Dale Pitt Lakes and Lodges - Fun Days Out

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is a zoo and conservation centre on the outskirts of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. You explore on foot, with three walk-through animal reserves and themed lands that recreate habitats from around the world. Highlights include Project Polar with its polar bears, Land of the Tigers with a raised walkway, Lion Country, Lemur Woods and the African Plains, where giraffes and zebras share a large paddock.

There are ranger talks and live shows, a dinosaur-themed Pangea area and six indoor and outdoor play areas, so younger visitors have plenty to do. Next to the entrance, The Yorkshire Hive has shops and places to eat, plus Planet Putt, an indoor adventure golf course that is handy if the weather turns. Families and animal lovers will get the most from a visit.

Tip: Booking tickets in advance is cheaper than buying on the day, and Planet Putt next to the entrance is a good wet-weather add-on.

The Deep is a public aquarium in Hull, overlooking the Humber Estuary where the River Hull meets it. Its Endless Ocean tank holds sharks, rays and northern Europe's only pair of green sawfish, and you can walk through Europe's deepest viewing tunnel or ride a glass lift through the water. Elsewhere you'll find the Lagoon of Light with colourful tropical fish, plus turtles, jellyfish, coral, fish that glow in the dark and penguins.

There are hands-on displays and an interactive area where you learn to control an underwater diving vessel, and a chronological journey through the story of the oceans. Daily talks cover sharks, penguins and artefact handling. It was voted the best family place to visit in Hull, so it suits families, and anyone curious about marine life. The Deep is a charity, so your visit supports its conservation work.

Tip: Check the daily talk times when you arrive and plan your visit around the shark and penguin talks. Use HU1 4DP or HU9 1TU for sat nav, which takes you to Tower Street.

Pontefract Castle is a dramatic medieval fortress, now a ruin, with plenty of stories to tell. Built by Ilbert de Lacy in the late 11th century, it is thought to be where King Richard II died, and it saw a series of sieges during the English Civil War. Today it is also a much-loved community space, and entry is free.

You can wander the towering ruins, look into the deep dungeons and visit the medieval herb garden, which grows around 160 varieties of plants. There are free family activities and guided tours, plus a visitor centre, gift shop and the Keep Café, which has vegan, gluten-free and kids' options. It suits history fans and families with children, and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds.

Tip: Use the free car park behind the castle (sat nav WF8 2JF). It is a 122m walk to the site, cobbled and uneven in places, with a 1 in 13 gradient. Check the castle website for any roadworks affecting access before you go.

The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft sits on part of a former wartime RAF station in Lincolnshire. It was founded in 1969 to house and restore trolleybuses as they disappeared from Britain's streets, and its collection is now described as the largest of preserved trolleybuses in the world, with well over 50 vehicles.

It isn't just old buses. There is a Toy Museum, a Cycle Shop Museum, a replica pre-fab home and a 1950s/60s street scene with shop windows and period displays. Younger children have play areas, and there is a Lecture Theatre/Cinema showing videos, plus the Tea Trolley Cafe for a break. The museum describes itself as a family day out for all ages and has a reputation for friendliness. It opens only on selected days, so check its Open Days page before you set off.

Tip: The museum only opens on selected days, so check the Open Days calendar on its website before you travel.

Cusworth Hall is an 18th-century Grade I listed country house near Doncaster, built in the Palladian style by George Platt and altered by James Paine. It is a country house museum, with displays on the history of South Yorkshire inside the hall.

The hall stands in Cusworth Park, a landscape created by Richard Woods. His design included a serpentine river of three lakes, with features such as the Rock Arch and the Cascade. There is also Lady Isabella's Garden on the west side of the hall, and decorative outbuildings including a Brew House, Stable Block and Lodge. The hall looks out over the town of Doncaster.

It suits history lovers and anyone curious about the story of the area and the family who lived here. The hall has also been a resource for local residents, students and school groups.

Conisbrough Castle in South Yorkshire dates back to the 11th century, and its stone keep was built around 1180 to 1190 by Hamelin Plantagenet, half-brother of Henry II. Standing 28 metres high, the circular keep has six massive buttresses, and its design is unique in England. The castle also gained fame as a setting in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe.

Climb to the top of the keep for views over the surrounding countryside. On the way you'll explore three big chambers and a miniature chapel, guided by larger-than-life wall-projected figures. Graphic novel-style interpretation features builders, servants, ladies-in-waiting and squires from the castle's past. An introductory exhibition tells the story from the beginning to today. If you'd rather skip the stairs, a cutaway model offers a virtual tour of the keep.

Tip: Book advance tickets online to save 15%.

Tropical World is a licensed zoo in Roundhay Park, Leeds, made up of climate-controlled glass houses that each recreate a tropical environment. You start in the butterfly house, where butterflies fly freely around a swampy setting with terrapins, koi and Morelet's crocodiles. From there you move into an Aztec-themed aquarium with stingrays, octopus, seahorses, piranhas and poison dart frogs.

Further on are a rainforest house with a tumbling waterfall and reptile displays, a canopy house with free-flying parrots and cotton-top tamarins, and a desert house with a mob of meerkats and tortoises. The last house is a nocturnal one, home to bats, armadillos and pygmy slow loris. There is a café overlooking the Canal Gardens and a gift shop at the entrance, and the surrounding Roundhay Park is there to explore afterwards.

Tip: Free parking is close by, a short walk away, and buses 2 and 12 stop right outside. Dogs, including assistance dogs, are not allowed inside.

Murton Park is set in 14 acres of countryside east of York and is home to the Yorkshire Museum of Farming. Inside you can explore the history of farm machinery, rural life and the Women's Land Army. Outdoors there are animals to meet, play areas, and a short ride on the Derwent Valley Light Railway at weekends.

The living history sites bring the past to life, with a one-third scale Roman fort and a Viking village that are open to all visitors most weekends and school holidays. The Yorkshire Barn Café is on site for a break. Visitors praise the friendly staff, the play areas and the space for small children to run about, so it suits families best, and anyone who likes a bit of history.

Tip: The living history sites may have limited or no access during school term time, so visit at a weekend or in the school holidays to see the Roman fort and Viking village.