This story is sponsored by Belmont Grosvenor School which will be holding a Bonfire Night Party on Friday, November 4. There will be s’mores round the campfire, music, hot food, a licensed bar, stalls and more. Gates open at 6pm, the bonfire will be lit at 6.30pm and the firework display starts at 7.20pm.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate and cost £10 for adults (children under the age of 18 are free). Get them in advance by emailing kaye.walker@bewonder.co.uk.
Bonfire night is fast approaching so we have put together a list of events coming up in the Harrogate district.
They all take place over the weekend of November 4, 5 and 6.
Let us know if we have missed your event and we will add it to the list. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197.
Belmont Grosvenor School Bonfire Party
Where: Belmont Grosvenor School, Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 2JG
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm fire lit, 7.20pm firework display
Tickets: £10 with children under the age of 18 entering for free
Ripon Rowels Rotary Charity Bonfire and Firework Display
Where: Ripon Racecourse, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon, HG4 1UG
When: 5.30pm start, 7pm fire lit, 7.30pm firework display
Tickets: adults £6, children £3, family (2 adult, 2 child) £12, under 3s free
Spofforth Village Firework Display
Where: Spofforth Cricket Ground, School Lane, Spofforth, HG3 1BA
When: Gates open 5pm, 7pm-7.15pm firework display.
Tickets: Family pre-paid £12:50 and on the gate £15. Adult pre-paid £4 and on the gate £5. Child pre-paid £2:50 and on the gate £3.
Swinton Bivouac Silent Bonfire Night
Where: Swinton Bivouac, Masham, Ilton, Ripon, HG4 4JZ
When: 6.30pm bonfire lit. There will be no fireworks or loud bangs.
Tickets: free entry, food and drinks available from the Bivouac Café
Aspin Park Academy Fireworks Night, Knaresborough
Where: School grounds
When: 5.15pm start, 6.30pm firework display
Tickets: Advance online booking – adults £4, children £3, family ticket £12, preschoolers free. On the gate – adults £5, children £4
Harrogate Stray Bonfire and Fireworks, Harrogate Round Table
Where: Oatlands Stray, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ
When: 5pm start (there will be entertainment), bonfire lit 5.30pm, 7.15pm firework display
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Upper Nidderdale Scouts Group Pateley Bonfire
Where: Pateley Bridge Showground
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm torchlit procession and bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Kirkby Malzeard community village bonfire
Where: North Close Farm, Ripon Road, Kirkby Malzeard
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: Free entry but donations welcome to fund next year’s event. Parking is available at North Close Farm. No sparklers allowed. Bring a torch.
Yolk Farm Bonfire and Burger Night – dog-friendly
Where: Yolk Farm, Minskip Road, Minskip, York, YO51 9HY
When: 5.30pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, no fireworks
Tickets: free entry for the event, advanced bookings only for Burger Night in the restaurant – 5:30pm and 8pm sittings
Staveley Arms Bonfire
Where: The Staveley Arms, Greenfields, North Stainley, Ripon, HG4 3HT
When: 6pm
Tickets: £5 per person to include a choice of hot dog or cup of soup
The owners of the Wild Swan, the 19th century inn at Minskip, near Boroughbridge, have hired Paul Murphy as chef.
Alex Bond and Stephen Lennox, who bought the Wild Swan last year, heralded Mr Murphy’s arrival as the start of a new era for the inn.
Mr Murphy previously built up the Timble Inn near Otley into a five-star hotel and worked with chef Frances Atkins at the Michelin-starred Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge.
Chef Paul Murphy (left) and co-owner Stephen Lennox. Photo: Laura Hargreaves.
Mr Bond said:
“Paul’s appointment is crucially important for the future of the Wild Swan.
“He has a superb reputation and we are in no doubt that he will take the Wild Swan to a completely new level in terms of the quality and the presentation of our food.
“We are looking to establish the Wild Swan’s reputation for excellent food and drink in relaxed and informal surroundings, making it a destination location for food lovers across the county.”
Mr Murphy said he was “determined to give Minskip and the surrounding district an inn to be proud of”, adding:
“I have completely revamped the menu and am determined to create enjoyable and imaginative food at competitive prices. I haven’t been here long, but the reaction so far has been brilliant.
