Discover the best things to do with toddlers in Yorkshire including amazing days out, train rides, world class museums and theme parks which are perfect for toddlers!

Read More 25 Awesome Baby And Toddler Friendly Places To Stay In Yorkshire

#1. Whistlestop Valley 

Little railway, BIG adventures!  At Whistlestop Valley, you’ll find real-life narrow-gauge steam engines, outdoor playgrounds, a large jumping pillow, an indoor toy area in The Shed, The Firebox café, The Clayton Flyer miniature ride-on railway, The Turntable dessert cream parlour, gift/toy shop and loads of good old fashioned family fun.  On selected term-time Mondays and Fridays, bring your mini-me along for the Young Engineers days: a scaled-down version of a standard day aimed exclusively at toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Learn More – Whistlestop Valley Railway

#2. The Studfold Adventure Trail

The Studfold Adventure Trail in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire is a 1.5 mile farmland trail packed full of activities to interest and excite toddlers. There are clues, fairy houses, sensory boxes, go karts, den building, bird hides and a brand new playground along the trail. The trail is very reasonably priced and picnics can be ordered and delivered to the end of trail – plus there is a Cafe onsite.  Due to the trail passing through fields, I would recommend baby carriers rather than buggies. Pick a nice dry day to do it too.

Learn More – The Studfold Trail

#3. Eden Camp

Housed in a former Prisoner of War camp, Eden Camp is an award winning museum which incorporates the sounds, smells and lights to transport you back to World War 2.  Families can learn about rationing, explore the inside of a U-Boat and see loads of vehicles from World War 2 including tanks, aircraft and mini submarines.  There’s also a new playground just for Under 5’s including a huge basket swing and a Watchover Tower in full Eden Camp spirit!

Learn More – Eden Camp

#4. Birchfield Ice Cream Parlour, Harrogate

This family run farm combines two things toddlers love; cute animals and ice cream. The farm make their own ice cream, and serve amazing milkshakes, waffles and sandwiches and snacks in their café. The farm is also open to the public and has pigs, sheep, cows and guinea pigs to see as well as a straw bale mountain, woodland walk and den building. You may even be lucky enough to bottle feed some lambs!

Learn More – Birchfield Ice Cream

#5. Newby Hall

This is one of Britain’s finest Adam Houses, but also has loads of outdoor activities for toddlers. Newby Hall doesn’t just have an adventure playground– it has an Adventure Garden with toddler swings, climbing frames, and pedalo boats. There is also a miniature train ride and a Tarantella dancing water play area which toddlers will love playing in on a hot day.

#6. The Yorkshire Air Museum

This independent air museum has loads of beautiful aircraft from World War 2 and before. You can’t go in many of the planes, but they are impressive to see from the outside and the NAAFI system café is worth a visit. A great day out for toddlers who like planes and ‘big things’. Make sure you pick up a copy of the ‘Future Pilot’ Treasure Trail!

#7. National Railway Museum

One of our favourite days out – a must for train fans. See famous engines like the Mallard and Japanese Bullet train in this wonderful free museum right next to York Railway station. There is also regular storytelling sessions and a small under 5’s soft play area. Plus, you can get the land train into York city centre afterwards.

#8. York Maze

A fantastic day out in the summer. More than just a Maze, the York Maze has an amazing sand and water playground, slides, painting, tractor rides and much more.

#9. Bolton Abbey

For just £10 per car, the whole family can have a day out exploring the Bolton Abbey estate on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Toddlers will love the woodland walks, playing on the river beach and paddling in the river – don’t forget your wellies! Seasonal events like the Welly Walk adventure trail and the Easter Egg hunt are loads of fun too. Finish your day off with a trip to Billy Bob’s Ice Cream Parlour!

#10. RHS Harlow Carr

Don’t be nervous about taking toddlers to the RHS Harlow Carr gardens in Harrogate! These gardens are really family friendly with a treehouse playground, I Spy trails and a fantastic hill for rolling down.

#11. The North York Moors Railway

We loved our day out on the North York Moors Railway. Catch the train from the market town of Pickering in North Yorkshire and ride in style across the North York Moors to the seaside town of Whitby. Alternatively, you can hope off in Grosmont and have lunch at the fabulously family friendly Old School Coffee Shop.

#12. Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Train

For toddlers with a short attention span, a 15 minute ride on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey steam train is the perfect way for them to get their train fix. Park at Embsay (free parking) and take the train to Bolton Abbey Train Station which is about a 1 mile walk from the Bolton Abbey estate itself. The walk is on little footpaths so baby carriers are recommended instead of buggies.

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in West Yorkshire runs steam trains 5-miles up the Worth Valley to Haworth and Oxenhope. You can relive memories of the 1970’s film, The Railway Children, see where it was filmed and even see five of the carriages which were used in the film.

#13. The Middleton Railway

Ride on the world’s oldest working railway in South Leeds. Take this historic train on a 15 minute train ride to Middleton Park where you can have an ice cream and a run around before catching the train back to Middleton.

#14. The North Bay Mini Railway in Scarborough

The NBR was built in 1931 and runs for aprox 1.4km in Scarborough between Peasholm Park and Scalby Mills, which is the station for the Scarborough Sealife Centre.

#15. Ilkley Lido

I can’t think of a better place to take a dip on a hot summer’s day than Ilkley Lido. This outdoor swimming pool overlooks Ilkley Moor, and is the perfect place for a swim and a picnic. The lido is only open in the summer months – check for more details.

