Knaresborough is getting into the festive spirit despite restrictions this year, with groups joining forces to put events on safely.

Each year the town hosts a number of festive events to draw in thousands of visitors, but this year it has had to adapt.

Representatives from St John the Baptist Church, Knaresborough Rotary, Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Knaresborough Town Council have put their heads together and come up with a plan.

To ensure all the town’s Christmas trees and decorations can be admired, a map has been designed to direct people to the 20 different trees around the trail.

The map means visitors who feel safer staying outdoors can still get into the festive spirit. Credit: Matthew Bourne.

The church’s annual Christmas tree festival is always a hit with visitors and tickets are selling fast for this year too. The group has limited the festival to only 40 trees to allow for social distancing, where previous years have seen up to 100 trees on display.

Visitors have to book online here prior to visiting. The festival will run from tomorrow, Saturday, December 12 to Wednesday, January 6, except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Reverend Garry Hinchcliffe, the rector at St John the Baptist, said:

“It’s become a real go-to event and we didn’t want people to miss out. After such a miserable year for so many, we wanted to show the light and hope of Christmas time.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough’s shops were excited to reopen after the second lockdown. 
• Church in Blubberhouses sets up a Christmas tree festival. 

The organisers have also got local schoolchildren involved by asking them to decorate Christmas stars to display in the windows.

Bill Taylor, treasurer of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, said:

“We wanted to make sure we still offered something to the town, in line with restrictions. We hope this will encourage people to come and give a boost to the town.”

Contactless stickers have also been placed throughout the town so people can make donations safely. The money will go towards the church and Cancer Research UK.

Staff from a Harrogate construction company travelled to London yesterday to deliver this year’s Downing Street Christmas tree.

HACS Group employees took the tree, which was chosen at a competition in Harrogate, from York to the country’s most famous house.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the 20 ft tree was the “first step to bringing us some festive cheer”.

The tree was grown by York Christmas Trees, which won last month’s annual Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year competition at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

After the HACS Group erected the tree it was decorated by an Oxfordshire company.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet, were among the judges.

Heather Parry, managing agent of event organisers the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, said:

“Today is a symbolic moment which shows the start of a Christmas which we have all been so focussed on.

“It was a significant boost that the government supported our members, recognising that Christmas trees are essential at this time of year and that the selling season is short; whilst understanding consumers are particularly keen to get their decorations up this year.”

HACS, which is based in Ripley, is an independent building and construction services contractor.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Wesley Centre is raising funds to offer local homeless and lonely people a hamper for Christmas Day. 
• The search for Harrogate’s most festive shop window has begun.

From today, Stockeld Park will be selling a selection of its Christmas trees from Harrogate Borough Council’s Horticultural Nursery in the Pinewoods.

It’s part of a collaboration in which 10 per cent of takings will go back to HBC. .

George Grant, who is the estate manager said:

‘We are going to be selling Stockeld Christmas trees in the heart of Harrogate for the first time. Basically doing it this way means we can sell our trees to the people in Harrogate and then 10 per cent of the sales goes straight back to the council to spend on the community. After the year we’ve had I think it’s really important to try and give something back and it’s just a nice thing to be able to do.’

Stockeld Park, based in Wetherby plants 60,000 trees each year, cutting 35,000 each time and has over half a million growing.

Trees both big and small will be able to be purchased from today, 27th Nov until 23rd December between the hours of 9.30 am and 3.30 pm.

A competition to find a Christmas tree for Downing Street was held in Harrogate today.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet were joined by last year’s winners from Devon and Leicestershire to judge the entries.

The competition has been running since 1999 but this is the first time it has been held in Harrogate. It is also the first time celebrity judges have been invited.

Due to covid, the participants were unable to attend in person.

They sent their trees to the Great Yorkshire Showground where the judges selected the winners in various categories, including the prestigious ‘champion Christmas tree grower of the year’.

York Christmas Trees was crowned the winner of that category and one of its trees will have the distinction of standing outside 10 Downing Street over the festive period.

The winner of champion festive wreath category was Welford Christmas tree farm from Northampton. Its wreath will hang on the door of the Prime Minister’s residence.

Read more:

• Christmas attractions continue to appeal to visitors despite covid changes. 
• Our survey showed people in Harrogate plan to do a third of their Christmas shopping in the town centre. 

Oliver Combe of York Christmas Trees said:

“We are a small local family business who have been growing trees for over 20 years. We are overwhelmed to have won the title of champion grower for 2020, it is a huge accolade!”

The competition is run by the The British Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Heather Parry, who is the managing agent for BCTGA as well as the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre said:

“The quality and the amazing scent of the trees on display was incredible; this is truly the Oscars for Christmas trees. It was heartening to hear also that many growers are selling more trees than normal, as consumers plan ahead to have a real Christmas tree as the centrepiece of their home this year”.

The competition to find Britain’s best Christmas tree, which will then stand outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street home, is to be held in Harrogate this month.

It is the first time the town has been chosen to stage the event, which also includes a category to find a champion wreath to hang on the PM’s door at number 10.

The competition will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground on October 28.

It is run by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is now managed by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

The association, which is a trade group for people who grow specialist Christmas trees, has 320 members nationally.

Yorkshire TV stars Amanda Owen, shepherdess on Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright, from Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, will join the judging panel.

Because of covid, growers will send their tress to the ground but will be unable to attend in person.

Heather Parry, managing agent for the BCTGA, who is also the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre, said:

“We are very much looking forward to seeing the best in the business being crowned, right here on the Great Yorkshire Showground. The champion tree winner will head to 10 Downing Street to provide that iconic Christmas tree for this year.”

Peter Wright said:

“There’s nothing like the scent of a real Christmas tree to really launch you into the festive spirit and I am really looking forward to seeing some of the best in Britain at the Showground.”

Read more:

• From Santa’s grottos to winter wonderland walks, events across the Harrogate district are seeing record levels of demand for the festive season. 
• Our survey revealed a third of Harrogate residents will do their Christmas shopping in the town. 

Many growers in the competition have changed their business to suit covid measures by, for instance, introducing online sales and allowing customers to pick their own tree with social distancing measures.

Christmas tree orders are reported to have already exceeded early orders from 2019.