One of Harrogate’s most historic family businesses is to offer tours during this year’s Heritage Open Days.

The annual open days, which take place from September 8 to 17, give people the chance to visit historic and cultural sites for free.

Harrogate Civic Society, which organises events in and around Harrogate, is finalising its list for 2023 but is already advertising more than 20.

Among the highlights are visits to jewellers and watch-makers Ogden of Harrogate, which has been a feature of James Street since 1893. Visitors have included Winston Churchill, the Roosevelts and King George VI.

Tours hosted by two of the fifth-generation family members will reveal artefacts relating to the business and family history, plus its in-house workshop and the firm’s 1937 replica of the imperial state crown.

Visitors will also learn about James Roberts Ogden’s interest in archaeology and his work with Howard Carter to test and replicate ancient objects found in the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb.

The Ripon gazebo

This year’s Heritage Open Days also includes new heritage walks led by experts in Pannal, Ripley and Valley Gardens, along with tours of the belltower at St Wilfrid’s on Duchy Road in Harrogate, Stonefall Cemetery and the Harrogate Club.

Outside Harrogate, there is the chance to explore How Stean Gorge in Nidderdale, stroll in the surroundings of Ripon’s 18th century gazebo and have a backstage tour of Pateley Playhouse.

Events are free but many have to be booked. Further details and a searchable list of events is available here.

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How Stean Gorge is urging people to head outdoors in an effort to improve mental health.

The advice comes ahead of  World Mental Health Day, which takes place across the globe on Monday.

The Nidderdale visitor attraction, carved out over thousands of years by waterflow, features an 80ft-deep chasm and underground cave network.

Recently, it has welcomed yoga and wild swimming to its outdoor activities, which include rock climbing, canoeing, abseiling, caving and gorge scrambling.

Above the gorge it also boasts the only Via Ferrata – a series of high wire and zip wires– in Yorkshire; one of just three in the UK.

Tony Liddy, director of How Stean Gorge, in Lofthouse, said:

“It’s proven that children and adults who spend more time in nature are healthier, happier and more resilient. It may be clichéd but it’s proven that nature does have healing qualities, it is our Natural Health Service.”

Studies show being in nature helps to reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones.

Mr Liddy said:

“We’re becoming a bit of a hot spot for natural detoxing, offering a complete escape. Our upcoming Springtime Cleanse will include yoga, wild swimming and gorge walking, whilst our Flow Back to Nature Weekend Retreat offers yoga, Stand Up Paddleboarding and bushcraft. The perfect antidote to stressful, hectic lives.”

Some experts are urging cold water outdoor swimming to be adopted as a public health measure, as it’s proven to help reduce inflammation, which is linked to health issues ranging from heart disease to depression.

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Outdoor activities generally can advance motor skills, lower body mass index, improve muscle strength and generally boost overall health. Mentally, outdoor challenges can improve self-confidence, independence and self-esteem.

Mr Liddy said:

“Taking on physical challenges has huge mental health benefits. Our team of trained adventure instructors encourage visitors of all ages and skill-levels to take the opportunity to push themselves, mentally and physically. It boosts confidence, helps you overcome fears, and is a fantastic stress-buster. Ultimately, it’s about having fun.”

Other proven benefits include better resilience, being present in the moment, boosting creativity and problem solving.

The gorge has recently undergone a major face-lift, expanding its 20-pitch campsite and installing six new eco-friendly chalets with hot tubs and wood burning stoves.

Mr Liddy added:

“We’ve transformed the site with our ambitious expansion plans to cater to the huge demand for adventure tourism. We want to showcase nature’s stunning playground in this unique gorge that has existed for ten thousand years, since the last Ice Age.”

Graded as a triple Site of Special Scientific Interest, the gorge hosts geological formations, features bats hanging from its caves and fossils frozen in its limestone.

How Stean Gorge has revealed plans to expand under new management.

The 10,000-year-old gorge in Nidderdale currently provides abseiling, gorge scrambling, caving, canoeing and a high ropes course.

Tony Liddy, 33, and Rebecca Verity, 29 who have taken over control of the site after working there for more than a decade, have revealed a five-year plan to install 11 chalets, including hot tubs and wood burning stoves.

The attraction currently has a 20-pitch campsite. The new chalets will sleep up to 11 people each.

Mr Liddy said there was “huge demand for adventure tourism”, adding:

“We’re transforming the site with these ambitious expansion plans with an eco-friendly build in fitting with the spectacular setting.”

Pre-covid the centre, previously run by Stan and Ann Beer, attracted about 10,000 people each year for outdoor activities.

