I love being a tourist in my own country and even more so in my own county! So, when the opportunity came up to attend a wellness workshop in Ilkley I thought I’d make a day of it.

I grew up in Ilkley and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

With nursery drop off and traffic, I arrived into town a little later than I wanted. So I decided to head straight for my intended first stop, a planned caffeine hit and chance to relax.

I discovered thirty nine Kitchen & Bakehouse on Instagram the night before my trip… The power of social media! It is not something that was here when I used to live in Ilkley but I imagine the rise of coffee shops over recent years has probably helped it pop up.

Walking in, I was greeted by a friendly staff member who seated me to my table in the corner of the cosy cafe. The music was nice and chilled with a beautiful ambience provided by the lights and floral decor. The ceiling lights were decorated beautifully!

If i’m not mistaken, they change the flowers depending on the season too – How creative!

I went for my usual – Hot chocolate. I knew it would be epic as I’d seen the pictures online but it still blew me away. It’s one of those picturesque drinks you see in magazines. It takes a lot to out-sweet me but this one did it. After munching all the whipped cream and chocolate sauce from the top I found a layer of marshmallows before I got to the drink itself! It was lovely but too much for me which says a lot. Next time perhaps I’ll keep it skinny. On the plus – I figured it might fill me for a few hours!

This cafe is cute but they don’t allow prams which means I won’t be coming back anytime soon. They do have a no laptop or tablet policy too which I thought was interesting. It even stopped me bringing my tablet out with me for the day.

I didn’t get to relax here long before I needed to scurry along to my next planned portion of the day!

Introducing… The Clarke Foley Centre.

This is a charity that run lots of events and groups. It’s not dissimilar from the charity I work for in my current town of residence. I absolutely LOVE community hubs like this and I think every town should have one! This was my first time visiting and since I happen to know someone who works here, I was made aware of the event.

For £15 a ticket, I signed up for a morning of ‘Goal-Setting, mindfulness and wellness’. I had literally no idea what to expect but I knew it fell in line with my resolutions for this year so I decided to take the plunge.

What a treat. The day started with a look at our goals for the year. We chose one to focus on and shared it with the group. We journalled, shared, made friends and overall what a lovely bunch of women I met. This element really made me feel empowered and positive about my focus for the year. We moved on to making vision boards and even a bird feeder!

Finishing the session with some hypnotherapy under blankets. I can’t say 100% that I did not fall asleep but what I do know is I revisited some of my past travel locations that I haven’t seen for a long time and at one point I was definitely skydiving. An eventful morning I must say!

After my enlightening few hours, my tummy was starting to rumble. So I used the power of Facebook to determine where to head for lunch. After a recommendation from a local friend I headed to Vitello Lounge.

I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of it. A quick Google search told me it was located in the former Dorothy Perkins in which I spent all my childhood pocket money.

This spot has had quite the transformation and now screams quirky elegant lounge to me.

I’m all about a bargain. So of course I went for the £6.75 midweek lunchtime deal. Half a Tuna Melt Panini with soup of the day. I definitely lucked out with Thai coconut soup on the menu. This was probably the best soup I’ve ever had. I would come back here just in the hope of getting this soup again! Yum.

I lapped up the atmosphere here, making the most of the midweek quietness to write this blog post. I sipped my fruity cider and soaked up the environment before heading home.

A successful day I must say.

If you’re wondering what i did with that bird feeder… Yes I carried it around all day and yes it even came to lunch with me. It’s now hanging in my garden ready to welcome those feathered friends.

Ilkley, you never let me down! Until we meet again, stay trendy.

Visited Ilkley ~ January 2025