Over 50 members and guests from across the UK and Canada met in Harrogate for the second Section UK IPA Walking Group Walking Weekend during the last weekend of October 2023. Based at the Police Treatment Centre (PTC), St. Andrews, those attending were provided with comfortable accommodation, fantastic food, superb service and a couple of great walks around Harrogate on Saturday and Temple Newsam near Leeds on Sunday.
For many, the weekend provided a practical introduction to the British Walking Federation (BWF) and its parent organisation, the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV).
To complement the practical experience, after our tasty evening meal on Friday, IPA members Spike and Helen Elliott from Cheshire Branch, who are also both long standing members of the BWF, and have together walked an incredible 65,000Km, all of which has been accredited under the IVV Awards Scheme, gave a presentation about the Section UK IPA Walking Group, BWF, IVV, International Marching League (IML) and their travels and experiences participating in walking events and walking Permanent Trails around the globe.
Harrogate became known as ‘The English Spa’ in the Georgian period and was popularised through a boom in Spa tourism during the Victorian era. During the 1800s, the high society of Victorian Britain flocked to Harrogate to enjoy the air, the space and the therapeutic spa treatments as well as taking the famous Harrogate waters. The town’s most distinctive feature perhaps is its vast open space, known as The Stray, that surrounds the town centre. At 200 acres, The Stray gives Harrogate a green and spacious feel that is unique to the town. With plenty of Georgian and Victorian architecture, the town still maintains an elegant and opulent feel and is home to the renowned Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Harlow Carr Gardens. The acclaimed Betty’s Café Tea Rooms can also be found in the town centre.
Following a hearty breakfast and a group photo on the steps of the PTC, the merry band of walkers set out on a grey and misty morning to follow an 11Km trail around Harrogate taking in the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Gardens, the magnificent Stray and many other points of historical and cultural interest in the town. Participants were able to walk at their own pace making as many, or as few stops along the way as necessary. Betty’s famous Café Tea Room was an absolute ‘must do’ for some!
After another splendid evening meal, an evening of entertainment followed. To keep the walking theme going, a quiz very loosely based on the topic of walking and walkers, set by quizmaster Chris Charlton, kept (some tired) guests occupied for a couple of hours. The evening ended with a raffle.
The event was timed well to include an extra hour in bed due to the end of British Summer Time which was welcomed by some. After another hearty breakfast, check out and loading cars, it was off to Leeds under blue skies for the second walk of the weekend. In complete contrast to the urban walk around Harrogate, this 10Km circular rural walk was around the park and farmland of Temple Newsam, a magnificent Tudor-Jacobean house.
Temple Newsam is one of the great houses of England, bursting with treasures and tales. With over 500 years of history, it has been home to many colourful characters. After being seized by Henry VIII and granted to his niece, the house became birthplace to the notorious Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots and father of James I. Beyond its illustrious Tudor origins, the Ingram family also left their marks. Today Temple Newsam contains a rich tapestry of period interiors from the 1600s onwards, showing how different generations lived.
After completing this walk, guests stopped off in the Courtyard for refreshments and gaining their credits for the walk before departing.
Chris Charlton, 3 Region, Scarborough Branch
