Harrogate

Smee and I have lived in London for nearly three years and in that time, we have shamefully done very little in terms of exploring beyond the limits of the tube.  Cut me some slack - there's heaps to do on the Continent, alright?!

For this Bank Holiday we decided on a driving trip up north to explore Leeds, York and the smaller towns/cities.   The drive is actually slower than taking a train (3.5 hours compared to just 2) but we wanted the convenience of being able to drive between towns rather than rely on public transport.  We based ourselves in Leeds not for any particular reason apart from the hotel being decent and central.  After checking in, we drove to the nearby spa town of Harrogate.  The weather wasn't on our side (this is the height of Summer, dammit!) but admidst the drizzle you could see that it quite a quaint little town.  The UK is pretty cool like that, with neighbouring towns usually only a 30 minute drive from each other.  The British really don't have a concept of 'far'!

We found the Royal Baths and had pack inappropriately so didn't have a session, but we were surprised to find that a major section of it was a Chinese restarant!

It seemed to be market day and of all things, we encountered several German sausage stalls (complete with real Germans!)

Whatever sausage you want, however you want it, they got it here.

In the sea of red sausages stands a German in a red polo.

Unfortunately the rain really did begin to pelt down so we headed back to Leeds for an early night in.