A Harrogate restaurant and bar has unveiled plans for a botanical transformation of their former car park into a Yorkshire Dales inspired beer garden. The Pickled Sprout, located at The Yorkshire Hotel, has spent ten days recreating the iconic landscape - which they've named 'Ales in the Dales' - ahead of welcoming customers from next Monday (12th April). Available for just five weeks, the project has been completed with 120 tonnes of topsoil, 100 tonnes of Yorkshire stone, 10 tonnes of dry stone wall, 350 plants, trees and shrubs, 300 square metres of real grass, 35 tables seating over 100 people and a miniature steam train running amongst the ramblings of the Yorkshire Dales. [caption id="attachment_8883" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The project will use 120 tonnes of top soil and 100 tonnes of Yorkshire stone[/caption]
The Pickled Sprout team have worked alongside Harrogate charity, Horticap, who provide adults with learning and other disabilities training in horticulture, allied crafts and rural skills; and during its five weeks of opening the team are raising money for the charity.
Phil Airey, Assistant Manager at Horticap, said:
"We are delighted to be working with the team at The Pickled Sprout and The Yorkshire Hotel to raise money and awareness of Horticap.
"The idea of the Yorkshire Dales garden is an ambitious project that the team have really enjoyed being a part of and we look forward to seeing the reuse of the plants, trees and shrubs after the event in our charity work."
Once the garden is removed and the space returns to a car park mid-May, the plants, trees and shrubs will be used by Horticap in their work with local disabled people.
Simon Cotton, Managing Director, HRH Group said:
[caption id="attachment_8882" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Harrogate charity Horticap will use the plants, trees and shrubs when the car park returns to normal[/caption] The project has also received support from HACS Group, who delivered 120 tonnes of top soil, 100 tonnes of Yorkshire stone and plant hire to manoeuvre large Yorkshire stone boulders into place to create the hills scene across the car park."When Boris Johnson announced the roadmap out of lockdown, we knew we had to create some excitement about drinking and dining outside in April, especially after the success of our beach last year. We always try to step up the creativity each time we open up, offering something new and exciting to our customers, but I think this is one of the most ambitious projects we have done to date, and quite possibly the most ambitious beer garden created in Yorkshire, if not the UK.
"We are extremely lucky to have the space and prime location to be able to create this beer garden for The Pickled Sprout and we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the creation, it really has been a community project. We hope that our beer garden creation can generate some money for our chosen charities Horticap and Yorkshire Cancer Research."
Talking about the start of the scene transformation, Mark Smith of HACS Group said:
"On the first day of the build we experienced four seasons in one day, but the team worked tirelessly to make sure we kept on track to deliver the ‘Ales in the Dales’. It was quite the sight to see Christmas style trees being planted within a car park in the snow in April, but it certainly put a smile on everyone’s faces.
"We are delighted with the results and so pleased to be part of such a community project."
With a hilly foundation in place, it was then down to Nicholas Edward Gardens to bring the Dales to life in central Harrogate. Chelsea Flower Show Gold winner, Nick Fryer, and his team of gardeners carefully crafted a scene fitting of a rural Yorkshire Dales in the car park.
Over 350 plants trees and shrubs were donated to the community project by Johnsons of Whixley, which have adorned the garden landscape bringing the botanical features of The Pickled Sprout and The Yorkshire Dales together.
Ellie Richardson, Marketing Manager, Johnsons of Whixley said:
“We are excited to be involved with the prestigious Yorkshire Hotel’s ‘Ale in The Dales’ as it marks the end of another lockdown.
“The garden will see our plants used to beautify the area; the plants will be loaned to the hotel for the duration of the project. We look forward to seeing the metamorphosis of the hotels outside space and have no doubt that it will entice people back to the pub and hotel after a difficult 13 months for the hospitality industry.”
The furniture and seating for the garden has been generously donated by Akula Living with some key iconic pieces being supplied by Welcome to Yorkshire.
The final touch of fun is the installation of a miniature real life steam train that will run over 30 metres through the Yorkshire Dales scene, operated by SSD Miniature Railway.
To book a table at the Ales in the Dales or to take a look at the new Spring menu and extensive wine and cocktails list take a look at the website www.thepickledsprout.co.uk
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