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25
Dec
Big Fat Stray Ferret Christmas Quiz 2025
Everyone loves a quiz at Christmas – it's one of those festive fixtures, like cracker jokes, the Radio Times and raiding the Quality Street after dinner.
So here are three rounds of questions to test both your knowledge of the local area and your memory of the year's biggest stories.
Grab yourself a drink, find a comfy spot and let the brain-teasing begin.
ROUND 1 – Local knowledge
1. As the crow flies, which is nearer to Pateley Bridge – Otley or Boroughbridge?
2. The Battle of Marston Moor was fought between Tockwith and Long Marston in 1644. It pitted 24,500 Parliamentarians and Scottish Covenanters against 17,500 Royalists. Who won?
3. The Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Harrogate Conference Centre (now the Harrogate Convention Centre) in 1982. Which singer won it, and which British act won the contest the year before?
4. How far is it as the crow flies from the very top end of Nidderdale, in the far north west of our district, to Nun Monkton near York, at the south-eastern edge? a) 22 miles b) 32 miles c) 42 miles
5. How many arches does the Crimple viaduct have? a) 11 b) 21 c) 31
6. Bogs Field, which now forms part of the Valley Gardens in Harrogate, is famous for having the world's highest concentration of unique mineral springs. How many different springs are there with unique chemical compositions? a)36 b) 52 c)203
7. The most famous resident in Knaresborough’s history, Mother Shipton, has been credited with many prophesies. Which of these events has not been attributed to her? a) the invention of cars b) space flight c) the Great Fire of London
8. Ripon Cathedral has only been known as Ripon Cathedral since 1836. What was it known as before then? a) Ripon Abbey b) Ripon Great Kirk c) Ripon Minster
9. As the crow flies, which coast is Harrogate closest to – the east coast or the west coast?
10. Harrogate has attracted many famous visitors over the years. Which of these people is not known to have come to the town? a) Nelson Mandela b) Karl Marx c) Bill Clinton
ROUND 2 – Odd one out
In each of the following images, three of the four pictures have something in common. What is it, which is the odd one out, and why?
1. Well, well, well...
2. A bridge too far?
3. Community statues.
4. The tower and the glory.
5. Monumental oddities.
6. Another pic on the wall.
ROUND 3 – News round
1. North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for information following the theft in January of an unusual item from a field in Kirkby Overblow. What was it? a) a life-size plastic cow b) a rainbow-striped wind turbine c) a wattle-and-daub alpaca shelter
2. Volunteers surveyed the pipes flowing into Oak Beck and Bilton Beck in Harrogate over the summer. Of the 64 outfall pipes they identified, how many were actively polluting the rivers? a)7 b) 29 c) 41
3. Hollywood came to Knaresborough in January and February, when Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson filmed Christmas feelgood movie Tinsel Town at several locations around the town. They weren’t the only recognisable names in the cast list, but which of these actors is not in the film? a) Meera Syal b) Derek Jacobi c) Joanna Lumley
4. In July, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority pumped another £2 million into North Yorkshire Council’s controversial Harrogate Station Gateway scheme. How much is the project now estimated to cost? a) £4.16 million b) £6.41 million c) £14.6 million
5. Green Party councillors on North Yorkshire Council criticised Sir Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, for blaming environmental measures for the £11.7 million overspend of the Kex Gill bypass scheme. What did Sir Julian cite as a reason for the cost overrun? a) road-crossing tunnels for hedgehogs b) gravel beds for spawning fish c) rocks for sunbathing lizards
6. In a high-profile example of Harrogate’s many roadworks schemes over the year, the town’s widest road was subject to over five months of resurfacing and remodelling work. Which road was it?
7. The campaign to save Rotary Wood – part of Harrogate’s Pinewoods – from development by Harrogate Spring Water has attracted support from some influential corners, including Chris Packham and Julia Bradbury. Which of these actors has also lent their support to the cause? a) Dame Helen Mirren b) Dame Judi Dench c) Dame Penelope Keith
8. The 80th anniversary of VE Day was marked over a sunny weekend in May. Soldiers from which British Army regiment marched through the streets of Ripon to ceremonially exercise its Freedom of the City?
9. Harrogate Town's EFL Trophy win against Huddersfield Town in September was briefly halted due to an unusual pitch invader. But what kind of noisy nuisance was it? a) a drone b) a dog c) a seagull
10. Former St Aidan's pupil Ollie Skinner walked out of a meeting with a London PR firm earlier this year. Why? a) they criticised his choice of footwear b) they asked him to demonstrate his sense of rhythm c) they suggested he toned down his Yorkshire accent
How well did you do?
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