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20
Apr
'Absolutely horrendous': Harrogate's cherry blossom attracts hundreds – but not everyone is happy
Anyone driving along York Place in Harrogate at the weekend will have noticed that Cherry Tree Walk looked unusually busy.
That’s because the blossom is at its peak and attracting hundreds of visitors from across the region and beyond – but its popularity isn’t welcomed by everyone.
An anonymous poster took to social media yesterday (Sunday) to post what they called a “huge moan” on the Harrogate Facebook page.
They wrote:
Just got back from the cherry blossom walk. It was horrendous. Two people with a set of decks in the Tewit Well, blaring out dance/rave music like a nightclub, so that took over any visit or photo opportunity for absolutely anyone else and set an atmosphere of some kind of fairground rave.
People literally laying, draping themselves on the paths blocking the whole walkway for everyone for photos, footballs flying into the path, scooters and bikers not even looking where they were going.
Several tents set up, multiple groups of up to 20 at a time setting up camp by the paths eating and littering. Influencers or whatever holding people back so they could get the perfect photo then letting people pass. People ripping branches/blossoms off for a cute photo them throwing them on the floor.
Never experienced anything like it. Luckily, I am local and will go back at a quieter time, but wow. Just wow. It was absolutely horrendous.
People come from miles around to see the blossom on the Stray.
'Utterly ridiculous'
The "huge moan” received a huge response, and reactions among the 160-plus replies have been mixed.
Some are in complete agreement with the original poster.
Anne Paul wrote:
It never used to be like this, what a shame.
Cy Lu visited yesterday to take photos and wrote:
...it was utterly ridiculous. Like a theme park or something.
It's turned into a bit of a daft tourist attraction, to be honest.
Cherry Tree Walk has become increasingly popular in recent years.
In response to someone suggesting that visitors from south of Harrogate were to blame for any antisocial behaviour, Sarah Stead wrote:
People from Leeds! How dare they?! Seriously, it was lovely to see so many families having a great time and enjoying the sunshine and the blossom. No crime or trouble.
Only thing I object to is picking the blossom. I saw one woman with a whole shopping trolley full. It would be dead by the time she got home! Such a shame! A coffee van and ice cream van would be great!
The blossom with York Place in the background.
'Creating fond memories'
But the majority of replies to the original post so far have come from people who see the blossom’s popularity as a good thing.
Sara Shbib, who also visited yesterday, wrote:
Yes, it was really busy, but it was so refreshing to see so many people enjoying these blossoms, each in their own ways, from all ages and nationalities.
We didn’t see any littering or cutting branches. We actually were thinking that how nice it is that there are so many people yet not a single littering.
We noticed the young lads of the DJ. Yes, we thought their music is not really within the atmosphere, but I also thought they are such talented young boys and good for them – they are following their passion and try[ing] to show it to the world.
Some posters pointed out that Harrogate was built on tourism, so should expect tourists.
Nicholaus Stephen Lamming also saw the positive side of the blossom's popularity. He wrote:
It was crazy busy but, taking a step back, it was lovely to see whole families playing, picnicking and generally just enjoying the surroundings.
It’s so cool to see how the beauty of the Stray is being used and is creating some fond memories for other families.
The walk has become a popular backdrop for family photos.
The hanami trend
A third group of respondents were simply interested in the question of how Cherry Tree Walk became such a tourist attraction. The avenue was created when 100 double-flowering cherry trees were planted across the Stray to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
But for most of its existence, it has been a picturesque diversion, rather than a full-blown tourist attraction.
Julie Allison wrote:
I don't remember when it became a thing for swathes of folk to visit the blossoms.
Two paths on the Stray are lined with special double-flowering cherry trees.
In fact, cherry blossom in general has attracted more attention in recent years as awareness has grown of the Japanese tradition of hanami – or ‘blossom-viewing’.
In 2011, the owners of The Japanese Shop in Harrogate, Jez Willard and his Japanese wife Hiromi, organised Harrogate’s first ever hanami picnic to raise funds for the Red Cross Japan Tsunami Disaster Appeal.
They raised about £8,000 – and it seems that word has spread ever since. The Telegraph and Time Out have both named the Stray among the 10 best places in the UK to see cherry blossom, and more people turn out to view them every year.
In recent years, social media has supercharged the trend, and Cherry Tree Walk has loomed large on many an Instagram page.
Responding to the “huge moan” post, Janet Waite wrote simply:
Tiktok has a lot to answer for!
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