City Guides
Harrogate
Sports
Harrogate is home to four large leisure centres, numerous gyms, golf courses, riding schools, walking associations and a sailing club, providing plenty of options for visitors to the region. There are also numerous groups and organizations for those staying a little longer or living in the region.
The Hydro, on Jennyfield Drive, opened less than ten years ago and serves the area with three swimming pools, a fitness centre, a crèche and a café. The gym is located in a large room with state of the art equipment, including a low impact ‘Kinesis’ machine. The centre is open seven days a week, closing at 10pm Monday to Thursday, 7pm on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday. Membership offers vary, and a ‘pay as you go’ option is available. For more information, call 01423 556 767.
For those with children, Knaresborough Pool is always popular. The large leisure pool comprises a hot water bubble pool, water flume and large shallow section, along with an area for more experienced swimmers. There is also a café on-site, with a viewing gallery for those not wanting to swim. Contact the centre on 01423 860 011.
Starbeck Baths are based in a nineteenth-century spa on Spa Lane. The water is, on average, eighty-six degrees and consequently very popular with children and the elderly. Call in or contact the spa on 01423 883 155.
Other leisure and fitness centres in the town include Ripon Spa Baths (01765 603 383) and Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre (01423 711 442).
The National Centre for Combat Martial Arts is based in Valley House on Hornbeam Park Avenue, and is a martial arts training gym and teaching centre. Group and individual tuition is available in Kung Fu, kickboxing, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, combat and yoga. For non-members, a single session is £5 and a double £7.50. Contact the gym on 01423 530 168.
Harrogate might not be the destination that springs to mind when considering a sailing break, but Ripon Sailing Club formed in 1957, is based on a twenty-acre lake in Knaresborough and facilities are available seven days a week. There are races on Sundays, a ‘Young Opportunities Course’ for child sailors, and boats are available for private hire on the weekends. Call the Club on 01423 865 467.
Harrogate is home to a number of golf clubs, with courses ranging from the notoriously difficult to the gentle and leisurely. The Harrogate Golf Club is set into 6250-yards of parkland between Knaresborough and Harrogate town centre; mostly flat terrain, but with subtly placed bunkers and mature trees, suiting a more thoughtful style of play. The club was established in 1892 and the course designed by Alister MacKenzie, the same course architect responsible for a number of other courses around the world. Contact the club Secretary, Peter Banks, on 01423 862 999.
Oakdale course was also designed by Dr MacKenzie, and the club established in 1914. The course is 6456-yards, and set into the moorlands of Oakdale Glen.
The Hydro, on Jennyfield Drive, opened less than ten years ago and serves the area with three swimming pools, a fitness centre, a crèche and a café. The gym is located in a large room with state of the art equipment, including a low impact ‘Kinesis’ machine. The centre is open seven days a week, closing at 10pm Monday to Thursday, 7pm on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday. Membership offers vary, and a ‘pay as you go’ option is available. For more information, call 01423 556 767.
For those with children, Knaresborough Pool is always popular. The large leisure pool comprises a hot water bubble pool, water flume and large shallow section, along with an area for more experienced swimmers. There is also a café on-site, with a viewing gallery for those not wanting to swim. Contact the centre on 01423 860 011.
Starbeck Baths are based in a nineteenth-century spa on Spa Lane. The water is, on average, eighty-six degrees and consequently very popular with children and the elderly. Call in or contact the spa on 01423 883 155.
Other leisure and fitness centres in the town include Ripon Spa Baths (01765 603 383) and Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre (01423 711 442).
The National Centre for Combat Martial Arts is based in Valley House on Hornbeam Park Avenue, and is a martial arts training gym and teaching centre. Group and individual tuition is available in Kung Fu, kickboxing, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, combat and yoga. For non-members, a single session is £5 and a double £7.50. Contact the gym on 01423 530 168.
Harrogate might not be the destination that springs to mind when considering a sailing break, but Ripon Sailing Club formed in 1957, is based on a twenty-acre lake in Knaresborough and facilities are available seven days a week. There are races on Sundays, a ‘Young Opportunities Course’ for child sailors, and boats are available for private hire on the weekends. Call the Club on 01423 865 467.
Harrogate is home to a number of golf clubs, with courses ranging from the notoriously difficult to the gentle and leisurely. The Harrogate Golf Club is set into 6250-yards of parkland between Knaresborough and Harrogate town centre; mostly flat terrain, but with subtly placed bunkers and mature trees, suiting a more thoughtful style of play. The club was established in 1892 and the course designed by Alister MacKenzie, the same course architect responsible for a number of other courses around the world. Contact the club Secretary, Peter Banks, on 01423 862 999.
Oakdale course was also designed by Dr MacKenzie, and the club established in 1914. The course is 6456-yards, and set into the moorlands of Oakdale Glen.
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