Springwood Lodges - Fun Days Out

Lightwater Valley is a family adventure park in North Stainley, near Ripon, set in 175 acres of North Yorkshire countryside. It began in 1969 as a self-pick fruit farm and grew into a theme park, and it was once home to The Ultimate, billed as the longest roller coaster in the world. The park has a mix of thrill rides, much-loved classics and attractions for families to share.

The Spinning Racer family roller coaster won Best New Attraction at the UK Theme Park Awards. Beyond the rides, the park hosts seasonal events, including a Halloween event called Frightwater Valley and firework displays over Swan Lake. It suits families with children of different ages, and anyone who likes a day of rides in a countryside setting. It stays open whatever the weather, though some rides may pause in heavy rain or strong winds.

Tip: Book tickets online in advance, before midnight the day before your visit, to get the online discount rather than the on-the-day price.

Fountains Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery near Ripon, founded in 1132 and dissolved in 1539. Historic England describes it as the best preserved of English abbeys and the finest picturesque ruin. The abbey church and many of the monastery buildings survive, including the chapter house, refectory and lay brothers' dormitory. It sits within Studley Royal Park, an eighteenth-century landscaped garden, and the National Trust looks after the estate. Together they form the Studley Royal including the ruins of Fountains Abbey World Heritage Site.

You can wander the ruins and the water garden, and there is plenty of open space for children to explore. A wooden-abbey adventure playground is a short walk from the visitor centre. Guided tours and an audio guide are available, though tours depend on volunteers. There is also a visitor centre restaurant, a gift shop and plant centre, and picnic tables near the play area. Facilities, hours and tours can change with the season, so check the National Trust page before you go.

Tip: Check the National Trust website for current opening days before you set off, as winter closures apply. The West Gate car park gives level access to the abbey, while the walk down from the visitor centre is steep.

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.

Ripley Castle is a Grade I listed 14th-century country house, three miles north of Harrogate on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It has been the Ingilby family seat for centuries, with a history that includes the Gunpowder Plot and the Civil War.

The gardens and grounds are the main draw: a walled garden, Hot Houses full of tropical plants, ferns and cacti, and spring bulbs including snowdrops and bluebells. A walk circles the ornamental lake, passes two waterfalls and enters the deer park, where fallow deer roam and some of the oaks are over a thousand years old. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the gardens, but not the deer park. The castle is privately owned and has been put up for sale, so check what's open before you go.

Tip: Check the Ripley Castle website for current opening and castle tour availability before you travel, as the estate has been put up for sale. Parking is charged.

The Forbidden Corner is a folly garden in the Tupgill Park Estate at Coverham in Coverdale, inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Built in the 1980s as a private pleasure garden, it opened to the public in 1997. The Folly Fellowship voted it the best European folly of the 20th century.

The four-acre garden is laid out as a maze of statues, sculptures, towers, tunnels, grottoes and water fountains. Highlights include a labyrinth with a revolving floor, a 12-foot conifer dog's head and a 20-foot oak green man. Visitors are given a checklist of things to find, and there is also a brass rubbing sheet with 15 plaques hidden around the garden. There is a café and a gift shop. It has also been named the best children's attraction in Yorkshire.

Tip: Check the official website before you go to see how tickets are booked.

Knaresborough Castle is a ruined fortress perched on a cliff above the River Nidd. Founded around 1100, it later became a royal residence and was largely dismantled after the Civil War. You can wander the medieval ruins, including the pair of towers that formed the main gate, and take in dramatic views over the river.

In the grounds, the 14th-century courthouse is now a museum, with furniture from the original Tudor court and exhibits about the castle and the town. There is also a secret tunnel to explore and family-friendly activities. The castle has also had a famous bird: Mourdour, an African pied crow, went viral in 2018 after being filmed greeting visitors in a Yorkshire accent. The grounds are also used for events and performances.

Newby Hall is a Grade I listed country house beside the River Ure, near Ripon. Built in the 1690s, its interiors were remodelled in the 1760s to designs that include work by Robert Adam and John Carr, and it holds a collection of furniture and paintings. The house is visited on a guided tour. The gardens have extensive herbaceous borders, woodland walks and the UK national collection of dogwoods.

There's plenty more to fill a day. A miniature railway runs along the riverbank, and you'll also find boat trips, an adventure playground, a dollshouse exhibition and a teddy bear house. William Burges designed the Church of Christ the Consoler in the grounds, and there's a restaurant on site. It suits families, and anyone who enjoys history or a good garden wander.

Tip: Dogs are generally not allowed in the gardens or woodland (assistance dogs excepted), so leave pets at the lodge; there's a small dog exercise area by the picnic area.

York Minster is an Anglican cathedral in the city of York and the seat of the Archbishop of York. Most of the building dates from between 1220 and 1472. It keeps most of its medieval stained glass, including the huge east window, the largest expanse of medieval glass in the world, and the Five Sisters window in the north transept.

A visit can include free guided tours led by volunteer guides, a stained glass tour, and the Undercroft Museum, which covers 2,000 years of history. You can also see the Crypt, and visitors aged 8 and over can climb the Central Tower. Families get interactive trails and Little Explorer Backpacks, and history lovers have plenty to explore.

Tip: Pre-book your tickets, and note that a Minster ticket is valid for 12 months. The Central Tower needs a combined ticket and a minimum age of 8.