Ideas for days out, including Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Jorvik and the Park

Next month's Days out

I have decided to get organised and plan my days out a bit better. No more procrastinating on a Sunday with picnic packed wondering where to go. I know I won't manage to visit all of them in May but these are the places on my list at the moment:

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

One of my favorite day out locations. It's a place that we all agree on as everyone likes it there. I'm really looking forward to seeing the FABRIC-ATION exhibition by Yinka Shonibare.

Walk round Swinsty reservoir

We went here last year and it was gorgeous, it's quite a long walk but my then 3 year old just about managed to keep going. The promise of an ice cream pit stop half way along helped.

Paddling at Burnsall

Burnsall is a beautiful village in the Yorkshire dales and is fantastic for paddling or just generally lolling about by the river. It's also a great excuse to visit the Craven Arms one of my all time favorite pubs.

Jorvik Viking Centre in York

I went here loads as a kid but haven't taken mine yet. Still not sure if it might scare the small one but they are both obsessed with Horrible Histories so I reckon it could be a success. Saving this for a rainy day.

The Park

I am lucky enough to live near Hall Park in Horsforth, though to be honest I don't really need to make a plan to go. You can already find me there several times a week usually imploring with small people not to go quite so fast on their scooters as they disappear off into the distance.

Other Parks

I want to try out other parks around Leeds and Yorkshire. Meanwood Park is lovely and I love a wander round the lake at Roundhay. Golden Acre Park, The Chevin and Bingley St Ives were all recommended to me by Twitter friends and are on the list too.

Any other suggestions? 

Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate, Bettys Tea house

Last Sunday we went to one of my favourite outdoor places, Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate. It’s one of the RHS’s (Royal Horticultural Society) 4 gardens and the only one in the north. Harlow Carr ticks all my day out boxes: loads for the kids to do, good facilities,outdoors running about, a nice environment for the grown ups , interesting stuff to look at, and most importantly proper coffee.

Treat yourself to a Bettys' or take a picnic

Harlow Carr is home to the newest Bettys and also has a lovely Bettys outdoor Tea House within the gardens. We usually take a picnic and then treat ourselves to a proper Taylors’ coffee and ice-cream for the kids or sometimes I can’t resist a fancy cake or Fat Rascal. The cafe serves food but as expected with Bettys it isn’t that cheap. However, unlike some places that serve food Harlow Carr are quite happy for visitors to bring their own supplies and have a greenhouse next to the cafe set out with tables for rainy picnics.

Woodland playground

First job of the day was to roll down some hills and race about on the lawn then we headed straight to the playground. The playground is quite small but is all made from wood and has different things for the kids to play on including rocking platform that makes a perfect imaginary pirate ship!

It’s a small thing but one of the great things about Harlow Carr is that all kids’ activities have handily placed benches for the adult to have a rest on whilst supervising (aka waving occasionally) at their kids.

Explore the maze and climb up the tree house

After the playground we visited the maze, which has a fab fort in the middle. One word of warning, the maze has an exit at the back and I caught the youngest trying to escape that way. Next stop was by far our favourite place, the Tree House. It’s quite new and provides hours of fun. It can get very busy, but that doesn’t seem to bother the kids - it just means more new friends to play with. They can climb right up to the top of the tree house, which is definitely made with kids rather than adults in mind. I felt sorry for the man who had to climb up the tiny stairs to rescue his small person whilst we were there. 

The tree house is surrounded by a wooden balance trail that my kids absolutely love and will happily do loads of laps. All while I sit on an aforementioned bench, drinking lovely coffee and waving supportively.

Climb along the Logness monster

I finally managed to escape the tree house with the promise of a visit to the Logness monster. It is exactly what it says on the tin, a long monster made of logs that’s perfect for clambering along. 

En route are the Roman columns with attending stone lions, perfect for putting on a show and pretending to pet the animals. We also usually go off track as well and explore the woods to look at wildlife and plants. The gardens are very well designed with kids’ stuff all located at the back of the gardens. Ie visitors can enjoy the gardens and peace whilst remaining unbothered by children rampaging nearby.

There’s loads of other stuff, which we didn’t get to this trip including a lake, ornamental gardens and the visitors centre. The kitchen gardens are definitely worth a visit as everything is really well laid out and labelled. 

Activities for the children

Harlow Carr always have something on in the school holidays and often on a weekend. We didn’t get chance this visit but they were offering various craft projects. Activities are usually free of charge but with a suggested donation.

They always have a free treasure hunt / trail during school holidays with clues around the garden for kids to find. This time is was egg themed for Easter and focused on finding out about creatures and colours. My eldest loves doing these, the 4 year old doesn’t really get it yet but quite likes stamping his card.

Gorgeous gardens and unusual plants

As you'd expect with a Royal Horticultural Society Garden, the gardens are beautiful and full of unusual plants and flowers. When we went it was still quite sparse because of the awful March weather but it will be blooming now. My favourites are the gorgeous rhododendron bushes along the tracks and displays in the ornamental gardens. 

