Christmas tree festivals 2022: guide to events taking place in the Harrogate districtChristmas is edging closer and there are plenty of festivities taking place over the next couple of weeks.
Among them are a growing number of churches hosting Christmas tree festivals around the Harrogate district.
If you fancy seeing some inspiring, creative decorations, check out our list below of some of the festivals taking place across the district.
Know of another that’s not on our list? Email the details to us now.
St James’s Church Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge launched the district’s festivals last weekend with some spectacular efforts.
Visitors cast their votes and overwhelmingly selected Kirby Hill WI’s jam jar tree as their favourite (pictures below). The Post Office was in second place and Spar came third.
In the children’s competition, Boroughbridge Scouts came out on top, followed by Roecliffe Primary School and Boroughbridge Junior School Early Years.
The festival concluded with a carol service on Sunday.
St John’s Church, Knaresborough
The St John’s Christmas Tree Festival returns for another year.
The Knaresborough Christmas tree festival takes place every year: 70 Christmas trees are decorated by local groups and are displayed in the St John’s Church in the heart of Knaresborough.
It started last weekend and is running up until the December 23.
As well as the Christmas tree competition there is live music and festive mulled wine refreshments.
There will be live music every Saturday of the festival:
- Saturday, December 10
- Saturday, December 17
Admission to the festival is free, but donations to the church and their chosen charity are welcomed.
The event takes place at Vicarage Lane, Knaresborough HG5 9AE.
St John’s Church, Bilton
The Christmas tree festival in Bilton got up and running last weekend and continues throughout the month.
It features 20 trees created by community groups, many themed by the teams behind them.
The church is open from 9am to 1pm, Monday to Thursday each week, for visitors to see the trees. They are also on show at services until the end of December.
Entry is free and everyone is welcome at the Bilton Lane church.
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St Andrew’s Church, Blubberhouses
Another Christmas tree festival with an amazing variety of trees, a creative and festive event for everyone.
The festival is open this weekend, Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11, from 11am to 4pm.
On Sunday, The 4 – a musical quartet will be singing Christmas music and carols.
There will also be wreaths and Christmas crafts for sale.
Enjoy a festive atmosphere with mulled wine and refreshments.
Admission to this event is free and it is taking place at Shepherd Hill Road, Blubberhouses, Otley, LS21 2NU.
Boroughbridge Christmas Tree Festival
St Peter’s Church, Harrogate
St Peter’s Church Christmas Tree Festival returns for its 18th year.
The festival is running from December 10 to 17 and organisers hope to make this year “bigger and brighter than ever”.
The opening times are 8am to 5.15pm.
Charities, local schools, shops, and businesses have been invited to decorate a Christmas tree or wreath, decorations can either be Christmas themed or reflect their organisation.
This gives the decorators an opportunity to tell the community about their activities and achievements and brings the whole community together for some festive fun at the end of the year.
Attendees will vote for their favourite Christmas tree, and the winner will be announced at their 9.30am service on December 18.
The trees each have their own frame with details of who the tree is sponsored by and the name or theme of the tree.
It takes place at St Peter’s Church, Cambridge Road, Harrogate HG1 1PB.
Laptop and cash stolen from Harrogate community group while it helped othersA thief has stolen a laptop and cash from food waste community group Resurrected Bites.
The culprit took the items from the organisation’s give as you can cafe at West Park United Reformed Church in Harrogate on Wednesday while volunteers were helping people in need.
Resurrected Bites works with local businesses and suppliers to divert food from landfill and converts it into meals in its cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough. It also operates a community groceries scheme.
Michelle Hayes, founder and director of Resurrected Bites, said:
“We are gutted and hope the person will do the right thing and return what they took.”
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Ms Hayes said no personal data had been compromised but added the incident had been a “wake-up call”:
“It was an opportunistic thief at lunchtime. We will have to be a lot more vigilant on security going forward.
“We are a naturally trusting group of people and it’s very sad that someone would steal from us.”
The Stray Ferret is running a Christmas appeal to raise money for Resurrected Bites, after it issued a plea for funding to keep its services alive.
The target was originally £5,000, which was achieved in days, and has since been raised to £20,000. The current total is £12,800. You can donate here.
Knaresborough all set for Winter Fayre tomorrow
Christmas festivities continue in Knaresborough this weekend with a Winter Fayre in the town’s market place.
Tomorrow’s event, organised by Knaresborough Business Collective, follows on from the success of the Spring Fayre in April.
