This week's program Up Your Street takes you to Harrogate, a small town in Yorkshire. Harrogate became a fashionable resort during Victorian times, when people came to take a bath in the mineral waters. Today, few people come to visit the town for its mineral waters. Instead, Harrogate has become a popular town for people to retire to. Its clean air, attractive parks, and the absence of any industry, make this an ideal spot for people looking for a quiet life. Now, to tell us more about Harrogate, I have with me Tom Percival, President of the Chamber of Commerce. Tom, one of the things visitor notices about Harrogate is the large area of open park land right down into the middle of the town. Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, certainly. The area is called the Stray.
Why the Stray?
It's called that because in the old days, people let their cattle stray on the area, which was common land.
Oh, I see.
Then, we've changes in farming and in land ownership. The Stray became part of the land owned by Harrogate.
And is it protected?
Oh, yes, indeed. As a special law, no one can build anything on the stray. It's protected forever.
So it will always be park land?
That's right. As you can see, some of the Stray is used for sports fields.
I believe it looks lovely in the spring.
Yes, it does. There're spring flowers on the old trees, and people visit the town just to see the flowers.