Shop in the garden centre

The shop and garden centre are well stocked with unusual gifts and plants but I avoid that and go straight out of the exit to avoid any pester power. (Another plus, exit through the gift shop is optional.)

How to get there and cost

Harlow Carr is on the North East side of Harrogate and is easily accessible from Bradford, Leeds, York and Harroate as well as further afield. We drove and there is a large free car park. Apparently there’s a regular bus service from Harrogate train station.

I’ve got a family card which I bought on a discount day, which has already paid for itself after 3 visits. Whilst not free, standard entry is fairly reasonable (in my opinion) at £20.70 for a family of  2 adults and 2 children as there’s loads to do and you could easily spend the whole day there.

Cow and Calf Rocks Ilkley

Happy school holidays everyone! Hope you are having fun and still smiling. We had a great day out on Monday. A group of us went to the Cow and Calf Rocks in Ilkley for some small person rampaging. They are a big rock formation on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire. The rocks consist of a large outcrop (the cow) and a small boulder (the calf).

To be honest, though I’ve heard of Cow and Calf before I’ve never been and wasn’t really sure what to expect. I duly found the directions, made sandwiches, went back for the forgotten sun hats, and off we went. We drove and it took about 30 minutes from north Leeds. There is a good free car park that’s well signposted and cafe and toilets. 

It's a brilliant place. The scale really took my breath away, with fantastic views over the valley and Ilkley. The larger outcrop has shear walls and rock climbers scaling the rockface fascinated the kids. It is possible to scramble up the rocks but we took the safer option and followed the path round to the top. We spent ages wandering about and discovered a stream and waterfall, played hide a seek and explored some of the many paths through the heather. As you can see from the picture below, some of children found better hiding places than others...

The kids were a range of ages and the smaller ones (4) struggled a bit with some of the steeper paths but the older 6 year olds thought it was fantastic. It's a great place to visit to enjoy some proper Yorkshire terrain. Though it's not for the faint hearted; I have to admit we used up a couple of Mr Bump plasters! We took advantage of the large grass space next to the café for our packed lunches and treated ourselves to a coffee. Then it was home with happy exhausted parents and kids, a sign of a good day out.

Ideas for future trips

I've got a confession. I know that it's the digital age, and we are supposed to do everything online but I love tourist leaflets. So great excitement yesterday when this lot arrived. I'm on loads of mailing lists as I enjoy reading about what's going on.

It's also a great way to get the kids involved as they enjoy reading through them (well, the youngest looks at the photos). I think a return trip to Knaresborough is needed and I like the look of Pateley Bridge. We're also excitedly planning a few theatre trips. The Snail and the Whale at the Carriageworks looks good so does the Gruffalo at the Grand. I think we will also try to get the the Giant and the Bear next week which look like it's going to be a bonkers circus extravaganza.

  

Yeadon Tarn, Leeds

In need of a blast of fresh air we went to Yeadon Tarn on Friday afternoon. It's a big erm... tarn set within Tarnfield Park in Yeadon next to Leeds Bradford Airport, which is in North West Leeds. Those of you who've landed at the airport will confirm that it can get a bit breezy up there so coats are recommended. It's about a 10 minute walk from Yeadon town centre and has got a big free car park. Tarnfield Park is a public park and totally free.

It's essentially a big lake set within a park with the added bonus of ducks to feed, boats to watch, a bandstand, a playground and a frisson of excitement when your small person gets too near the water's edge.

First stop was to feed the ducks. There are loads of ducks, geese and swans; the tarn is a conservation area so is also home to lots of other birds including coots and terns. I found this good blog that's got more information about the birds. Though, the swans can sometimes get a bit ferocious so watch out. We saw loads of ducklings who were very cute. We also spotted this stripey goose, no idea what it is but it looked cool!

The Leeds Sailing Club is based at Yeadon Tarn and it's great to watch the boats. I love the sound that the masts make clinking in the wind. Makes me feel like we are somewhere by the sea. The Model Boat Club is also based at the tarn and there's a good shallow area for sailing remote control boats.

 

One end of the tarn boarders the runway so occasionally a plane taxis past. The combination of wild nature and massive jets is fab. The tarn has got a good path running around it. It's suitable for prams and is about 1km long. We walked round the lake, stopping occasionally to ask wave at ducks, jump in puddles and watch the planes. It's a good distance as you get a fair walk but even quite small legs can manage it.

After the lake we had the obligatory prance about the bandstand. I'm not sure why all children love bandstands but mine can't resit one. Then it was off to the playground. To be honest, the playground at Tarnfield is a bit ramshackle but the kids don't seem to mind and spent ages playing a very complicated game of off-ground tig.

It was a bit grey when we went so my photos don't really do the area justice. Here's a link to a Flickr group for Yeadon Tarn that I found. There are some gorgeous photos on there.

