Harrogate literature festival celebrates star line-up

The four-day literary festival, which kicks off tomorrow and is hosted at the St George Hotel, boasts Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Timothy West, Kate Adie and Jay Rayner among its speakers.

Raworths, one of Yorkshire’s longest established law firms, is the title sponsor of Harrogate International Festivals’ literature festival for the third year.

Zoe Robinson, from the company, said: “We’re really excited about this year’s literature festival; it’s an incredible line-up and just gets bigger and better every year.”

Organisers promise guests will have their minds stretched, funny bones tickled and tastebuds teased by their star speakers, who also include former politician Jonathan Aitken and BBC journalist Kirsty Wark.

And on Saturday, festival goers can look forward to a unique discussion between best-selling DCI Banks author Peter Robinson and actor Stephen Tompkinson, who plays the eponymous hero Yorkshire Detective Inspector Alan Banks in the ITV series – about the transition of DCI Banks from page to screen. The duo will also be joined by executive producer Gabriel Silver.

Construction contractor the HACS Group – more used to industrial developments – has created bespoke sculptures (pictured) to celebrate the festival season.