A weekly market has been held here since 1393 and in December a special Victorian market is followed by a torchlight procession. Harrogate in beautiful North Yorkshire is renowned for its floral beauty and elegant spa buildings, which include the Royal Pump Room Museum, Mercer Gallery and Royal Baths. The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. Boroughbridge officially dates from the time of William the Conqueror. Although the site itself, is thought to have been occupied as far back as the bronze age.
Distances shown are in a direct line.
Distances by road will be longer. Ripon Workhouse is the city's newest museum, with restored vagrants' wards from 1877 showing the treatment of paupers in Yorkshire workhouses and includes a Victorian Hard Times Gallery. Spend time in Ripon goal, a Victorian prison with cells now converted to displays of crime and punishment, imprisonment and law enforcement over recent centuries. Situated 100 yards from the entrance to the Valley Gardens and Royal Pump Room Museum, the Mercer Art Gallery is home to the District's superb collection of Fine Art. Housed in Harrogate's premiere Spa building and site of Europe's strongest Sulphur Well, The Royal Pump Room Museum tells the story of Harrogate as a Spa.