book shows and fairs, taking more commission bookings and built up a following until I was in a position where I could move house and convert the garage into a purpose built studio.”

Read more: 

• Brown plaque to commemorate Harrogate’s royal fashion designer
• Harrogate’s Tewit Youth Band wins flurry of awards

Calendar run

She also remembers personally hand-delivering her calendars to all her customers.

She said:

“I used to announce on social media when I was going to do my calendar run.

“I used to start in Knaresborough at all the addresses of people who had ordered them and for about four hours I would drive the route through Starbeck and back up to Harrogate and home. My car was filled up with calendars and lists of names, a flask of tea and my credit card machine.

“I literally spent all night going from door-to-door. It was things like that which helped me get to where I am today. I used to do shows when I was pregnant and my kids were with me in prams while I was was selling. It has been a self-driven, just chipping away and trying to get acknowledged.”

New gallery

She soon realised she was juggling too much and eventually gave up teaching in 2014, safe in the knowledge she could always go back to it if needed.

She said:

“In January 2019 I was able to take the lease on a gallery in Pateley Bridge. The gallery has been hugely successful and in November 2021, we were able to move to a more prominent position on the High Street, which already has proved to be a huge success.

“It has been a bit crazy as it was never a planned thing to be an artist. It was circumstance, opportunity and hard work that led me that way.”

Claire’s gallery on Patelely Bridge High Street.

Claire is a proud Yorkshire artist and always tried to capture ‘God’s Own County’ in her work, with the real locations and characters all developed through observations. Many of her paintings feature the Harrogate district, which she loves to capture.

Tour de Yorkshire

She was named as the official Tour de Yorkshire artist in 2020, a title she continues to hold despite uncertainty surrounding the cycle race.

She said:

“I finished the work in March 2020 and we went into lockdown.

“Obviously then the Tour de Yorkshire never happened, although the work is complete. In fact lockdown came in the week it was meant to be released to the media. So that was a bit of a blow.

“We don’t know what is happening with the Tour de Yorkshire, so having this national award opportunity is huge.”

National award

Claire is among five finalists in the running for the title of UK’s Most Popular Artist, which has been launched by the Fine Art Trade Guild.

She said:

“I submitted ‘Last of the Summer Wine’, which I painted in oil last year in my usual quirky, fun style. Set in Swaledale, the painting was partly inspired by lockdown.

“It’s a true celebration of getting back out, spending time with friends and enjoying the simple things we had missed.

“The image has proven to be very popular.

“I am absolutely thrilled and very excited to be a finalist. Even if I don’t win, to me, I’ve already won by coming this far. It’s a massive thing for little me.

“I paint because I love what I do and the joy of being able to put my thoughts and visions into the reality of a scene for others to enjoy is very rewarding. I never thought that a national award would be in my reach when I was starting out as it hasn’t been an easy journey.”

Last of the Summer Wine.

Claire has always loved art and studied the subject at both GCSE and A-Level at St John Fisher, before going on to do an art foundation course at Harrogate College.

She said:

“I am actually still in touch with my art teacher from school and it was him who helped me to get some experience to be able to become a teacher myself.

“I don’t think I’ll ever go back into teaching now as I’m just too busy with my art.”

Advice

And her advice for any budding artists hoping to make it a full-time career?

“Build up as much work as you can. Establish your own style and just keep chipping away. It could take a very long time, but it’s worth it in the end.

“It really is a case of not taking no for an answer and it’s sometimes accepting the criticism that you get. It’s really important to listen to the criticism as well as the praise. It’s hard sometimes but you learn from it.”

The award ceremony will take place in Stratford upon Avon on May 13. To vote, click here.

A motorist whose driving caused concern to a member of the public was arrested by police in Harrogate after giving a positive drugs test.

The member of the public has been praised by North Yorkshire Police for contacting them about the way in which the vehicle was being driven.

In a  Facebook post, which included a photograph of the the roadside wipe test kit that had been used, police said:

“The driver, a man in his 20s, gave this positive reading for cocaine and white powder was located during a search of the vehicle.

“He was arrested and a blood sample has been obtained which will be sent off for analysis.”

The motorist was stopped by police after a member of the public raised concerns about the standard of his driving

“The consequences could have been much more serious – so a huge thank you to the person who called us.

“We always say if you are concerned about someone’s driving, call us and in this case, earlier this week, a motorist was stopped by one of our officers after a member of the public contacted us concerned about the standard of their driving in Harrogate.”

The government warns motorists about use of drugs and driving, saying:

“It’s illegal to drive if either:

• you’re unfit to do so because you’re on legal or illegal drugs
• you have certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood (even if they have not affected your driving)

“The police can stop you and make you do a ‘field impairment assessment’ if they think you’re on drugs. This is a series of tests, for example asking you to walk in a straight line. They can also use a roadside drug kit to screen for cannabis and cocaine.

“If they think you’re unfit to drive because of taking drugs, you’ll be arrested and will have to take a blood or urine test at a police station.