Annie Wilkinson-Gill, from The Crystal Buddha, and Natalie Horner, from Sid Horner and Son, founders of the business group, said the event would feature a host of attractions.
They include children’s rides, a Father Christmas grotto, reindeer, face painting, Punch and Judy shows, live entertainment and music, food and drink stalls and free craft workshops, as well as a local artisan market.
The fayre will be opened at 10am by town crier Roger Hewitt and will continue until 4pm.
To accompany the event, the group is also hosting a Christmas window competition, which will see businesses in the town create displays with a festive theme. Prizes will be awarded to the top three best dressed windows.
Ms Horner said:
“We are so excited to be doing the collective’s fourth window competition this year, they have been a huge success and make town look fantastic.
“Knaresborough’s window displays have been such a hit they’re actually becoming a tourist attraction that people are travelling to town to see.
“They will contribute to a fantastic atmosphere for our Winter Fayre on Saturday – an amazing fun-filled day for all the family.
“We have so many things planned including fairground rides, reindeer, Santa’s grotto, a mulled wine tent, free craft workshops, face painting and local artisan market. After the success of the Spring Fayre we are so excited!”
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Andrew Jones MP ‘confident’ of achieving bathing water status for River NiddHarrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has said the campaign to improve water quality in the River Nidd at Knaresborough is “gaining momentum” and he is “confident” of success.
Mr Jones’ comments came after he discussed the matter with environmental quality minister Rebecca Pow this week.
According to his Community News website, Mr Jones briefed Ms Pow about water quality issues in the Nidd and his proposal to designate the Lido in Knaresborough as an area of Bathing Water Quality.
Concerns about Nidd water quality increased in summer this year following reports of numerous people falling ill after entering the water.
Knaresborough Lido
If the bathing water bid is successful, the Environment Agency would be obliged to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water. The River Wharfe in Mr Jones’ native Ilkley is currently the only inland water in the UK with bathing water status.
The Conservative MP said:
“Next May is the critical time as that is when the evidence must be collected to make a Bathing Water Quality application to DEFRA. In between now and then I am ensuring that we have the maximum support possible lined up behind the application.
“I’ve spoken to residents and businesses, councillors, MPs in Commons debates and now directly to the minister. It feels like the campaign is gathering momentum and I am confident that we will be successful.”
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Following her meeting with Mr Jones in the House of Commons, Ms Pow said:
“It was very good to learn more about Andrew’s campaign and see the passion to improve water quality on the River Nidd.
“I was particularly pleased to see the depth of community interest and support.
“Improving water is a priority for the government, and we are actively encouraging communities to apply for bathing water status. There are so many elements to our work, but team working and local passion are at the heart of making progress.”
Harrogate district train passengers warned not to travel for five days next weekNorthern has warned passengers not to travel for the majority of next week amid more industrial action.
RMT Union members are expected to stage another walkout from Tuesday (December 13) until Saturday (December 17) in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The strikes will be the latest to hit the Harrogate district rail network this year.
Northern, which operates services from Harrogate and Knaresborough towards Leeds and York, has warned passengers not to travel after Monday next week as services wind down.
The operator said it expects to run a “very limited service” during the days of strike action.
A visual issued by Northern
It said in a statement:
“On strike days, only travel by rail if necessary and if you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead – especially the first and last trains of the day.
“If you do decide to travel, there will be very limited services running across the whole rail network so remember to check your entire journey as other train service providers may be affected.
“There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days for Northern services and some Northern stations may be closed or have reduced hours due to the limited staffing and services.”
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Northern is also expecting disruption over Christmas as the RMT Union announced further planned demonstrations.
The union is planning to stage a further walkout from Christmas Eve until December 27.
Northern added:
“We’re working on what that means for services, please check before you travel as your usual train may not be running.”
£405,000 campaign to restore public access to 41 acres of the old Knaresborough ForestA fundraising campaign has been launched to buy 41 acres of land that used to be part of the Forest of Knaresborough and restore it to public use.
The privately-owned land, between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and Harrogate Road, is being put up for sale. It is not currently accessible to the public.
The community group Renaissance Knaresborough has begun a campaign to buy the land and replicate the successful Long Lands Common campaign, which raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.
Campaigners say the move would not only enable people to enjoy a nature-rich area of land that is currently out of bounds but also boost biodiversity by improving wildlife and providing educational opportunities. It would be called Knaresborough Forest Park.
