A family from Australia made the 10,000-mile trip to see Harrogate Theatre's Christmas pantomime earlier this month - and happened upon snow for the first time.
Ginny Armstrong and husband Simon were visiting family near Skipton with their children Lillian, 11, and Lucas, 9, when they went to see this year’s production of Beauty and the Beast.
And their visit from Bega in New South Wales coincided with heavy snowfall across the Harrogate district - something the children had never seen before.
Lillian and Lucas built their first ever snowman at Harrogate Train Station, which has since been shared on various Harrogate Facebook groups.
Lillian told Your Harrogate:
“It was so fun! We built two snowmen - one was mini and there was a big one, which we decorated with flowers.
“Their names are Greta and Billy.”
Simon, who is originally from Yorkshire, had flown back to Yorkshire with his family for Christmas, spending three weeks visiting his mum in Cononley near Skipton.
It’s from here they got a very snowy - and “tricky” - train to Harrogate to see this year’s pantomime.
And this was another first for both Lillian and Lucas, who had not seen a panto before.
They were full of praise for Harrogate panto legend Tim Stedman, who played Philippe Fillop:
“He was so funny. He came into the audience which was really good.”
Ginny was also impressed - and somewhat surprised - by this year’s “amazing” show.
She said:
“I loved it. It was not what I expected!
“I was just amazed by the vocal talent of the singing, the acting was fabulous… It was just beautiful.
“I love Harrogate Theatre, it’s such a special place.”
She added:
“We were so happy to go as it was our Christmas present from Grandma to all go to the panto together.
“It was made extra special because it was a snowy day on the train, so it was a beautiful trip there and back - it was a great day.”
Ginny had asked the question on social media if the snowmen had remained at Harrogate Train Station following their trip back to Australia.
The pair seem to have disappeared, with one person speculating that they’ve jumped on a train to Scotland.
Listen to Your Harrogate's Pete Egerton chatting to the Armstrongs and what the children thought of the wintry weather:
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