The new owners said bookings for hen and stag weekends had doubled since the lifting of restrictions.

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There are also plans to revamp the visitor centre, with new interpretation boards containing historical surveys and maps of its cave network.

How Stean Gorge employs 18 full and part-time members of staff with an additional 10 casual instructors. Mr Liddy said:

“We’re very proud to be continuing the values of Stan and Ann, they helped raise How Stean Gorge into a leading visitor attraction, as well as a vital lifeline for local employment and our rural economy. It’s a fantastic legacy, and we are incredibly excited to take that on and build on that hard work.”

The dark sky above the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is one of the most beautiful and darkest in the country.

Being free from light pollution, it is the perfect place for families to stargaze.

Now, visitors to one of the area’s top tourist attractions are being invited to view the stars from a canoe at Scar House Reservoir as part of the seventh Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Park Dark Skies Festival.

How Stean Gorge is hosting a series of activities and pizza nights for the festival, which is returning from February 18 until March 6 after it was forced to go virtual last year due to covid restrictions.

It comes after the Yorkshire Dales National Park was officially granted the status of an ‘International Dark Sky Reserve’ at the end of 2020, making it one of the best places in the world to view the skies above.

Astronomy lovers will be able to glide and paddle a rafted canoe on the reservoir, one of three Dark Sky Discovery Sites in the Nidderdale AONB, surrounded by the moon and the stars.

Tony Liddy, head of outdoor education and estates manager at How Stean Gorge, said:

“Scar House Reservoir is one of the darkest places in the UK because there is no light pollution. When the weather is on your side, you can go up there and it is perfect – flat and calm and not a cloud in the sky.

“We do the trips with small numbers, with 16 for each trip, which last around 90 minutes. Saturdays have been booking up fast, so we have opened bookings for Fridays.

“The canoes are rafted together and you head out in groups of six or eight with an instructor. You can then use a pre-downloaded app on your phone to look at the constellations.

“Children from age seven can do the canoeing, so it’s great to do with the kids. Families often come back and do the other activities at How Stean.”

The canoe trips, which will be weather dependent, will take place in February from 7pm until 8.30pm on Saturday 19, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 and in March on Friday 4, Saturday 5, Friday 11 and Saturday 12.

If the canoeing is unable to go ahead, alternative activities, including gorge walking or caving, will be provided.

An International Dark Sky Reserve (IDA) is defined as a ‘public or private land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural, heritage and/or public enjoyment.’

Other sites that have protected status include the Grand Canyon and Death Valley National Parks in America, Mont-Mégantic National Park in Canada and NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia.

For more information and to book click here.

How Stean Gorge is set to build 10 holiday cabins to entice more groups and families.

Currently the gorge, which has been a visitor attraction for more than 100 years, can only accomodate people prepared to camp.

Work is due to start in January 2022 on the first phase of the plan with construction set for completion in April 2022.

The first phase includes six of the cabins and a manager’s cabin.

The second phase can only start when Harrogate Borough Council is satisfied that trees planted as part of landscaping are mature enough not to be affected by more building works.

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It means that the remaining four cabins could be a few years away.

The cabins vary in size. The rustic lodges can sleep up to 10 people but there are also chalets with room for six or four people.

All of them will be built in a log cabin style on stilts with a covered veranda and a log burner inside. The centre is also looking at sourcing hot tubs for the cabins.

Abseiling at How Stean Gorge. Photo: Gerard Binks

Tony Liddy, the head of outdoor education and estates manager, told the Stray Ferret:

“We got a lot of stag dos and hen dos as well as families at How Stean Gorge. Unfortunately for a while now the closest group accomodation has been in Harrogate.

“We are keeping the campsite but that is not always for everyone. So these cabins are going to be a big step forward for the site. It’s very exciting.”

How Stean Gorge is also planning to bring back its Vista Bistro experience where people can dine in a restaurant sat over the drop. Currently it has two dates in the calendar, March 19 and April 2.

How Stean Gorge has reported a bumper year for sales amid the UK’s boom in staycations as the owners continue to look for new buyers.

Like many attractions, coronavirus has been difficult for How Stean Gorge. But now winter is firmly out of the way the owners have said the phones have been off the hook.

That interest has also resulted in more bookings overall. There has been a two-fold increase in May 2021 when compared to the same time in 2019.

Ann and Stan Beer, who have owned How Stean Gorge since 2007, said:

“After a long and hard winter, negotiating lockdowns and Covid restrictions, we’re set to have our best year yet.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook, and bookings have increased two-fold.

