Harrogate & district · Local news you can trust
Halloween near Harrogate: pumpkin picking at Birchfield, Stockeld and Ripon, Frightwater Valley from £18, and fireworks at 5pm on Saturday 31 October.
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Events
What's On in Harrogate: the Comedy Festival, Then Fountains by Floodlight
Fountains Abbey floodlit from 9 October, Frightwater Valley from the 10th, pumpkin patches at Birchfield and Ripon, then bonfires at Ripon and the Stray.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Viaduct Terrace £350,000 Contract Awarded
North Yorkshire Council has direct-awarded a £350,000 contract to rebuild the collapsed Viaduct Terrace wall in Knaresborough, a day before the petition debate.
Community
Harrogate Local Fund: £89,005 for 19 Groups, Double 2025
Nineteen Harrogate district groups share £89,005, over twice 2025's £37,473. Who got it, from a Killinghall play area to over-60s classes in Boroughbridge.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Christmas Market: 5-6 Dec, Fireworks 4.30pm
Free entry, 10am to 5pm on 5 and 6 December, fireworks over the viaduct at 4.30pm on Sunday. Free park and ride from Manse Lane, and bring cash: two ATMs.
Schools
Harrogate School Transport: 7 Grammar Pupils Now Qualify
Only 4.2% of Harrogate and Knaresborough Year 7s now get free school transport, the lowest in North Yorkshire. The consultation closes 4 November.
Bins
Harrogate Christmas Bin Collections: Both Fridays Move
Christmas Day and New Year's Day 2026 both fall on a Friday, a Harrogate collection day. What changed last year, tip closures and when new dates land.
Harrogate
Harrogate £5.6m Otley Road Cycleways Aimed at Late 2027
Harrogate's Otley Road and Pannal Ash Road cycleways, budgeted at £5.6m, are now targeted for late 2027. Plus 20mph consultations and Bilton crossing delay.
Schools
Harrogate School Term Dates 2026/27: Half Term 26 Oct
Harrogate half term is 26 to 30 October 2026 and Christmas starts 21 December, but Ashville breaks 11 December. Council dates plus six schools' own dates.
Trains
Harrogate Christmas Trains 2026: None on 25 or 26 December
No trains on Christmas Day, almost none on Boxing Day, and early finishes on 24 and 31 December. What is confirmed for Harrogate line travel so far, and when.
Bins
Harrogate Tip Opening Times: 8.30am to 4pm, Shut Wednesdays
Harrogate, West Harrogate and Ripon tips open 8.30am to 4pm from October, close every Wednesday, and turn away unregistered cars. Christmas closures, charges.
Half Term
Harrogate October Half Term 2026: 26 to 30 Oct, What's On
Harrogate schools break for half term from 26 to 30 October 2026. Ten things on that week, from Harlow Carr's spooky trail to Fountains by Floodlight.
Christmas
Harlow Carr Glow 2026: 26 Nov to 30 Dec, Adults From £15.25
RHS Harlow Carr Glow runs on selected nights, 26 November to 30 December 2026, 4.30pm to 8.30pm. Adult tickets from £15.25, and every visitor must pre-book.
Harrogate Live is written for Harrogate and the towns and villages around it: Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Starbeck, Killinghall, Spofforth, Masham and the Nidderdale villages up towards Pateley Bridge.
Since April 2023 one authority has run all of it. North Yorkshire Council covers more ground than any other council in England, from Skipton across to Whitby, and the decisions that change a street in Harrogate arrive inside paperwork written for the whole of that. Somebody has to read it and pull out the part that applies here. That is most of what we do, and the rest of the week goes on keeping the practical pages right.
Every figure we publish carries a link to the document it came from, so you can go and read that document yourself.