A glamping site with luxury yurts and hot tubs will open near Ripon next year, to capitalise on the current “staycation” boom.

Yorkshire Yurts, which already operates a similar site called “Yurtshire” near to Fountain’s Abbey, was granted planning permission from Harrogate Borough Council this week to develop the new campsite.

The site on the edge of Eavestone Lake near Ripon will have 12 yurts for people to stay in as well as a spa, fire pits and pizza ovens.

Demand for glamping has soared this year and Tom Stern from Yorkshire Yurts told the Stray Ferret that there’s no better time to expand his business.

He said:

“Staycations are massively on the increase due to Brexit and coronavirus. People want to get away from it all and have a back-to-nature experience where they can stay in a bit of luxury and have the benefits of the great outdoors”.

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The planning application received objections from local residents who said that it will harm the “peace and tranquility” of the rural setting, but Mr Stern said the campsite will be sympathetic to its surroundings.

He added:

“It’s a beautiful spot, and what we are planning is low key. We are putting a lot into it to maintain the land, planting more trees which will enable us to manage the nearby woodland.”

The camspite will open in Spring/Summer 2021.

While the pandemic means the festive season will be different this year, it has not stopped the traditional Christmas lights switch on in the Harrogate district.

Although there was no host or crowds to mark the occasion and the shops are closed, Harrogate and Ripon were still lit up ahead of Christmas.

In Harrogate, custom lights have been strung between buildings, around lampposts and in trees, including those in front of the war memorial at the top of Parliament Street.

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Ripon Christmas lights were switched on last night.

Meanwhile, Ripon has spent £65,000 on its decorations and lights which has been dubbed the city’s largest ever display.

Despite the lack of a traditional switch on with celebrity guests, we have been out filming so you can enjoy them.

If you want to support Harrogate retailers and buy your Xmas gifts locally go to our new Shop Local section

Remembrance Day was commemorated differently this year because of covid but residents across the Harrogate district still paid their respects to those who lost their lives in battle.

Although annual services and parades were unable to go ahead, people held two-minute silences at home and some paid their respects at war memorials.

In Harrogate …

After a two-minute silence and the playing of the Last Post by a single bugler, pupils and a small number of staff from Ashville College laid wreaths at the school’s on-site war memorial.

The rest of the college participated in the annual commemoration from their classrooms.

Upper sixth pupils and joint heads of school Niamh Boyle (left) and Massimiliano Ernesto Nobile (right) with year 6 pupil Taylor Henderson (centre).

Local people congregated at the Harrogate war memorial at 11am yesterday for the two-minute silence.

On Sunday members of the Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club gathered at Stonefall Cemetary. A small service was led by Rev. David Hoskins.

Photograph: Guy Wilson.

Rotarian Manuel Camacho laying a wreath. Photograph: Guy Wilson.

In Ripon …

On Sunday, the Ripon branch of the Royal British Legion and standard bearers representing the Royal Navy, Royal Engineers and Royal Air Force, stood at the war memorial in Spa Gardens.

Local MP Julian Smith and the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Eamon Parkin, laid wreaths in the mist.

Yesterday, about 40 people gathered at social distance outside Ripon Cathedral at 11am to observe the two-minute silence. Prayers after the silence were led by the Dean of Ripon, The Very Revd John Dobson.

In Pateley Bridge …

The chair of Nidderdale Chamber of Trade, Tim Ledbetter, laid a wreath on behalf of the chamber.

Elsewhere …

At the North Yorkshire County Council’s offices in Northallerton, Cllr Jim Clark laid a wreath.

Three soldiers in Ripon will take part in a 700-mile barefoot relay this weekend to raise money for a girl with a rare genetic disease.

The soldiers have been inspired by Major Chris Brannigan, who walked the distance barefoot solo in August this year.

He did so to raise funds for Hope for Hasti, a charity set up to develop a treatment for his daughter Hasti, who has Cornelia de Lange syndrome.

