Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

To a certain extent I consider this place my old stomping ground; back when I was a Leeds Uni student I switched electives in Law for Dance (the natural choice) and so regularly travelled to the Bretton Hall campus for classes. It still brings back happy memories when I see the old buildings 😍 We came here on an EXTREMELY wet Monday, Steve’s last day of his paternity leave. Jess may have been less than impressed with our rainy walk, but we were still impressed with the beautiful grounds and variety of sculptures.

Whilst there’s not your usual family attractions here (namely no play area), there are activities that children can engage in; the website is a good starting point. It has a number of resources that can be used. And remember it is a Sculpture Park! There are loads to capture imaginations, as well as the great outdoors, nature’s playground! If you do struggle keeping your little ones entertained on walks, this post might help.

The essentials

  • Location: https://ysp.org.uk/visit/getting-here
  • Parking: It’s pricey; over 2 hours is £12. BUT with no entrance fee it still means a relatively cheap family day out.
  • Facilities: Plenty of benches if you want packed lunches. A few cafes with good toilets and change facilities.
  • Accessibility: Mixed. There are definitely flat paths suitable for buggies, but not all of them are, so choose the route of your visit carefully. If it’s your first visit it might be worth checking at the visitor centre so you don’t get stuck. Parts of the grounds are also closed off for renovations which also doesn’t help.

This place is gorgeous, and is a great place to take children exploring! Here’s some pictures from our visit, we’ll have to head back in the sunshine when Jess is a bit happier to be outdoors!

There were some smiles!!

Jess was less than impressed with the rain!

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