Renaissance Knaresborough wants people to buy shares in the land, which would entitle shareholders to become members of the parkland project with voting rights — similar to Long Lands Common. It has already secured pledges worth more than £26,000,
An appeal statement by Liz Baxandall and Bill Rigby, chair and treasurer respectively of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:
“A piece of land is being prepared for sale. If it remains in private hands, as it is now, it will be a large tract of land within the town boundary to which we have no access.
“Our plan is to raise funds from our community to acquire it for the common good, manage it with care and let it be a haven for recreation, education and fun for
generations to come.
“Pledges are urgently needed so our community can purchase this farmland to create a beautiful tree-rich natural parkland; a protected haven for wildlife and people that we’d call Knaresborough Forest Park.”
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The group is urging people to make pledges “urgently” in the hope of raising sufficient funds to buy the land while it remains on the market.
At this stage people are only being asked to to register an interest to buy community shares. Pledges are not legally binding and money will not be transferred until a later date.
The land, which connects with Mackintosh Park, off the Beryl Burton Cycle Way, once belonged to the Forest of Knaresborough, a hunting forest that covered 45 square miles.
The statement by Ms Baxandall and Mr Rigby said:
“We have already lost so much green space locally. We are asking all from far and wide to pledge today as an individual or organisation to buy community shares to empower local people, so together we can protect more land.
“Shares will only go on sale once there is enough interest shown by individuals, businesses and community organisations.”
Further details are available here.
Fireworks finale ends Knaresborough’s ‘busiest ever’ Christmas marketKnaresborough was packed at the weekend for what is being hailed as the town’s busiest ever Christmas market.
A total of 68 stalls crammed into Market Place to greet customers from all over the country and beyond.
The attractions also included a Christmas tree festival at St John’s Church and a fireworks finale, provided by local firm Ferrensby Fireworks.
Hazel Haas, who chairs the Christmas market committee, estimated up to 10,000 people attended on Saturday and up to 6,000 people turned out yesterday. She said:
“It was amazing. I’ve never seen it so busy. Many people said it was the busiest ever. In fact some traders sold out of their entire weekend stock on the Saturday.”
Ms Haas attributed the success to the quality of stalls, which she said had gradually improved over the years, and to the fact that the event still offered a cheap weekend for people in tough times.
The Christmas tree festival, the fireworks and the park and ride were all free so visitors could soak up the atmosphere and explore the town without having to spend any money.
So many coaches attended that extra space was required to accommodate them and King James’s School agreed to help at late notice.
The Christmas market is a joint initiative between the Rotary Club of Knaresborough, the Lions Club of Knaresborough and Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce.
Christmas market committee member Charlotte Gale said:
“We were thrilled with the support for the market again this year, as well as our fantastic local businesses. We had worked really hard to promote all the town has to offer in the lead up to the event and feedback so far has been great, with one business even reporting they’d had their best ever day.
“People travelled from far and wide and at one point we even had a queue of coaches waiting to drop off market visitors. I spoke to one couple who had travelled from Leicester having seen the town featured in the recent film ‘A Very Yorkshire Christmas’ and another man who was visiting from the Netherlands. The town felt so wonderfully festive and even the showers on Sunday did nothing to deter visitors.”
Firefighters called to Pannal businessA faulty storage heater caused a fire at a business in Pannal today.
A member of staff dialled 999 when they noticed smoke at the commercial premises on Station Road.
Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were summoned to the scene at 8.43am and entered the building wearing breathing apparatus.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log says they discovered a “small fire to a storage heater”, adding:
“Firecrews extinguished the heater, which had developed an electrical fault, and cleared the premises of smoke with a positive pressure ventilation fan.”
The fire, at the unnamed business, was the first of two incidents in the Harrogate district today.
At two minutes past midday, fire crews from Boroughbridge and Knaresborough were called to the A1 southbound near Boroughbridge to deal with a car fire.
A Vauxhall Zafira had caught fire following an engine fault. Firefighters using breathing apparatus dealt with the incident.
The incident log adds:
“Occupants had left scene, believed to have been picked up by another vehicle prior to arrival of emergency services.”
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Man found guilty of assault after confrontation on Knaresborough’s WatersideA Birstwith man has been found guilty of assaulting a man and damaging his BMW after an altercation on Waterside, Knaresborough.
Aaron Peter Wilson, 43, had been riding a bike east along the road when his pedal collided with the black car, which was being parked by its owner.
Wilson did not stop at the scene, but carried on riding along the road.
Giving evidence at Harrogate Magistrates Court today, the victim said:
“I got back in and I pursued him with the car and parked up probably about 10 metres away from him. I got out and went to go and confront him.