Major Brannigan raised £375,000 and since then others have boosted the total to £670,000 of the £1m target,

This weekend’s 700 miles, which will be completed in five-mile stages, will add to the tally.

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The three members of Ripon’s 21 Engineer Regiment stepping up to help are Sergeant Max McGoon, Corporal Lee Connolly and Private Matty Haigh, who will complete the 94th, 95th and 96th legs of the route on Sunday.

They will walk from Hessay, York to Langthorpe. Hasti’s favourite soft toy, Obama the llama, is being used as the baton by all those taking part.

Private Haigh explained why the soldiers wanted to support fellow soldier Major Brannigan.

“In January 2015 until August 2016 Major Brannigan was my boss in Catterick and Cyprus. He was a very supportive and family-orientated man.

“My fiancée Chloe and I are expecting a little girl at the end of this year. Major Brannigan has shown me that no matter what life throws at you, you always fight back and most importantly that you can do anything when it is for your children.

“I hope we can raise a massive amount of money for Hope for Hasti by doing the barefoot relay.”

To support the Ripon soldiers in their efforts, click here.

Dishforth Military Wives Choir members will take on the 98th leg of the relay.

Seven members of the Dishforth Military Wives Choir are also taking part. They will cover the 98th leg of the relay from Ripon Cathedral to North Stainley. The choir also supported Major Brannigan during his original march in August.

Choir member Sue Bell said:

“Chris said to us he would walk to the ends of the earth for his children and we thought five miles barefoot is nothing in comparison and the least we could do for all the children with rare diseases.”

Read more:

• WATCH as the barefoot soldier, Major Chris Brannigan, arrives at Ripon Cathedral. 
• This year residents were encouraged to hold their two minutes silence on Remembrance Sunday at home. 

Hope for Hasti 

Major Brannigan and his wife Hengameh have been fundraising for over a year for their daughter, Hasti, who was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome.

There is currently no treatment for the disease. The Hope For Hasti charity was set up this year to raise money to start the research and a clinical trial into a gene therapy treatment for CdLS.

Chris’ barefoot march raised £500,000 but their final goal is £2.5million to fund a treatment. It is hoped this relay will raise further vital funds for the charity.

Remembrance Sunday is going to look very different in the Harrogate district this morning.

The pandemic has seen the Harrogate remembrance parades at the town’s war memorial cancelled, with people encouraged to to stay at home.

Instead, those who wish to pay their respects have been urged to stand on their doorsteps for a two minutes silence at 11am.

Read more:

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A service will be held at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Harrogate.

The Stonefall event will be a much smaller scale event due to the pandemic, with only a handful of people taking part.

Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club said a few of its members will lay wreaths on behalf of the Royal British Legion, politicians and local service groups.

Knaresborough pays its respects on Remembrance Sunday in 2019. Picture: Charlotte Gale.

Meanwhile, David Houlgate, from the Knaresborough branch of the Royal British Legion, asked that people commemorate the occasion from home.

He said:

“Unfortunately we can’t do anything this weekend due to covid-19.  So there will be no parade, no service and no official wreath laying.

“The Knaresborough Branch of the Royal British Legion is asking townsfolk to stay at home in order to protect themselves and those closest to them.

“They can attend the remembrance service in Whitehall via TV, remembering that this year is the 100th anniversary of the unveiling of both the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

“At 11am, we ask that people please stand on their front door step, for a two minutes silence and remember.

“If people and organisations wish to lay  wreaths, individually, at some time later, please do on either Remembrance Sunday afternoon or on Armistice Day on the 11th.

“I’m sure that our fallen would understand the reasons behind these actions, in view of this terrible pandemic.”

In Ripon, a dedication ceremony was held in the city’s Garden of Remembrance last Sunday ahead of the national lockdown coming into force.

