Days Out: Harrogate's Royal Baths

Do drink the water (and bathe in it)

What are they?

Opened in 1897, Harrogate's Royal Baths were once Europe's premier destination for hypochondriacs and the pampered rich, with politicians and royalty among those who came to take the famously sulphurous waters. The assembly rooms and winter garden lounge are no longer in use, but in March this year the Turkish Baths reopened after extensive refurbishment of the Victorian facilities and the addition of a new health spa.

Inside the Royal Baths building, the Turkish Baths & Health Spa comprises a Russian steam room, three hot rooms with original tiling, a Swedish sauna, a Victorian tiled plunge pool and rest area, plus eight treatment rooms in the spa. Allow two and half hours for basic pampering; longer for additional treatments.

Where is it?

Crescent Road in the centre of Harrogate, North Yorks, HG1 2RR (01423 556746; www.harrogate.co.uk/turkishbaths). The entrance is via Parliament Street.

Something for the children?

The baths admit only people over 16. However, Valley Gardens (off nearby Cornwall Road) has swings, tennis courts and a café, so your partner can keep them amused while you pamper yourself. Alternatively, frighten your offspring with a trip to the Royal Pump Rooms Museum, where they can drink Harrogate's sulphurous water (it really does smell like rotten eggs), then treat them to a cream tea at Betty's, 1 Parliament Street (01423 502746), the finest tearoom in the North.

Something for the adults?

Start with a shower, then have your pores opened and your muscles eased in the steam room. Hurl yourself into the cold plunge pool, then enter three increasingly hot interconnecting chambers – the tepidarium, the calidarium and the laconium. Warmed to the bone, you can retire to the elegant frigidarium to cool down and rehydrate. That is how the crowned heads of Europe did it. If that does not leave you satisfied – and exhausted – there are all manner of massages to be had, and chilled spa water to flush out your system.

Will there be queues?

The baths are open from 9am to 9pm from Sunday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Numbers are limited to 60 people at a time and it is first come, first steamed. Check in advance to make sure you are turning up for the right session: women-only, men-only and mixed bathing are all timetabled. It's not suitable for pregnant women. The cost is £10 for steaming, showering, plunging, baking and resting. Specialist treatments are extra: a one-hour full-body massage costs £27. There is a wide range of beauty treatments plus Reiki, shiatsu and body-wrapping.

Is there anywhere to eat?

The baths has a snack bar, but Betty's is more tempting. Retox at Wetherspoon's or Bar Med, both inside the Royal Baths building, or at Revolution, a vodka bar opening this weekend.

Can we buy a souvenir?

Harrogate sulphur soaps are a bargain at 99p: there is the original version plus two scented varieties. Germaine de Capuccini face and body products are available, plus aromatherapy oils as used in the treatment rooms, posters, postcards and mugs.

How do we get there?

Parliament Street is the A61 between Leeds and Ripon, with the baths at the bottom of the hill and Betty's at the top. Buses stop at Station Parade, close to the baths (www.gobycoach.com). By rail, change at Leeds for the Arriva Northern service to Knaresborough, stopping at Harrogate (0870 0007245).