I could rave on to you for ages about what a wonderful time I had recently on a fitness weekend break in the lovely Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate.

I’d enthuse about the variety of keep fit classes, the excellent instructors, the beautiful hotel and how much there was to see and do in the town. And I’m sure you’d be able to tell from my enthusiasm that I genuinely loved it. And my recommendation could persuade you to check out other breaks offered by the same company.

But Lindi, who runs Simply Escape UK and realises the huge power of word of mouth, also understands the power of pictures. Nothing brings something to life better than great images. So she asked me to capture the story of this weekend break to help her market future events. Now this was my idea of the perfect assignment: work with lovely people, on a really enjoyable project, in a glorious location. Not a bad work life balance, eh? (Sorry if I sound a bit smug but it was a lovely job and is what motivates me to be self employed).

Have a quick browse below of my highlights from this lovely weekend. If you would like to bring your event or business to life with gorgeous photographs get in touch for an informal chat about your requirements.

I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in some of the classes and I made sure to capture images at all of them. Guests could pick and mix from a wide variety of classes including pilates, yoga, stretch, self-defence and kickboxing. Our coaches were Tony Mousah and Cilla from Cilla’s Fitness.

The hotel was really lovely, owned by Country Living, with all the attention to detail you’d expect from them. It was such a change to have a proper mug in the room (I know it’s the little things isn’t it?!) and I really liked the modern, tasteful décor. And did I mention the cushions? So many comfy cushions piled on the bed.

Luckily there was enough free time to explore Harrogate, take in the historical buildings, get some fresh air in the Valley Gardens and even time for tea at Betty’s famous Tearooms. I was sorely tempted but didn’t want to undo the good work I was doing in the exercise classes.

A real bonus on this particular weekend was that the Harrogate Christmas market was taking place. The town was all geared up for it and shop windows were sparkling with lights. The market itself isn’t too big, not quite as crazy busy as those in large cities and a real treat to wander around and photograph.