Numbers in attendance were kept to a minimum and social distancing measures were in place, as the Dean of Ripon, The Very Revd John Dobson, blessed the garden and led prayers.

Nationally, a small ceremony will be held at the London Cenotaph. People have been encouraged to watch it on TV at home to pay their respects.

Two Ripon schools have merged as part of a £1.5 million project.

Funded by North Yorkshire County Council, the scheme has brought together Moorside infant and junior schools onto one site.

The project involved refurbishment of classrooms, cloakrooms, toilets and a construction of a new workspace extension for pupils and staff.

It comes after county council bosses gave the go-ahead last March for the two sites to merge into one primary school and nursery.

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Authority officials said there are plans for an opening event when it is feasible to do so.

Claire Rowett, headteacher at Moorside school, said the outcome of the project was “exceptional”.

She said:

“The most rewarding part is seeing our children happily learning in a safe and stimulating environment, where they will grow and develop from when they begin in our Nursery up to when they leave in Year six, ready for secondary.

“We are already seeing the positive impact of our continuous and consistent approaches in providing high quality teaching and learning for our pupils, as one school community.

“Both during and after the completion of the building work, our governors and staff team – and their families – have voluntarily invested hours into setting up our fabulous new provision, and I will be forever grateful to them for sharing our vision, and being part of what has been a memorable journey to success.

“We have also appreciated a great deal of support from our wider community, including Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and other locally-based businesses, who have also kindly donated their time and resources.

“We just can’t wait to be able to welcome previous and current members of our school and their families to see the transformation, when covid restrictions are lifted. We feel very excited about the future.”

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, executive member for schools said: 

“This development has benefited so many children and families in the Ripon area. 

“It’s enabled the creation of a newly refurbished school with specially-designed spaces to inspire children and help them achieve their potential with the extra resources and facilities available.”

Harrogate district golf clubs will fight the government’s enforced one-month closure.

Clubs in Harrogate and Ripon believe golfers have been able to play safely in recent months and should be allowed to continue to do so.

They have the backing of England Golf, the governing body for amateur golf, which is in talks with the government.

Catherine Grant, who is responsible for marketing and events at Oakdale Golf Club in Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“We could keep the clubhouse closed and just have two golfers playing together to make it even more safe. This has been a difficult year and another month of closure would be tough for us financially.”

Paul Spence, who works in administration at Ripon City Golf Club, said:

“I can see the arguments either way but I think that golf courses are quite safe. A lot of our golfers are in the older age group and this is one of the few places where they can see their friends in a safe way.”

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Jeremy Tomlinson, chief executive of England Golf, has written an open letter to the government saying it will “respectfully challenge the government’s rationale”. It says:

“It is our sincere belief that it is counter-productive to shut down a healthy pursuit. Golf naturally lends itself to social distancing in the open air.”

Golf returned on May 13 after the first coronavirus lockdown but this new lockdown will stop play again on Thursday.

Ripon City Netball Club has held a socially distanced version of its annual awards due to covid.

The awards are the biggest event on the club’s calendar, but this year only award winners were invited to attend the presentation outside Ripon Grammar School, where the club trains. 

Some of the award winners.

The club has five teams, each named after a different bird of prey, with three trophies given out per team for most improved player, coach’s player and players’ player. 

The 2020 award winners were;

Hawks: Kerry Rich, Lindsey Stockdale, Karen Dodds.

Eagles: Carla Darbyshire, Thandiwe Mahlangu, Becky Stacey.

Ospreys: Rebecca Kirby, Claire Barnett, Jenny Addyman.

Kestrels: Kimberley Adele, Joanna Wallace, Hayley Blaymires.

Falcons: Frankie Louise, Sarah-Louise Norton, Jenna Sadler.

Other winners of individual prizes were: Lindsi Baldwin, Kirsteen Dixon, Helen Mackenzie, Georgina Roberts, Samantha Wilson, Karen Ellam, Cathy Simms, Jackie Laugher, Lindsey Virr, Rachael Clark, Suzanne Armstrong, Nicola Lymer, Louise Withy, Becky Ash and Tracy Chapman.

