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10
Feb
Harry Satloka: from butler to Harrogate’s iconic walking tour guide
Harry Satloka famously sports a waistcoat, tie and shorts even in the depths of winter, and can often be seen holding a large stick promoting his free walking tours followed by a flock of curious tourists.
He is easily recognisable in Harrogate and his walking tours have become something of an institution. But where did it all begin?
The Stray Ferret caught up with Harry last week, discussing how a mid-morning redundancy and a pint in Wetherspoons sparked the famous Free Walking Tours Harrogate.
Despite his extensive knowledge of Harrogate, Harry’s southern accent gives away his roots.
“My dad was from Bradford, but I grew up in Devon”, he told the Stray Ferret.
The now 32-year-old made many trips to Elland Road as a youngster, before eventually uprooting from London to Harrogate eight years ago. He said:
I did five years in London. I went into hospitality, and I was a butler for a little while. It was tremendously good fun but London was just a bit busy for me.
After doing a little job search, I saw a vacancy at Bettys. Obviously, I’d heard of the world-famous Bettys, so I came up for an interview. I stayed at The Crown Hotel and I fell in love with Harrogate.
Harry had done plenty of walking tours before moving to Harrogate, and he was surprised to find the town didn’t offer one – something that continued to niggle at him for years to come.
Eventually, Harry moved to a different role at a local restaurant in 2018. He said he quickly started working 80-hour weeks and life became very busy – the very thing he left London for.
Luckily, I was terrible and they sacked me. And like anyone that gets sacked at 11am, I got on the bus, came back to Harrogate and went to Wetherspoons for a pint.
I got half-way through my pint, and I thought to myself again: ‘I can’t believe no one is talking about the history of this town and the amazing buildings’. So, I left my pint and went straight to the library to do some research.
Within three weeks, I’d found a stick, made a sign and stuck them together. Ever since, I’ve just loved every minute of it.
Harry admits his job is "not the most profitable profession in the world".
He relies on tips, but he told the Stray Ferret he "quite literally runs away from guests" at the end of the tour to avoid them feeling any pressure to put their hands in their pockets.
But Harry said he does not host the tours for money:
I genuinely believe this is not a job you should only be able to do because you can afford it. I love it so much.
I'm not a blue badge guide, I'm not employed by the council, I’m just a wally in a waistcoat who likes telling stories.
If people are able to leave something that's great, but if they aren't, I'd much rather they be able to come on the tour and learn something. Maybe something clicks in someone and it means they get an extra grade on their GCSE – that would be more payment than anything.
Harry also works part-time in a local pub and will soon work breakfast shifts at a hotel during the week.
The cycling trip
Last July, Harry and his bike, Rudolph, set off on a 6,500km journey from Harrogate to Egypt.
Naturally, the tours were on pause during the trip and their future seemed uncertain until recently.
The Stray Ferret followed Harry’s adventure closely last year, after which he told us he was unsure whether the walking tours would return.
But fear not; the tours will resume on March 1, which you can read more about here.
The Stray Ferret asked Harry why he decided to take a break from the tours and embark on his mammoth journey to the Egyptian Pyramids.
Well, I’d always wanted to go on an adventure since I was a kid.
My parents were the best parents I could possibly hope for; they never saved a penny, but they spent every penny on taking us around the world.
Confined to his home during lockdown, Harry decided to put the wheels in motion for his cycling adventure.
"I was trying to think of the nearest far away place to go", he said. Harry thought Egypt was far enough away to sound impressive, but still an achievable distant.
Four-and-a-half years later, he set off from the Royal Hall and made his way through 17 countries.
His adventure was in aid of local charity Artizan International and he has so far raised nearly £3,000.
Harry told the Stray Ferret:
Life is busy, as I’m sure many of your readers can relate to, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
But, for four months my priorities were: find water, find food, find somewhere to sleep and how to cycle there. There were such beautiful views, and you meet incredible people on a daily basis.
Harry Satloka at the Egyptian Pyramids.
In true Harry-style, he donned his waistcoat, tie and flat-cap whilst on his bike ride.
He said this drew people to him more, which helped with donations to Artizan, and opened doors for him along the way.
The amount of people who offered me a place to stay or allowed me to camp in their garden or offered me food was incredible. People were generous everywhere, including England, but I found the people who had the least were the most generous.
I had a few breakages and punctures along the way, especially by the time I reached Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, but most workshops I went to would offer to do the work for free. Some of them charged literally three quid to change the tyres – that would cost £50 to £100 here.
But things didn’t go quite to plan, as Harry ended up hospitalised just three days before his end point.
As Harry cycled through a tunnel in Turkey, a van travelling at 50mph crashed into him.
I don’t remember it happening, but I’ve seen the CCTV once. I was wearing all my high-vis, flashing lights and I had a helmet on, but I think the driver was on his phone and wasn't concentrating. I think I must have gone flying over the handlebars. I had a lot of deep scratches underneath my arms.
The first thing I remember is stumbling out of the tunnel and the driver running over to me. He was stupid but he didn’t mean to do it. He carried my bike to the hospital, drove me 200km to the airport the next day and bought my lunch and my medication.
Now, I'm absolutely fine - I just have some pretty impressive scars.
Harry Satloka in Kahramanmaraş University Hospital after the collision.
Medical staff told Harry had he not been wearing a helmet, he would have died in the collision.
But not even a near-death experience managed to stop Harry and he reached his final destination at the end of October. He told us:
I would say that if you’ve ever had a niggling to go on an adventure, do it. The hardest step is getting out of the front door, after that it’s easy peasy.
I would also like to say the biggest thank to everyone that has been so generous and donated to the fundraiser. Also, a huge thank you to all of the Stray Ferret readers who donated and sent lovely messages of support. It helped me so much.
The Stray Ferret followed Harry's epic journey closely last year. You can find all our coverage here.
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