On Sunday, we took advantage of the lovely weather to visit the RHS Garden at Harlow Carr, near Harrogate. This was my first day out following last month’s fall, and was a family occasion as we met up with my parents there.
We’ve been to Harlow Carr before – we had membership of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 2023 and made a brief visit that June, and we’d also been in September 2012. We didn’t cover the whole garden this time and instead focussed on the areas that had changed since our last visit.
History of Harlow Carr
The RHS web site has a more detailed history, but it has been open as a visitor attraction since the 19th Century. Back then, it was a spa resort – Harrogate was well-known as a spa town and its history is detailed in the Royal Pump House Museum in the town centre. We visited in 2013. However, as Harlow Carr is about a mile and a half out of Harrogate town centre, it wasn’t as popular as other spas in the town and closed in the early 20th Century. However, its bath house remains and is now Grade II listed.
During the 1940s, the site was taken over by the Northern Horticultural Society, and re-opened to the public in 1950. This organisation merged with the RHS in 2001, and is now one of the five gardens operated by the RHS across England.
The Gardens
Compared to the flagship RHS garden in Wisley (which we visited in 2023), Harlow Carr is significantly smaller. You can probably spend slightly more than half a day here though.
The garden is split into several areas. On arrival, you enter the Main Borders, which are one of the garden’s original features, before dropping down to the stream at the bottom of the valley where more aquatic-friendly plants grow. A woodland area sits on the other side of the valley, and this includes a play area for kids.
In an area that wasn’t open when we first visited in 2013 is a kitchen garden, with edible plants, and there is a newer sub-tropical garden too. At the top is the Alpine House – an unheated greenhouse which is home to hardy plants that typically live above the tree line.
There’s certainly lots to see, and almost every plant is labelled should you wish to get ideas for your own garden.
Accessibility
As mentioned, Harlow Carr sits in a valley, so there are slopes. Whilst there are steps, there are usually alternative sloping routes, but not all paths are paved. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters are available to hire. There are accessible toilets, and one of the car parks features a Changing Places toilet.
There are three car parks; when we arrived at about half 10 on Sunday, one of these was already full and the second almost full. Two of these car parks offer electric car charging on the RAW charging network, and these are a mixture of ‘standard plus’ Type 2 AC chargers and rapid CCS2 DC chargers with plenty of chargers available.
If you’re able to arrive at Harlow Carr without a car, then there’s a 30% discount available on entry. The number 6 bus runs every 20 minutes from Harrogate bus station (hourly on Sundays), which is next to the railway station. Alternatively, there’s a mapped walk from Harrogate station to Harlow Carr which passes through the valley gardens and woodlands – it’s about 1.5 miles. Trains to Harrogate are normally half-hourly from Leeds and hourly from York, with an LNER service from London King’s Cross every two hours.
As the crow flies, Hornbeam Park station is closer, but it actually takes longer to walk from there to the garden so you’re better going to Harrogate.
Entry is free for RHS members, and there are a limited number of £1 tickets for those on certain benefits if booked in advance. We decided to re-join the RHS, for which you can use Tesco Clubcard points to part-pay. Tickets are cheaper mid-week, and in the winter, and are cheaper when booked online in advance.
Nearby
The main entrance to Harlow Carr is home to a branch of Betty’s, which is where we had lunch. Weetons Food Hall is about a 10 minute drive away, and has a good butchers and deli counter as well as plenty of nice foodie things to buy.