Yeadon Tarn isn't strictly speaking a whole day out but it's a great free place to visit and I would recommend it. We often combine it with a trip to the Square Monkey Cafe at the Multiflight Centre, it's next door to the airport fence and you get a brilliant view of planes and helicopters landing and taking off. There's good coffee, cakes, free wifi and loads of exciting transport/airport related things to keep the kids entertained.

Castle Howard

Castle Howard in North Yorkshire is somewhere that I’ve wanted to visit for ages but it always seemed a bit far away. Following a glowing recommendation from a friend we decided to make the effort and went last Sunday. It’s a stately home owned and still lived in by the Howard Family. Most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. It is set in huge grounds dotted with statues, lakes and monuments. 

We drove from Leeds and it wasn’t as far as we thought. It’s just past York on the A64 and only took about an hour in the car. It is very well signposted and the approach is absolutely gorgeous passing through ancient archways. There is a large free car park and apparently a good bus service from York. As with all private properties it wasn’t cheap at £23.00 for a family of four (£33.50 if you want to look at the house too) but you could easily spend all day there, so I think it’s good value. Our kids were given a lovely free pack with colouring-in and a trail to follow.

First we walked through the long walled flower filled garden. It had the perfect kid combination of low hedges and grass to rampage around. Then we walked round one of the several lakes and up to the impressive Temple of the Four Winds.

After that we ventured into Ray Wood. It is a great combination of wild woodland for exploring, interesting planting, good paths and the occasional surprise statute. I have visions of having a picnic in one of the glades, if it ever stops raining.

The Mr kindly took the kids to the adventure playground while I had a look round the house. I’d really recommend visiting the house. It has lots of treasures including important painting and porcelain collections. They welcome kids, but I have to admit I quite liked going round on my own.

According to one of the very friendly and chatty guides, the yellow colour in this dinner service was made with arsenic. They realised it was poisonous when the workers started dying. Apparently now it’s just for show. (really!!) 

The adventure playground is great with loads of wooden structures suitable for different ages from toddlers to bigger kids. Ours liked the terrifying high slides best. The playground is conveniently situated next to the lovely lakeside café and ice-cream stand. I always rate playgrounds on my ability to get a decent coffee nearby so a definite big tick. After that we were all suitably exhausted and got the fab ‘land train’ back to the car park.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Castle Howard. It fits my requirements for somewhere child and rampage friendly but very pleasant for the grown ups too.

The Deep Aquarium in Hull

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Because of the ‘ahem’ slightly inclement weather this weekend we decided to visit The Deep today. 

It's easy to get to by car straight over the M62. I've never gone there on public transport but trains to Hull are fairly regular and there is a bus service from the train station, or if you are feeling energetic you could walk. They've got a big car park and it cost £3 for 6 hours.

At £34 for a family ticket of 2 adults and 2 children, it is fairly expensive. Although, if you sign up for gift aid your ticket grants you free entry for a year on all subsequent visits, which makes it better value.

The visit starts via a room covered in stars that we all really liked. Then you walk down a slope with great interactive displays about about planets, evolution, fossils and how the oceans originated. Some were a bit beyond my young kids but I reckon older children would find it all interesting.

The huge tank full of jellyfish was a success and I had a valiant attempt to explain how come they were see-through. (Still not sure to be honest). At the bottom of the slope you reach an open shallow tank with brightly coloured fish, including Dory - sorry fish purists but all small children refer to fish by their Nemo names! It was great because the kids could get really close to the fish. Next to the tank was the demonstration area where a very friendly assistant helped us to stroke a crab and starfish. It was extremely exciting and terrifying in equal measures as you can imagine.

The Cold Water section was quite spooky with huge dark, moody amazon river fish that seemed to swim really slowly. We also saw a bright blue lobster, I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't realise they were blue before being cooked.  The kids loved the ice kingdom with it's enormous ice walls.

We stopped for a quick rampage in the play area that was handily placed halfway round. After that, you reach the main bit, which is the 10m deep tank; apparently it's home to 7 different types of shark and hundreds of fish. The Deep has lots of different ways to interact with the tank and see the amazing array of fish, sharks and stingrays. Our favourites were the viewing bubbles where you climb a ladder and your head pops up inside the tank and the tunnel under the tank. It was fascinating watching sharks and sting rays swimming above us. You can leave via a glass lift that moves through the tank, which was amazing.

I haven’t covered everything that was at the Deep, just the bits that we really liked. Other highlights, included my favourite, a beautiful tank full of coral. My little boy’s was predictably the slime exhibit with slugs, snails and brightly coloured poisonous frogs.

I’d definitely recommend a visit to the Deep. There’s a good café serving nice food and the shop is fantastically called the 'Deepartment Store', why wouldn't you want to visit that? If you have time, take a walk along the river front and also check Hull out.