Things To Do In Yorkshire

As it's now the summer holidays (I really wish I had 6 weeks off work, that would be great) I thought it would be good time to write about places to visit in the Yorkshire Area.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park - Doncaster

I visited for the first time last month when I had a week off work. The weather was absolutely fabulous (which is typical as I forgot my suntan lotion). This is a great place for adults and children alike. It's in Doncaster and is easy to get to from the A1 (more details here). There are plenty of animals to see such as Lions, Tigers, Amur Leopards, Giraffes, Zebras, Ostriches, Camels, Meercats and Squirrel Monkeys, the list goes on. You can get pretty close to all the animals (obviously with barriers around the dangerous ones) and there are some great viewing areas. We had a fabulous view of the leopard walking up his climbing frame. There were some animals that we didn't see much of such as the lions and tigers and painted hunting dogs who were all lazing around sunbathing and who can blame them. 

We had some pretty close encounters with a few of the animals. The Giraffes were about a metre away and you are allowed into the enclosures of some of the smaller animals such as the Lemurs, Squirrel Monkeys and Wallabies and they were able to come up to you if they chose to, although the wallabies are the only ones you are allowed to touch as I think the others may bite so best to keep little fingers away no matter how cute they look. All in all it was a great day and it was lovely to see the animals close up. They looked like they were very relaxed and taken care of. It's easy to wonder if these are the best places for these animals, but when reading about the lions you realise they have been rescued from very awful environments and they are now living the life of riley. I would definitely recommend this place if you have a day to visit. There are also places to eat, a gift shop and a play area for the kids.

This prices are here. There is a discount if you book online (its only 50p but every little counts right) and you also can bypass the queue for tickets when you get there.

Hepworth Gallery - Wakefield

This is fairly new to Wakefield and I thought I would add a little bit of culture to my life by visiting when I was on holiday. It's free to enter but parking is £4.50. I must admit it wasn't my cup of tea and when I went into one of the exhibitions, which was full of car tyres randomly placed around a room (I kid you not, I thought there must be a secret camera filming me to see what my reaction was), I realised modern art is not for me, but if you are into that sort of thing it's worth going and won't break the bank. There is a cafe and also a play area outside for the kids. Be aware that there are a couple of exhibits of a sexual nature, but they are well sign posted (to keep kids away not encourage the adults to look I imagine).

Xscape - Castleford

For abit more fun and something child friendly, but definitely not purse friendly Xscape is a great place to visit. There is indoor skiing, 10 pin bowling, crazy golf, Laser Quest and the cinema (which now has an IMAX screen), as well as places to eat such as TFI Fridays, Ask, Giraffe and Frankie and Benny's and there is factory outlet shopping just across the road as well. Parking is free and it's just off junction 32 of the M62. There is also a gym for those of you feeling energetic which costs from £9.99 per month. I tried the skiing once before here (I got a really good deal on Groupon) and the lesson was really good but it's one of the hardest things I have ever done and I don't think its one of my natural talents.  I must have worked off loads of calories though as it was tiring and I have never sweated so much in my life (TMI?).    It is a good place to visit as there is something for everyone. There is a great ride for kids near the ski area.  I've included their facebook page here as I think it's easier to check it out than explain it to you, but it makes me wish I was a kid as I would have loved to ride them when I was younger.  

There are a number of other things to do around Yorkshire which I've listed below, which I might put on my things to do when I next have time off work.

Royal Armouries - Leeds

This is a museum with 5 galleries - War, Tournament, Oriental, Self-Defence and Hunting.  It's free to enter so while its not my normal cup of tea I might check it out one day.

The York Dungeons - York
I visited this a number of years ago for a work do and it was pretty good. This is a 70 minute journey thorugh Yorks horrible history.  I remember getting scared by the actors who took their roles very seriously.  

Mother Shiptons Cave - Knaresborough

I remember going on a school trip here quite a number of years ago (do they still do school trips).

Meadowhall - Sheffield
Loads of great shops under one roof.

There are all sorts of things to do around Yorkshire, too many to mention here, so if there is anything that you think would be worth adding please add a comment.

Leighlee

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