Harrogate - Saltaire - Yorkshire Valleys National Park

Part of the must-do in Harrogate is Swiss rösti (aka the familiar draniki) for breakfast at the Bettys Café, located on Parliament Street, the city's main street. The first store of the chain opened right here in 1919 and in due course its popularity grew so much that cafes appeared in York, Ilkley and other cities. Bettys, by the way, like most Yorkshire restaurants, serves strong local tea. They make sure to bring one decanter of hot water (apparently for those who had plenty of brew) and another with milk. Those who drink tea without milk are looked upon by Yorkshiremen with a certain amount of scepticism and mistrust. One lady who worked in the village bakery was even a little offended when I asked her not to add milk to her tea.

The next stop is the town of Saltaire. It was founded in 1851 by the English wool magnate Titus Salt, who moved all his production (five separate mills) from Bradford and established a large textile factory there. Salt built a fine, even by today's standards, village for the workers: with plumbed stone houses, a park, hospital, school, library and an impressive town hall. Such a standard of living was quite rare in the middle of the 19th century.