Best Things To Do & Days Out In Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Get your explorers hat on at Wakefield Museum, where you can stand on the back of the fierce Calman crocodile, which was captured in South America by the local 19th century naturalist and explorer, Charles Waterton. Discover other objects and anomalies from the past as you learn about love, war, crime and play through the eyes and stories of the people that lived here long ago.

Keep that door to history open on this Wakefield family day out with a visit to Sandal Castle. Walk around the ruins of this 13th century stone castle, which has now been extensively explored and excavated. Go to the visitors centre to piece together the artifacts that were found to tell the story of medieval life.

The Hepworth Museum is a huge gallery that’s very welcoming to children. They provide a trail aimed at those aged 5-12 to help families move through the exhibition and keep them engaged, and there’s an outside play area with a wooden pirate ship and a zip wire that makes for a perfect riverside picnic spot.

For something a bit different than the usual soft play and bowling alleys, head roughly five miles out to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Discover 60 open-air pieces of art situated in 500 acres of 18th century parkland. Informal and free for children to run around, it truly is an installation with a difference!