“You could be charged with a crime if the test shows you’ve taken drugs..

There are fears that about 10 peacocks have been secretly killed in Killinghall.

A muster of peacocks has roamed the village for years. But the number exploded last year to as many as 16, upsetting some residents with their loud screeching and damage to gardens.

There were calls for the peacocks to be rehomed — but it seems someone may have taken matters into their own hands.

Killinghall Parish Council said in a statement on social media yesterday it was “made aware that there are concerns regarding our resident peacocks”.

It added:

“There have been sightings of only four of the birds and people are speculating as to what has become of the rest.

“If action was taken to remove any of the peacocks, the parish council is unaware of this and certainly had no involvement.”

Parish council unfairly blamed

Last year, after receiving complaints about peacock anti-social behaviour, the parish council had suggested working with residents to address the problem.

It floated the idea of rehoming and even looked into the possibility of neutering — an idea that was dropped as impractical.

Read more:

• Some Kilinghall peacocks could be re-homed
• Councillor fails in bid to rehome Peter the Peacock on his farm

The parish council said yesterday it hadn’t received any further communication from residents since last year.

Nevertheless, its attempts to respond to concerns.have led to some unfair speculation on social media that it was responsible for the missing birds — something it has been keen to clarify that it wasn’t.

Speculation is now rife about the fate of the peacocks, with some suspecting a disgruntled villager may be responsible.

There are also fears for the safety of the remaining birds, which tend to roost in a large tree in the new development at the back of Cautley Drive.

Some residents in nearby Bilton were upset last year when its resident peacock, Peter, was rehomed by the RSPCA animal charity after concerns for his welfare. He is believed to be in Lancashire.

A fundraiser has been set up to help Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club buy a new outdoor marquee.

The club in Starbeck has football and rugby teams.

Anne Mitchell, who set up the gofundme page, said the marquee was purchased during the covid pandemic for people to meet outside safely.

The marquee was used for birthday parties and other special occasions outside.

However, it was damaged during Storm Arwen in November and has since not been replaced.

The club aims to raise £10,000 to buy a new marquee to host events outside safely.

In a post on its Facebook page, Harrogate Railway said:

“During the covid pandemic, the club purchased a large marquee to provide an outdoor facility. It has been widely utilised during that time for local people to host a variety of events including  celebrations, group meetings, local events, social or family gatherings and much more. 

“Sadly during one of the storms this winter the marquee has been completely destroyed

“We want to be able to offer that same fantastic facility this year but we need your help to raise funds to purchase a new marquee.”

For more information on the fundraiser and to donate, visit the gofundme page here.

Read more:

• Pannal Ash juniors take home the cup
• Harrogate Town plans new clubhouse at stadium
• Bid to save ‘at risk’ Harrogate district bowls clubs

Harrogate-based autism advocate Thomas Henley wants to use his profile as a popular podcaster and YouTuber to help other people that might be struggling with autism.

Mr Henley was diagnosed as autistic aged 10 and said his years at Rossett High School were “quite a bad experience” as he struggled with the condition and poor mental health.

Despite his difficult teenage years, he is a former Commonwealth Championship gold medalist in Taekwondo. He’s also a model for Born Anxious, a clothing line set up to support children with autism.

Mr Henley invites guests onto his YouTube channel Asperger’s Growth and his podcast Thoughty Auti Podcast to discuss topics related to autism, including dating, mental health, university and the workplace.

He said:

“The first thing I learned was the extent to which autistic people struggle in the school system. Everyone I talk to says secondary school tends to be a traumatic environment. It can cause a lot of long-term mental health conditions.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Geek Retreat to create autism-friendly space
• Knaresborough photographer hoping to change perceptions of autism

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, which is backed by the United Nations and aims to raise awareness about people with Autism Spectrum Disorder throughout the world.

Mr Henley said his podcast and YouTube channel have helped him have a greater appreciation for how different people feel about autism. He said some may see it as a medical condition or disability, whereas others say it has lots of benefits.

He said:

“It’s a very individual thing but we think, see, perceive feel and communicate differently. It’s been shown that’s really beneficial for some work places. 

“We are very emotionally intune, it’s a very misunderstood part of autism. The cognitive ability to notice and categorise, that’s the bit with we struggle with.

“What we don’t struggle with is when we know someone is struggling or needing support, that tends to be very, very strong.

“Over the course of four or five years I worked a lot on myself. But my podcast is less about sharing my experiences and more about trying to help other autistic people.”

Mr Henley encouraged any autistic teenagers in Harrogate who might be struggling to make the most of the wealth of resources that are available online, which can help them feel like they are not alone.

“One of the best things you can do is learn more about autism from a young age.

“Follow a lot of people on Instagram and YouTube and you will learn about yourself. There are lots of resources online. For example, if you’re young, female and autistic, there is Siena Castellon’s The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide.

“It’s good to hear autistic people talking about what it’s like to being autistic.”