“I am aiming to replicate the success I had at the Timble Inn, which my wife and I ran from 2009 to 2014. Like the Timble, the Wild Swan has immense potential.
“This is a fabulous opportunity. Alex and Stephen have given us a blank canvas. They simply wants the Wild Swan to be at the heart of the Minskip community and to be loved and treasured by villagers.”
The owners said this year they intended to create a microbrewery at the inn but a spokesman for the venue said those plans were currently on hold.
Minskip scarecrow competition set to return this weekend
A scarecrow competition in the village of Minskip is set to return this weekend.
The annual event will be held on Saturday (September 3) and Sunday (September 4) with a pantomime theme.
The annual competition sees almost the entire village making scarecrows which then line the main street in a blaze of colour throughout the weekend.
Debbie Hargreaves, one of the organisers of the event, said:
“It’s absolutely wonderful how so many villagers have made scarecrows in the past and I expect the same this year. The competition has really caught the imagination of the village and the standard is incredibly high.
“It’s great fun and all proceeds from the competition go towards our little church, which, like so many rural churches, is desperately in need of money.
“It may still be summer, but the Panto season has come early to the village. I can’t wait to see Buttons, Widow Twanky, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk and even the back end of a horse all fighting it out to win our prestigious competition.”
The entry fee is £10 and the competition will be judged by Minskip councillor Monika Kaczmarczyk.
Prizes have been donated by Thorpe Perrow Arboretum and two Minskip businesses The Wild Swan pub and restaurant and the Yolk Farmshop.
(L-R) Minskip villagers Robert Beaumont, Meghan Holmes, Rob Peacock, Monica Kaczmarczyk, Val Tattersall and Beverley Johnson.
The winners of the competition will be announced on Sunday afternoon at 3pm in the garden in front of the church.
Robert Beaumont, senior churchwarden of Minskip Church, added:
Fire destroys BMW on A1 near Boroughbridge“I’d like to thank Debbie for all her hard work, enthusiasm and imagination in creating this fantastic weekend. It will raise much-needed money for our lovely little church.”
A BMW was destroyed by fire on the A1 near Boroughbridge last night.
Firefighters from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge were called to the blaze at 9.16pm last night.
They used two hose reels and two breathing apparatus to douse the flames.
It is not believed anyone was injured but in a tweet last night North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Vehicle totally destroyed. Two hose reels and two breathing apparatus used. Believed to be due to an electrical fault.”
Plumes of smoke rising above the carriageway. Photograph: @NorthYorksFire, Twitter
It was one of two car fires in the district last night.
A crew from Boroughbridge was called when a Skoda Fabia caught fire in Minskip shortly before 8pm.
The cause is again believed to be a faulty engine.
The Skoda engine suffered fire, heat and smoke damage.
Body found in search for missing Minskip man
A body has been found in the search for a missing 31-year-old from Minskip, near Boroughbridge.
Luke Earnshaw was reported missing after leaving home on Saturday just before 2.30pm.
He was seen walking down Thorndikes Lane towards Staveley.
North Yorkshire Police said the body found today has not been formally identified but is believed to be that of the missing man. His family have been informed.
Posting on a local Facebook group, a family member thanked everyone who had helped in the search for Mr Earnshaw.
She also praised police officers’ support to the family, adding:
“He’s finally at peace after suffering with mental health for many years.”
Police launch urgent appeal for missing Minskip man
North Yorkshire Police has launched an urgent appeal to locate a missing man from Minskip.
Luke Earnshaw, 31, was last seen on Saturday (June 11) when he left his home on Prospect Terrace in the village shortly before 2.30pm.
He was seen walking down Thorndikes Lane towards Staveley.
Officers are extremely concerned for his welfare.
Luke is of slim build with a bald head and bushy ginger beard. He has tattoos on his arms.
He was captured on a doorbell camera (pictured above) when he left his home. He was wearing a blue jumper, brown jacket, dark blue jeans and a grey flat cap.
A police statement added:
Minskip Farm Shop plans dog walking area“If you have any information which could help locate Luke please contact police on 101 or call 999 for an immediate sighting. Ref: 12220101715.”
A farm shop in Minskip has lodged plans to create a dog walking field next to its premises.
Minskip Farm Shop, on Minskip Road, has submitted the plans to Harrogate Borough Council which would see agricultural land next to the store changed to create a walking and activity area.
