Blossoms 'rival Japan' as visitors flock for photos

Sakura season in Japan attracts millions of tourists a year - but a UK spa town's residents argue a 6,000-mile flight isn't required to witness spectacular blooms.

Long rows of candy floss-coloured cherry blossoms are in season in Harrogate, with the short-lived natural phenomenon creating a vivid tourist destination.

Visitors are heading to North Yorkshire to pose amongst the pink confetti, with local photographers offering themed photo shoots before the petals disappear.

One of those is Bethany Clarke, whose photographs of the trees on The Stray have appeared in national newspapers.

"They are really popular this year, and have been growing over the past five to six years," she says.

"I can see why because it is a beautiful backdrop."

She continues: "I have been really busy with lots of families, couples, people who are expecting babies - it works for everyone."

Ms Clarke believes people sharing their blossom photos on social media has caused huge interest in the area of public parkland as a photo shoot destination.

"I think year on year it is getting busier and busier, people from outside Harrogate are flocking here to see it," she says.

"They see photos on Facebook or Instagram, they have seen a friend had a shoot done and they want to book in too."

The tradition of enjoying blossoms between March and May in Japan is known as "hanami", or "flower viewing", and carries deep cultural significance.

The photographer, who lives in Harrogate, says she visited the country for sakura season and has spotted visual similarities in her local park.

"It blew my mind how everything there is cherry blossom themed, they really are quite obsessed with it - and I can see why because it's stunning," she says.

Smiling beneath the bright canopy, Memory Mawarire and her family are meeting up to take photos while the flowers are in bloom.

"We live nearby but we have just come out to have some fun, get some pictures around the cherry blossoms," she says.

"Last year I saw people from Japan mostly, and quite a few from around here."

Natalie, her niece, says it's the first time this year they've managed to get together to photograph the trees.

"We had to 'go big or go home' and try to get all the cherry blossom pictures in - as many as possible!"

Shirley Sutton, who has travelled down from Newcastle to visit her friend Jen, says: "I saw it on her photographs on Facebook and I said I'd come as well.

"I'm glad I managed to catch it before it falls down - it is gorgeous and we have been really lucky with the weather."

Jordanna Vallance and Fran Addis, both from Harrogate, are picnicking in the sun and plan to return each year to photograph their babies in the blossom.

"It is one of those destinations to visit each year isn't it," Ms Vallance says.

"As soon as the blossom comes out you've got to come down and see it."

Ms Addis adds: "It is stunning, it would rival anything in Japan.

"It is nature, and being out in nature is so good for everybody."

• About 200 cherry trees were planted in 1953, to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

• The area was part of the Forest of Knaresborough, a royal hunting forest which passed into the hands of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, in 1369

• It remained in the hands of the Duchy of Lancaster, which still owns the freehold on the 200 acre public space

Ian Choi, another local photographer, says: "For me, taking photos during blossom season is about more than just the blossoms - it's about capturing the feeling of the place, the connection between people and the land.

"Through my photography, I hope to show that the cherry blossoms here are not just pretty flowers, they carry a lot of meaning for Harrogate too."

He adds: "It's a beautiful place to work, and I feel very lucky to be part of it."

The Stray Defence Association was started in 1933 to safeguard the land, with chair Judy d'Arcy Thompson describing the spectacle as the "stunning herald of spring and early summer".

"We have had Japanese wedding celebrations conducted underneath the cascades of double blossom," she says.

"In recent years it has attracted lots of Japanese tourists celebrating the importance of the blossom, which is known by them as sakura."

"It expresses the fleeting joys, impermanence and yet hope of life," she concludes.

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