In spring 2010, my husband and I decided to visit Harlow Carr in Harrogate. We hoped to have a quiet country walk and see lots of spring bulbs. Entrance is not cheap, costing the best part of £20 for two people during 'peak season'. Lower rates apply at other times, but that still comes to £14 for 2 adults to access the gardens. Children under 6 are free.
Once through the entrance there is a pushchair friendly ramp into the garden. We wandered along paths, through cottage style gardens, woodland and formal planted beds. I think we must have either been slightly too early or slightly too late, however we were a little disappointed by the lack of blooms on display during this visit. There was enough to look at and it was a very pleasant walk, I am just not sure it warranted the entrance cost!
Not to be outdone, I visited again with a group of mums in early July. Again, sadly lots of work seemed to be being done to large areas of the garden! A little frustrating, but nonetheless we once again enjoyed a nice walk around the gardens. We found a lovely woodland adventure playground which will be great when the little ones are a bit older. The highlight of this second visit for me however, was Betty's Tea Room! I'm not going to stray into blogging about food, but when faced with 5 mums, 5 prams and 5 babies the staff were wonderful! They couldn't have done more for us and they absolutely made our trip. I heard from someone there that some Harrogate NCT groups hold meet ups here and I'm not surprised.
I like Harlow Carr but I'd be cautious about heading back just because of how much it costs. It is easily accessible with a pushchair and there is space for children to run about, but I don't honestly know how interested younger children would be. Negatives aside, it is a lovely spot, very peaceful with some lovely gardens, and clean facilities; just be prepared to pay for it!
http://www.rhs.org.uk/
