Long weekend in Yorkshire

[Spillanelle]

We have a family wedding in Yorkshire in August. We’re in the South West so it’s a long trip for us so im thinking it would be good to stay for a few extra days and make the most of it.

Any recommendations for nice places to stay or things to do? I don’t know the area well at all.

Just to add, I’ll be 7 months pregnant and we’ll have our 2 year old with us.

It honestly depends where in Yorkshire the wedding is, it’s a big old county!!

North, south, west or east yorks ? As above it's big. So from leeds (west) to whitby (east coast) it can take 2 hours.

@Forevernamechange12333333 It’s in West Yorkshire. Wakefield I think.

Can you be more specific?

Don’t mind driving a little bit after the wedding though to somewhere else if there is somewhere particularly nice to visit

Yorkshire sculpture park is lovely, that’s a few junctions down from Wakefield. I would imagine it is more the outskirts of Wakefield rather than Wakefield itself as that’s where the larger hotels tend to be.
York is always worth a visit and isn’t far away at all, York dungeons, the minister, lunch by the river.

Ah cross post! Wakefield? Ok. I don't know Wakefield at all, I'm afraid. I'm further north.

(Wakefield itself isn’t worth spending any time in)

York maze is fantastic. They have a big sand pit and water play area your 2 year old will love. It’ll be just over an hour from Wakefield. You can pop into the designer outlet centre on the way home.

Yorkshire sculpture park is nearby and Leeds city museum is v kid friendly.

Where's the wildlife park? I think that might be near Wakefield. I gather they've got the only polar bears in the UK.

Magna is good for kids although two might still be too young. There's a cool water splash park outside though.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park is between Wakefield and Barnsley, Wakefield has the Hepworth Gallery, but I can't really see it appealing to a 2 year old. IMO the best place to visit is Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster. It has expanded quite a lot in recent years and it is a lot of walking, which at 7 months pregnant I would have struggled with.

Yorkshire wildlife park is good, it’s Doncaster. The polar bears and red pandas are fab!

Not Magna for a 2 year old. DD was terrified at age 7 when I took her.

I have just remembered - Cannon Hall Farm
This will be ideal for a 2 year old, and is only 2 junctions down the M1 from Wakefield. There is loads of open space in the grounds of Cannon Hall itself if you want to sit down, and there is an amazing farm shop and cafe.

Is your two-year-old a boy or girl? Not that it matters. Diggerland, Castleford might interest them.

(MN don't flame me. My DD would have hated it. My DS would have loved it!)

Magna has a basement where you can sit and rest an hour while you child explodes rocks in a quarry (foam) and then plays with diggers in sand. And the best adventure playground, although 2 year old won't get full value from it.
I spent most of my first 3 years of parenting at magna. It is in both children's post Covid to do list.

Stockeld Park near Wetherby has a summer adventure thing suitable for little ones.

Harrogate nearby is a nice town to visit with a paddling pool at Valley Gardens, which is a nice park and has a good playground.

Knaresborough is pretty and you can hire a rowing boat which DC might find fun.

York is a gorgeous small city but probably wasted on small children. You'll have a nice walk round though down the shambles and round the Minster.
York dungeons is good but too scary for small children! York maze would be good I think, though I've not been myself.

National Railway Museum in York is good

I don't think much of Yorkshire Sculpture Park but the National Coal Mining Museum is about 5 mins away from there and is great. There is also a Room on the Broom walk in Wakefield and the museum in Wakefield library is cute

Ooh yes to the National Coal Mining Museum, but I wouldn't take a 2 year old on the underground tour. It's free as well.

York
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Mother Shiptons Cave/Harrogate area

Cannon hall farm a million percent!!!! And your 2 yr old is free (or used to be when I went a yr ago) it’s easy and nice . Lots of animals and age appropriate things

Digger land your 2 yr old isn’t going to be that entertained .... needs to be a 5/6 year old plus

Sculpture is ok but super busy .... free outing for a couple of hrs

Hepworth gallery don’t bother ... too much stress and not enough gain . Parking is crap. I wouldn’t take my children there ago

Tropical land in Leeds is nice with butterfly’s and cheap - another win

Lotherton hall absolutely fantastic- got falimgos and nice wild park - cheap

Temple museum another fab farm and cheap entry and good play ground.

York is not a child friendly environment for children and especially the dungeons 😂😂😂😂 fine for quick lunch for adults but not 4 kids

Can u tell I have 4 children to entertain when I visit my mum in Wakefield 🤣🤣🤣🤣 and I can’t afford to spend £100 for wildlife park

Magna closed over a yr ago ???

Have fun xxx

I'm about 20 mins away from Wakefield.

From there you can easily visit places which I see are already mentioned - Bretton has the Yorkshire Sculpture Park lots of outdoor space to walk around. There is Cannon Hall - waking, farm, play area, couple of nice cafe/restaurants, museum, excellent farm shop. I think your DC might be too young for the Mining Museum - it's interesting if you visit again though. In Wakefield itself is The Hepworth - wonderful art, there are things for kids there.

Temple museum another fab farm and cheap entry and good play ground.

Did you mean Temple Newsam?
Auto correct is annoying isn't it

As you can tell, I live not too far from Wakefiled, and out of all the suggestions I think Cannon Hall and the Yorkshire Wildlife Park are your best bets.

Go and stay in Harrogate. Loads of lovely places, restaurants and things to see. The dales is literally 20 mins from there as well. Also get the train to leeds from there as well although you prob wouldn't need to

Whitby. A couple of days by the seaside eating fish and chips and catching crabs