Harrogate's Turkish Baths are one of the finest surviving Victorian spa facilities in England, and unlike most of their contemporaries they are still in daily operation. Located within the Royal Baths complex on Parliament Street, the interior is a spectacular piece of Moorish Revival decoration: horseshoe arches, ornate tilework in deep blues and greens, and a succession of rooms at different temperatures — frigidarium, tepidarium, laconium, and a central steam room. The whole thing dates from 1897 and has barely changed.
You can book a session in advance, which is wise at weekends. The experience is genuinely relaxing and surprisingly good value — a couple of hours moving between hot rooms and the plunge pool, followed by a rest on one of the original wooden couches, is one of the better ways to spend a rainy Yorkshire afternoon.