“He was standing in the middle of the road with the bike at his feet. He was inflated, aggressive. He had flexed muscles and was trying to look a bigger person than he was.
“He was very threatening.”
He said Wilson then put his bike between the two of them, before grabbing the victim’s shirt around the collar, causing a deep scratch to his shoulder. He added:
“I was being choked because I had a button-up collar. The buttons were done up, except the top one.”
A member of the public arrived on the scene and the pair tried to stop Wilson leaving by blocking his path. Wilson then began knocking on nearby doors, before entering the garden of a house and lying down.
Meanwhile, the victim had called the police, who arrived a few minutes later and arrested Wilson.
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Defending, Martin Townend of Watson Woodhouse Solicitors, argued Wilson was acting in self-defence after the collision, which took place around 10.30pm on July 24 this year.
Mr Townend said the victim began shouting at Wilson and chased him in his car, with the other man joining him in a way that left Wilson fearing for his safety.
Giving evidence, Wilson – whose address on the court lists was in High Birstwith but who was said in court to be of no fixed address – said:
“Thank God I went into that property and laid down. They didn’t cross the threshold.
“They were threatening me. That’s why I went into the property and laid down, just hoping the police would turn up.”
However, magistrates were unconvinced by his argument and said his evidence as a whole was “really not consistent”.
They found him guilty of both causing damage to the BMW and assaulting the man by beating him.
Further charges
Wilson then changed his plea on two other charges relating to an incident at Nidderdale House on Cambridge Road, Harrogate, on July 16. He admitted assaulting a man by beating him, and using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
He also entered a guilty plea to causing more than £1,100 of damage to a Volvo in Harrogate on July 3.
Magistrates requested a pre-sentence report before he appears again for sentence on January 12.
In the meantime, he remains in prison for breaching a community order handed to him on a separate charge.
Guide to Christmas fairs and markets in the Harrogate districtChristmas markets are taking place across the Harrogate district.
Here’s our guide to what’s taking place. If you know of one that isn’t included, let us know and we will add it. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
RHS Harlow Carr, Bath House Gallery: Christmas Crafts
10am, Thursday, October 20 to 4pm, Friday, December 23
Country Living Christmas Fair, Harrogate Convention Centre
10am, Thursday, December 1 to 4pm, Sunday, December 4
Great Yorkshire Christmas Fair, The Yorkshire Events Centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate
9.30 to 5am Thursday, December 1 to Sunday December 2022 (4.30pm finish on Sunday)
Harrogate Christmas Fayre, Harrogate town centre
10am, Friday, December 2 to 4.30pm, Sunday, December 11
Pateley Bridge and Bewerley late night shopping, Pateley Bridge High Street
December 2, 5.30pm
Little Bird Artisan Market, Valley Gardens, Harrogate
Saturday, December 3, 10am to 5pm, and 10am to pm on Sunday, December 4
Knaresborough Christmas Market, Knaresborough Market Place
10am, to 5pm Saturday, December 3 and 10am to 4.30pm on Sunday, December 4, finishing with firework fiesta over the viaduct at 4.30pm
Knaresborough Artisan Market, Gracious St Methodist Church, Knaresborough HG5 8AN
10am to 3pm, December 3
Copt Hewick Christmas Fair, Copt Hewick village hall and church
11am to 3pm, December 3, cash-only event, Santa arrives at noon and carols at 1.30pm
St Luke’s Church Parish Christmas Fair, St Luke’s Church, Franklin Square, Harrogate
10.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, December 3
Belmont Grosvenor School Christmas Fair, Belmont Grosvenor School, Birstwith
Saturday, December 3, £3 entry for adults, free for children
Minskip Christmas Gift Fayre, Minskip Village Hall
Saturday December 3, 1pm to 4pm – all gifts priced at under £10
Nativity Festival, St Cuthbert’s Church Pateley Bridge
Saturday December 3, 10.30am to 2.30pm. Followed, at 7pm by Christmas carol singing accompanied by local choirs. (Tickets for the carol concert cost £5 and will be available on the door or from church members)
SYD* Christmas Craft, Vintage & Collectables Fayre, Masham Town Hall
10am, Sunday, December 4
* Saving Yorkshire’s Dogs
Knaresborough Winter Fayre, Knaresborough Market Place
10am to 4pm, Saturday, December 10
Little Bird Artisan Market, Valley Gardens, Harrogate
Saturday, December 10, 10am to 5pm, and 10am to pm on Sunday, December 11