The Stray dates back to 1778 when it was created from the forest of Knaresborough to link of Harrogate’s springs together in one area. Since the late 16th Century countless springs had been discovered around Harrogate and deemed to have medicinal properties for their high quantities of Sulphur, iron and other minerals.

Over the years it has grazed livestock, been occasional side for the Great Yorkshire Show and Harrogate Flower Shows, been used as allotments and wheat fields during the second world war, and at several times been used as an airfield for light aircraft.

Today it has been returned to open grassland, and in spring takes on the beautiful colours as first millions of crocuses come into flower, which give way to daffodils, and then the long lines of cherry blossom trees and their iconic pink covering.

The Stray is protected by an act of parliament and its total area must remain constant, meaning if any of it is ever removed it must be replaced elsewhere, ensuring the great public space will always be there at the heart of the town.

After a good nights sleep it was time to sample the hotel breakfast. In all sorts of ways, it was a vast improvement on the offering during our recent stay in a Cotswold’s hotel. There were several choices of cooked items and a continental option. I chose the continental option and was served with granola, fruit compote, yoghurt, fresh fruit and mini pastries (freshly baked), perfectly presented on a plate.

We had booked an early time slot in the Pump Room so after breakfast we set off at pace through The Stray (no time for photos) to make sure we got there on time. It took us a little while to find which street the Pump Room was in but we managed to arrive before it opened. Once inside we found it to be a museum rather than anything else. It wasn’t possible to sample the water due to Covid-19. Perhaps that was a blessing because I am told that the water tastes quite foul.

We spent the rest of the morning walking around the nearby Valley Gardens, ending up near the War Memorial and Bettys Tea Rooms for lunch. I chose a salmon, prawn and lemon sandwich followed by three dainty cake delights.

We walked back to the hotel so that we could pick up the car to drive to the nearby RHS garden at Harlow Carr where we had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the gardens.

Back at the hotel I was sitting and relaxing before dinner when I heard voices at the door and a comment ’someone is already in here’. I got up to find two people entering our room. They were most apologetic and beat a hasty retreat. As they left I could hear them say to each other ‘it is the room number we were given’. Clearly it was because they were able to enter with the card key they had been given. I felt sorry for them but a bit disturbed about the security breach of the mix up.

When we went for dinner we queried the episode with the hotel receptionist, who was most apologetic and said she would be raising the incident with her manager the next day. We had another enjoyable meal, in my case fish and chips, which was even larger than my meal the previous day. We arrived back at our room to find that our card key didn’t work. It had obviously been cancelled along with the other peoples’ keys. By this time the hotel reception was closed, leaving Mr C to hunt down the restaurant manager to help us with the problem. Luckily he knew a man that could fix the problem!

We stopped off for a mid morning cup of tea before making our way to Doncaster Air Museum We hoped that we would find somewhere for lunch along the way. No opportunities presented themselves and when we arrived at the museum we found that lunch options were limited to snacks and crisps. We passed on the options available and headed into the museum. The museum has an eclectic, but enjoyable collection of exhibits. We were invited to look into a Vulcan cockpit through the entry hatch, although due to Covid-19 restrictions we were not able to climb inside for a closer inspection.

Afterwards we called in at a nearby Asda store and purchased a (late) picnic lunch, in my case a cinnamon whirl before continuing our journey to the hotel.  We checked in and found that we had been allocated a wonderful room with a sleeping area, sitting area, dining area and a large bathroom with a separate shower and bath.

Whilst we were traveling to Harrogate I noticed that my Fitbit battery level was low. I had forgotten to charge it!! One of the first things I tried to do after checking in was to download a step tracker App to my phone. I located the perfect one for me and then struggled for some time with passwords and technology before I was able to download it. My window of walking opportunity in The Stray had been missed, although I had time to chill out and get changed ready for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

I chose a pasta dish which was enormous and much larger than any of the other dishes coming out of the kitchen. After we had finished our meal we got chatting to a couple on a nearby (socially distanced) table. They were local to the area and shared their thoughts on good places to visit, Pateley Bridge being top of the list along with Bettys tea room. The latter was already on our ‘to do’ list.