The Very Best Days out in Yorkshire

From iconic nature reserves to museums, are these the best days out in Yorkshire?

No matter your interests or level of mobility, there are plenty of leisurely days out to be had in Yorkshire – even if you’ve already ridden your Fenetic electric bike along Yorkshire’s most scenic cycle routes.

Click the name or photograph for each destination for more information, including how to get there.

1. Sheffield Winter Gardens

The Queen herself opened Sheffield Winter Garden – a tropical oasis in the city centre, where everything from Eucalyptus trees to Norfolk Island pines are watered by hand. Wander peacefully among 2,500 plants from Central America, China and Madagascar at Europe’s largest urban greenhouse. It’s easy to make a day of it, what with the loos, tea and coffee on offer at the nearby Gallery Café.

2. Bradford’s Industrial Museum

Celebrate Yorkshire’s industrial past at the Former Worsted Mill, which only stopped producing fabrics in 1970. Explore all four floors of Bradford’s Industrial Museum to see vintage transport and a Victoria general printing office, as well as the textile and steam power machines. Want more? Nip into Moorside House, once home to the mill manager, or step into the mill worker’s terraced houses – decorated to show three different eras.

Better yet, you can use your electric scooters in the public areas, charge your scooters or wheelchairs if you need too and use accessible toilets. The friendly staff will help you use the lift and also, a concrete slope leads you to the main entrance of Bradford’s Industrial Museum.

3. Spurn Point Nature Reserve

Want to get back to nature? Check the tide times and head to Spurn Point. Depending on the season, you could see grey seals bobbing above the water, even a whale if you’re lucky, as well as grazing black Hebridean sheep or wild roe deer and tens of thousands of birds among the dunes. Think reed warblers, stonechats and chiffchaffs. This part of Yorkshire is even home to the UK’s largest dragonfly, the Emperor.

The nature reserve is more accessible than you might think. There’s a charge to drive to the Point, but parking is free and there are disabled parking bays near the loos and the Blue Bell Café – where the family can grab a warming brew and cake or a cooked dinner. You’ll get a good view from the paths around the car park and inside the two viewing hides. And footpaths are open all the time, although some spots will be tricky to navigate with a wheelchair.

4. Cusworth Hall Museum and Gallery

Head to Doncaster for a fun-filled, free day out at Yorkshire’s Cusworth Hall Museum and Gallery. Park in a Blue Badge bay, pick up your free quiz sheet (and courtesy wheelchair) from the reception desk and explore the Great Kitchen, bakehouse and laundry room at your leisure. You’ll soon find out how the people of Doncaster lived from the 18th to the 21st century, before stopping for lunch at the Butler’s Tearoom.

Outside the Grade 1 listed hall, there are acres of parkland to explore, complete with three lakes. The top lake is entirely accessible on a fully tarmac path.

5. Nosterfield Nature Reserve

This 150-acre former quarry near Rippon in North Yorkshire has become one of the best wet grassland nature reserves. See, all three bird hides are connected by a pedestrian walkway and all 1.5km footpaths are accessible by wheelchair. That makes it easy for you to get up close and personal with the shoveler, redshank and lapwing birds, no matter your mobility issues. There are no loos or cafes at Nosterfield Nature Reserve, but that gives you an excuse for a picnic in the great outdoors.

Cover image copyright Anthony Stewart Vardy, licensed for use under Creative Commons. Sheffield Winter Garden copyright Monika Kostera, license for use under Creative Commons. Spurn Point copyright Bryan Ledgard, licensed for use under Creative Commons. Cusworth Hall copyright Kate, licensed for use under Creative Commons. Redshank copyright Jevgenijs Slihto, licensed for use under Creative Commons.