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CHRISTMAS is definitely the time to spoil yourself, friends and family, but for something truly special, you have to know where to look.

Bath House in Ilkley is slightly off the beaten track, but is well worth tracking down as it has everything you’ll need.

Just walking into the quant and beautiful building, at the junction of Hawksworth Street car park and Brook Street, is a delight to the senses. Resembling an apothecary from days gone by, the cabinet and shelf displays of soaps, fragrances, bath oils, candles, and much more, are a joy to behold.

Smelling your way through the products is a unique sensory experience, and with fragrances such as the best-seller patchouli and black pepper, frangipani and grapefruit, Spanish fig and nutmeg, and velvet orchid and cardamom, it is hard to choose just one.

The success of the business has been impressive, but by only using natural ingredients and taking inspiration from nature, art and poetry, it is easy to see why Bath House, which started trading in 1997, has opened its seventh shop in Ilkley this year.

Nigel and Abigail Brooks and Pauline and Gareth Marshall are artists and designers in different disciplines who ran their own business before coming together to set up Bath House. Gareth’s brother, Glyn, also joined the business, making it a real family affair.

Wherever possible, products are sourced in the UK, and everything - from creating the fragrances, designing the packaging, arranging the styling and the photography - is done in-house.

Even the swirling skies Christmas windows, inspired by Van Gogh and based on starry nights and frosty days, have been hand-painted by Nigel and Abigail.

While items can be bought separately – a bar of soap, a body scrub, a perfume – for Christmas there are some fabulous gift boxes that are a pleasure to give and to receive.

Containing carefully considered selections of luxurious Bath House natural products, the signature boxes feature the swirling skies design, and are all hand-tied with a ribbon and finished with meticulous attention to detail.

Bath House, Ilkley is really worth a visit for a fabulous choice of luxury, natural products at affordable prices, from an independent outlet with the customer at its heart.

There is a lot of truth in their slogan – that Bath House is a beautiful secret unlocked.