Harrogate hotel to open 'pastiche dales' beer garden

As pubs, restaurants and cafes prepare to open for outdoor catering, one Harrogate hotel hopes to bring a taste of the Yorkshire Dales to a car park.

The Yorkshire Hotel, overlooking the town's Stray, has moved in tonnes of earth, planted shrubs, grass and laid a dry stone wall to create a beer garden.

Designed to seat about 120 customers, the garden is called Ales in the Dales.

Starting on Monday, it is due to last for about five weeks before being cleared once the hotel can fully open.

Pubs and restaurants serving outside can reopen as planned on Monday, along with non-essential shops, gyms and hairdressers, as England's lockdown is further eased under the government's regulations.

Simon Cotton, managing director of the hotel group, said: "It's a pastiche of the Yorkshire Dales to add a bit of fun to the town and bring a smile to people's faces."

The real Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines with several picturesque valleys.

Under the rules, from Monday customers must order, eat and drink while seated at a table and follow either the rule of six, or be in a group with no more than two households present.

Garden designer Nick Fryer, who is more used to designing gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show among others, said: "We've loved this. It's just what we needed and its been great fun."

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