“We’ve pro-actively moved facilities, built new ones, and employed new staff to meet the public’s demand for outdoor adventure.”

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The adventure facility offers abseiling, gorge scrambling, caving, canoeing and a high wire via a rare ferrata course as well as an upper pathway and caves.

How Stean Gorge’s unique geography also allows for rock sports and paddle sports.

Owners Stan and Ann have updated the site frequently over the years, expanding the camping, adventure and dining range.

Last year ahead of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, they also opened Vista Bistro with glass wall and floor panels over the gorge.

Stan added:

“We’ve made our biggest profit yet this year, with the largest pre-bookings for activities.

“All our outdoor activities have been in huge demand, particularly the gorge walking and water sports.

“There’s been an increase across the board, from the number of school trips we now support to hen and stag-dos due to the backlog of weddings.

“There’s just a massive appetite out there to embrace life, get into the great outdoors and experience adventure again.”

Staff at How Stean Gorge rescued a deer from high water yesterday after it got trapped.

Heavy rainfall across the Harrogate district caused water levels to rise high at the gorge.

Three members of staff rescued the deer, which had got trapped in the rising water yesterday morning.

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Jeff Stewart, who works at How Stean Gorge in Lofthouse, told the Stray Ferret that the deer was “pretty exhausted” following the rescue and was taken to shelter to rest.

Jeff along with Tony Liddy, head of operations, went out to rescue the deer after being alerted to its situation at 10.30am.

In order to reach the deer, Jeff led Tony out into the rising water on a rope so that he would not wash away.

By the time the deer was brought back to shelter, Jeff said the deer could not walk due to exhaustion.

He said:

“It was exhausted, but it was breathing fine and did not have any visible injuries.

“But it was absolutely exhausted and the moment it came in it went into the corner.”

The district was hit by persistent rainfall yesterday and is forecast more rain next week.

A flood warning is still in place for the River Are near Boroughbridge after several days of heavy rainfall.

Stray Foodie is a bi-monthly food review written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. 

In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

Vista View Bistro, How Stean Gorge, Nidderdale 

It was a dreak night and I was in one of the most beautiful parts of deepest Nidderdale; How Stean Gorge is a place of such outstanding natural beauty, especially on clear sunny days of which we rarely have. This was not the case on this occasion, as we bumped along a windy road to our destination. Ahead of us rose an amazing, stilted building that towered over dramatic turbulent water with lustrous jungle land and deep vegetation.

A vision of creative owners, Mr & Mrs Stanley Beer who have developed their Gorge with great dedication over many years to its current acclaim. What a beautiful place to live and continue to develop a business. Full of exciting opportunity in this new world of hospitality that we find ourselves in. Exciting outdoor pursuits with fresh, tasty, good food seems to be the order of the day.

The glass viewing area at How Stean Gorge.

My old man and I were there for an early dinner and we felt lucky, as How Stean – as it is known locally – is not often open in the evenings. Like a lot of people, it was the first time out for us for some time. As we entered, the feeling of cleanliness was exemplary and made us feel very safe.

Would you like Frances to review your restaurant or cafe? 

From pop-up to fine dining, Frances would like to hear from you. If you’d like her to write a review on your food, send her an email to: foodie@thestrayferret.co.uk.

My old man’s face was a picture of sheer contentment as he devoured a very beautiful Prawn Cocktail. I examined a starter of vegetables and thought, here we have some style. Jowayne, a young and ambitious Chef has given his food a lot of love shown by a neat, clean hand and a good balance of flavour. Although I would have been happy to see or feel more colour and excitement with the menu. Having said that, to find such honest food in the depths of this fine country is a plus. Maybe I was being over-influenced and relaxed by the Spa-themed music during dinner which was ethereal and stark.

Two Vista View Bistro chefs pictured, including its head chef, Jowayne Marshall (left).

The time to visit is obviously during the day with all the lovely Autumnal hues. You will sit and gasp at the extraordinary views over a glass or savour the very good and satisfying local beef or feel spoilt by what’s on offer on the menu; something for all tastes, I am told. Let’s hope Chef puts his Fruit Mousse Spoon on the dessert menu – something I have come across before – and of course it was well worth the drive up the Dale.

Whenever you decide to visit, which is a must during these times, you will be rewarded by friendly Yorkshire hospitality that stimulates you and gives you the good feeling of being British. My little journey for dinner x2, three courses and a glass of wine each cost £85.20 excluding service. Don’t be afraid, there are more economic ways of enjoying this treasure.

To find out more about Vista View Bistro click here.

To read more about Frances’ fantastic career click here.