Family

Wentworth Castle Gardens National Trust Review

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This National Trust is a go-to favourite of ours. It is situated in Barnsley off junction 37 of the M1 using postcode S75 3EN on maps.

Offering 60 acres of differing beautiful gardens, the park and woodlands surround a grand stately home that is now used for various other uses, including training. It is South Yorkshire’s only Grade 1 registered landscape which is pretty special I would say!

It is quite a pleasant drive up to the entrance passing a nice (it looks nice but we have never been in) pub on the right-hand side. As you go further up the hill you pass many sheep which is lovely.

Whenever we have visited, and we have been many times over the past couple of years, it has never felt too busy. That is what we always feel as we park up. There are always plenty of spaces and it does not feel crowded in any way which I know is important to a lot of people. It feels like you are in the middle of nowhere and there is so much to explore

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Roberts Park for Families Review

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Roberts Park Map

As a family with two small children, we always look for new outdoorsy things to do on the weekend. The excitement when you discover a new place to visit within a radius of your home is something we love.

Roberts Park is a 14 acres public urban park in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, England. Higher Coach Road, Baildon, is to the north and the park is bounded to the south by the River Aire. A pedestrian footbridge crosses the Aire and links the park to the village of Saltaire.

We ventured to Roberts Park at the back end of the Summer months to meet friends who live locally.

We really enjoyed our visit to Roberts Park. It’s a beautiful park to walk around. Wonderful wildlife throughout, a cafe (overlooking the cricket field) and a bandstand. You can also walk right along the river which is a flat, even surface. Lastly, you can even venture over the bridge into Saltire which is a quirky place with plenty to do. Just over the bridge is the Salt Mills which have been converted into boutique shops and galleries. The building is a relic of Bradford’s industrial past.

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Damflask Reservoir walking for families

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This is predominantly a family cycling blog but as active travel enthusiasts, we also like to walk too! 

We had a quiet Saturday afternoon and decided to grab our spreadsheet of ‘free family fun’ things to do and find somewhere relatively local. Damflask reservoir was on our list.

Damflask Reservoir is popular for angling and water sports, but there’s also a great walk around the water’s edge.

It sits just within the boundary of the Peak District National Park, giving it a beautiful countryside setting whilst still being easily accessible from the centre of Sheffield, just 5 miles to the east.

There are actually a number of other reservoirs in the surrounding vicinity so if walking is your thing it’s a good place to visit. These include Agden Reservoir & Dale Dike Reservoir both of which are managed by Yorkshire Water.

There’s no parking at the reservoir however it’s situated just outside the village of Low Bradfield which has plenty of parking and facilities available. The village for us was the icing on the cake and made the day even more enjoyable than we could imagine. The village has fantastic facilities including public toilets, a village hall, The Schoolrooms cafe, a post office/shop, a village field and a play park. It has everything you could imagine to enjoy an afternoon out. 

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Skirlaugh to Sutton Village Cycling for families (Trans Pennine Trail)

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Skirlaugh is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately 7 miles northeast of Hull city centre on the A165 road. Originally a farming community, it is now primarily a commuter village for Hull.

We had the pleasure of recently staying in Willow Pastures Country Park in Skirlaugh which is a small holiday lodge site. One of the draws to the lodge park was its proximity to the Trans Pennine Trail. They weren’t lying. The Trans Pennine route is flat and incredibly family-friendly with the majority of the route being on non-car routes.

You can actually travel in two directions. One is towards Hull City centre (approximately 8 miles) while the other takes you to the coastal region of Hornsea. We chose the route towards Hull City Centre but stopped at the village of Sutton. As you can see from the map below the village is in fantastic proximity to the trail. (In the green).

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Sandal to Yorkshire Sculpture Park Cycle Route

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Yorkshire Sculpture Park


As a dad with two small children my primary cycling with the kids tends to be safe, designated cycling routes. But as a keen leisure cyclist, I like to stretch my legs a little and add some distance while taking in the nature around me.

My house in Sandal, Wakefield is within cycling distance of the Yorkshire Sculpture park. Armed with my rucksack, supplies and my laptop I set off in the hope of spending the morning working from their cafe.

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Sandal to Nostell Priory cycle route

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As a family, we always enjoyed spending time outside vs indoors. Over the past two years, this however has been heightened by government lockdowns and the need for micro-adventures on our doorstep.

I spend a lot of time on my bike; both with the family and individually. There’s nothing more liberating than exploring your local area by bike. It’s great for your body and mind too!

One of the primary reasons we moved to Sandal was due to the many walking spots on the doorstep. When utilising a bike this becomes a whole additional arena of enjoyment.

My main goal is to find cycle safe routes to places in the surrounding area. Recently I managed to make it to the wonderful National Trust Nostell Priory while largely avoiding main roads and cars. Not only does this make a more enjoyable ride but also a safer one too.

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