Harrogate Turkish Baths

I was introduced to this smiley location by Iona.  She had arranged for a group of her friends and family to go for a session to celebrate her birthday in the summer of 2008.  The baths are in the spa town of Harrogate and are amazingly run by the local council. 

You make your way through the different parts of the Turkish Baths, a journey of heating, cooling and cleansing, leaving you feeling relaxed and with a perfectly clear mind.  Taking your towel with you you move through the Steam Room, into the Tepidarium (the warm room), to the Calidarium (the hot room) and if you can take it into the Laconium (the hottest room) before rushing off to jump into the freezing cold Plunge Pool, with showers inbetween all the stages.  Finally you cool down on the beds in the Frigidarium and during the session you repeat this as often as you want to. 

 

Some people use this as a chance to catch up on their reading, bringing books or making the most of the magazines provided, while others are there with friends and use the time to talk and laugh and catch up, and some just want to lie back and relax.  The whole thing ties you into an experience that has been taking place since the Romans had their baths, through the centuries of Turkish Hammans into the twenty-first century.

 

 

 

Here's the link which will give you all the information you need to plan your own visit:

Harrogate Turkish Baths