The area, which is south west of the farm shop, would be fenced off and be open during daylight hours, such as 5am until 10pm in the summer.
The farm said in a statement to the borough council that the proposal represent another expansion of the business, which includes the shop and cafe known as Yolk Farm Kitchen.
In a planning statement, the developer said:
“The growth in popularity and demand at Minskip farm, alongside the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to a growing need to increase and diversify their commercial offering to continue meeting local needs and employing more local people.
“The proposed dog walking/activity field will contribute a new revenue stream for a nationally recognised and locally cherished business, whilst providing local people with a safe and secure area to walk and train their dogs.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
New artisan market at Boroughbridge this weekend
An artisan market is being held at Minskip Farm Shop near Boroughbridge on Sunday.
The market is the result of a partnership between Yolk Farm, which owns the shop and Little Bird Markets, which already runs numerous markets. including ones in Harrogate. Knaresborough and Ripon.
Stalls will sell handmade goods, artisan products and local produce.
Exhibitors include Marley Fields Pet Boutique, Flora & Co, which sells garden products, York Swirling Soapery and Blueberry Hill Preserves, which sells chutneys, preserves, honey, curds and cheeses.
Jackie Crozier, managing director of Little Bird Markets, said:
“We will have a wide variety of traders selling their artisan goods and Easter items, for last minute gifts. The farm shop will be open for food and the farm for visiting the animals.”
The farm, which provides alpaca experiences, is also running an Easter egg hunt.
The market will take place from 10am to 3pm at Yolk Farm on Minskip Road.
Plan to create microbrewery at Wild Swan in Minskip
Plans have been lodged to convert a neglected outbuilding at a Minskip pub into a microbrewery.
The owners of The Wild Swan on Main Street in the village, near Boroughbridge, have lodged the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council.
It would see a building on the site converted into a microbrewery and function room, which would include a food preparation area and toilet.
Documents submitted to the council say the conversion of the outbuilding would help to provide “much needed flexibility” for the pub.
It added that the proposal would lead to “significant investment” in the building. which is deteriorating and has been “seriously neglected”.
The document said:
“The outbuilding has been seriously neglected and is in need of significant investment to rescue it from further, irreversible, deterioration.
“The building will convert efficiently to provide the proposed accommodation requiring only limited alterations, thus removing any risk of changing the character and appearance of the area.”
The move to refurbish the building comes after three friends from Harrogate and York clubbed together to buy The Wild Swan in Minskip last summer.
After running the pub for a few months they closed it in January for a refurbishment and reopened to customers the following month.
The outbuilding at The Wild Swan at Minskip.
Owners Stephen Lennox, Alex Bond and Alastair Benham unveiled a new and improved pub and told the Stray Ferret earlier this year that a microbrewery was on the cards as part of the refurbishment.
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
New owners unveil Minskip pub’s fresh lookThe new owners of a pub near Boroughbridge have unveiled a fresh look in the first part of major plans for the venue.
Three friends from Harrogate and York clubbed together to buy The Wild Swan in Minskip last summer. After running the pub for a few months they closed it in January for a refurbishment.
Supply issues caused by coronavirus delayed the reopening. What was only meant to take a few days ended up taking three weeks but the owners managed to open the doors today.
Diners enjoying The Wild Swan on reopening day.
Owners Stephen Lennox, Alex Bond and Alastair Benham have replaced the greens and yellows of the pub with more muted off-white tones.
While they are keen to make a name for themselves for the menu, which is under the direction of new head chef Liam Philbin, the trio also want to improve the pub in other ways for locals.
Mr Lennox told the Stray Ferret today:
“The pub side has been improved in a cosmetic way. The restaurant side has had a total renovation with new flooring, new furniture and decorations.
“We’ve also improved the bathrooms and extended the kitchen. From the outside as well you can see the pub has had a refurbishment. We’ve painted the building, installed planters and outdoor seating.
“There wasn’t anything wrong with what it was before but it wasn’t what we wanted it to be. It’s a real freshen-up and brighten-up. We want to keep the country pub feel but put our own stamp on it.”
The dining room has undergone a major refurbishment.
The owners are also planning to convert a building at the back of the pub to make room for a private dining room and a microbrewery with a beer garden connecting the two.
Mr Lennox said he hoped those additional works would be completed by May.