Jump into romance, find intrigue in mystery or escape with adventure. It is all on offer on the bustling shelves of this “hidden gem” of a book shop in Ripon.

The Little Ripon Bookshop, founded by husband and wife team Gill and Simon Edwards, is part of the independent book shops resurgence.

While the online behemoths find it easy to offer cut-price books, more and more people have been flocking to the likes of Gill and Simon’s shop.

The shelves are stacked with a mix of new books and classics.

It may have been a daunting task in the beginning and during the coronavirus lockdown, but the Little Ripon Bookshop has thrived on community, friendship and loyalty.

The shop has grown in recent years and even expanded into a vacant unit next door. It has been doing so well that it’s not so little anymore.

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On a rainy weekend in a gloomy year, Gill thinks there is nothing better than the prospect of curling up with a novel by the fire. She told the Stray Ferret:

“I think that people do have a sense of belonging here. We have got a book club that’s really successful. We are doing it online at the moment, but it’s still going well.

There are just loads of people that love books and they know that if they don’t use it then it doesn’t work. So many people are keen to keep us here and that’s wonderful.”

Find the shop on Westgate in Ripon.

Coronavirus has, of course, been difficult for the shop. It closed its doors for three months but adapted to the online world and delivery quite quickly.

Gill and Simon’s customers appreciated the deliveries but the book shop was trading at about a quarter of what it normally would.

Things are a little different in The Little Ripon Bookshop.

But as soon as they opened the doors again in June, customers flocked back to support the book shop and have kept coming back since.

With a few months of consistently busy trading, the shop is now in a good position to weather any coronavirus lockdown storms on the horizon.

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series, highlighting small, independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.

Extensive subsidence has caused the evacuation of four properties in a Ripon housing development.

The problem is believed to be caused by sinkholes in the area.

It was deemed so severe that owners of two of the properties in Bedern Court were advised by tenancy management company Joplings to tell tenants they had to leave for their own safety.

Mat Pritchard, whose 81-year-old father Norman was living in 5 Bedern Court, had to rapidly make arrangements for him to move out.

Tenants at the other properties, 1 and 3 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths, which is within the scheme, have also had to move out at very short notice.

Mr Pritchard is chairperson for Bedern Court Ltd, which is a non-profit company controlled by leaseholders and owners.

It manages the leaseholds and freeholds for the 29-unit brick-built block, which was built in 1986.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“The block has now been in effect, partially condemned for human habitation, with numbers 3 and 5 worst affected and issues also affecting the neighbouring  properties at 1 Bedern Court and 17 Skellgarths.”

Mr Pritchard said:

“Joplings told BCL that a recent geo-technical and building site investigation had returned very concerning results and they believed that flats 3 and 5 were no longer safely habitable.”

Jane and Mat Pritchard are pictured at Bedern Court, where their flat is deemed unsafe because of major subsidence issues.

He added:

“Our priority was the safety of the tenants after large internal and external cracks opened up. Because of the visible shift of the building it was also necessary to evacuate the two adjoining properties.”

The block is within the shadow of Ripon Cathedral and alongside one of the main routes into the city centre.

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An adjacent block of flats built after the Bedern Court development was subsequently demolished and Peacock’s Passage, which runs between the two sites, has clear signs of subsidence.

BCL believe that sinkholes in the area are the likely cause of the subsidence, but claims dating back to 2009 lodged with underwriters Aviva and subsequently QBE, have been turned down by both insurers.

Mr Pritchard said:

“In the urgent situation we find ourselves, we have lodged a further claim with QBE.

“We have also contacted our MP Julian Smith and Ripon City Council seeking any help or advice they can give us and we will continue to ask for cooperation from the owners of neighbouring sites.”