The Stray is 200 acres of open common grassland that wraps around the southern and eastern edges of Harrogate town centre. It was protected by Act of Parliament in 1770 — the Enclosure Act specifically reserved it to ensure residents and visitors would always have free access to the mineral wells — and it remains entirely open, undeveloped, and publicly accessible. No buildings, no roads cutting across, just grass and trees within ten minutes' walk of the town centre.
The Stray gives Harrogate its distinctive spacious feel: wherever you are in town, open green ground is close. Tewit Well, one of the original mineral springs that put Harrogate on the map, sits near the southern edge of the Stray, marked by a classical stone canopy dating from 1807.