WHAT does Harrogate smell of? I was prompted to ask that question while visiting the Country Living Christmas Fair at the Harrogate International Centre on Sunday afternoon, after the eye was drawn to the Agnes and Cat stand, where a candle tin bore the wording, “The lovely scent of Harrogate Spa made in Cumbria”.

“Hopefully it’s not the Pump Room Museum,” said one wag with suitably sulphuric wit. Definitely not, but could it be freshly cut grass from the summer mown Stray? Or maybe the luxuriating indulgence of the Turkish Baths? Why not a sample of the baking or confectionery at Bettys? Surely not the rich aroma of all that Harrogate wealth?

The answer was forthcoming from Cheryl McPherson, soy candle maker from Gatebeck, Kendal, who had created her Harrogate scent for the fair to sell alongside the likes of the Christmas limited-edition Bah Humbug (minty), Moroccan Roll (woody) and Windermere (Windermerey).

“We chose floral for Harrogate as we came here in the summer when all the gardens are open and the flowers are on show, so in that tin is the smell of Harrogate in the summertime,” she revealed.

Agnes And Cat, named after Cheryl’s dog and black-and-white cat, creates hand-poured natural soy candles blended with the Cumbrian company’s own house fragrances to supply tins and jars to 1,500 shops. Among them is Yorkshire stockist Twig & Whistle, in Hunmanby, on the East Coast. Maybe the salty scent of the seaside could be the next chapter in this soy story.