#16. Helmsley Open Air Heated Swimming Pool

There is also a heated outdoor swimming pool in the gorgeous market town of Helmsley. Have a dip and then grab some cake afterwards!

#17. Go to a seaside paddling pool

If paddling pools are more your toddler’s thing, check out the free paddling pools at Filey and on West Cliff Bay at Whitby.

#18. Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal

This is a World Heritage Site near Ripon in North Yorkshire. There is so much to do here that you will be lucky to fit it all into one day. Toddlers will love the adventure playground, seeing the deer park and exploring the woodland and parkland in this vast estate. There are plenty of cafes and tea rooms dotted around too!

#19. East Riddlesden Hall

East Riddlesden Hall near Bradford is smaller than its larger National Trust neighbours but has a Mud Kitchen which is a hit with toddlers. There is also a duck pond with hungry ducks to feed.

#20. A Boat Trip on the River Ouze

Get the York Boat from the centre of York and take 45 minute boat trip up and down the River Ouze seeing this beautiful city from the water – a wonderful thing to do on a sunny afternoon. There is a toilet and refreshments on board!

Buy Tickets – York River Ouse City Cruise

#21. The Naval Battle At Peasholm Park

Toddlers will love watching the naval battle in the historic Peasholm Park in Scarborough. Adults squeeze into 20 foot boats and manoeuvre them round the lake as they take part in a battle which also sees planes flying overhead on zip wires. The battle takes place in the summer months. See website or Facebook page for dates and times.

#22. The Forbidden Corner

The award winning Forbidden Corner, near Richmond in North Yorkshire, is a 4 acre garden with a labyrinth of tunnels, follies, chambers and lots of surprises! This is probably better for older toddlers, due to the unexpected surprises in the garden.

#23. Stockeld Park

Stockeld Park is a large adventure park near Wetherby, which has excellent seasonal events such as their Christmas and Summer Adventure. There is an enchanted forest, maze, roller skating, indoor soft play area and lots of outdoor activities. Well worth a visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#24. York Chocolate Story

Find out about the history of chocolate making in York, make your very own chocolate lollipop and sample lots of chocolate at the York Chocolate Museum.

#25. Creepy Crawlies

Let off steam at Creepy Crawlies indoor adventure park in York

#26. Magna Science Adventure

Find out about Air, Earth, Fire and Water at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield. This is a fantastic attraction, which I think is more suitable for older toddlers than babies. Toddlers will love seeing the fire tornado, digging in Earth pavilion and splashing about in the Water play area. The outdoor Aqua Tek water adventure playground is fantastic in Summer too. Wrap up warm though as Magna tends to be cold due to the immense size of the building!

#27. Scarborough Sealife Centre

Meet penguins, rays and sharks at the Scarborough Sealife Centre

Get Tickets – Scarborough Sealife Centre

#28. National Emergency Services Museum

Visit the world’s largest emergency services museum with over 50 exhibits on show and 3 floors of interactive displays (including Victorian police cells!)

#29. A day out at Whitby

Spend the day exploring day the fishing town of Whitby on the east coast. As well as the beach, there is a cliff top paddling pool and the fantastic Pannett Park. Don’t leave without having a lemon top ice cream!

#30. A day out at Scarborough

Scarborough is another famous Yorkshire seaside town with loads to do with toddlers. As well as the beach, there is the Sealife Centre, North Bay Railway and Alpamare water park. Don’t miss Peasholm Park and the naval battle display.

#31. A day out at Filey

With over 7 miles of beach, Filey never feels busy. There are donkey rides, plenty of rockpools at the bottom of Filey Brigg and a free paddling pool overlooking the sea.

Close to the former fishing village of Staithes is Runswick Bay. This picture perfect village teeters on the cliffs overlooking a sheltered bay where you can enjoy the simple things in life – sandcastle building, splashing about in the sea and having a picnic. There are public toilets up in the village along with lots of cafes and ice cream shops. After beach time, make sure you explore the village and get lost in the narrow streets and lanes which run past quaint cottages. Parking is available at the top of the hill. There is a Tea Garden at the top of the hill too which serves amazing cakes!

#33. Yorkshire Wildlife Park

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park is the UK’s number 1 wildlife park adventure with over 400 different animals. You can see tigers, lions, leopards, polar bears and much, much more. There are also daily animal talks so you can learn more about the animals which live there

#34. The Tropical Butterfly House

The Tropical Butterfly House, near Sheffield doesn’t just have butterflies! There are birds of prey, meerkats, lemurs and lots of butterflies and exotic animals.

#35. Hesketh Farm Park

One of the best things about Hesketh Farm Park near Bolton Abbey is it stunning location on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. This family run farm has lots of animals, plus an indoor playbarn, large outdoor playground, go karts and of course the tractor rides.

#35. Canon Hall Farm

Canon Hall Farm near Barnsley is a large working farm with lots of pigs, sheep and cows to see. Plus there is a fantastic  indoor play area with a café which is worth a visit.

#36. RSPB Bempton Cliffs

RSPB Bempton Cliffs is the home to over 250 000 sea birds depending on the time of year that you visit. There are 6 viewing platforms where you can look down and see the sea birds such as puffins, ganets and kittiwakes flying about. There is easy parking, friendly staff, and activities for younger children to take part in. The viewing platforms aren’t too far from the entrance so little legs don’t have to walk far – a great morning / afternoon out if you’d like to inspire your little one to enjoy nature.

#37. The Ice Cream Boat in York

One of the highlights of a summer’s day out in York is finding the Two Hoots Ice Cream Boat and having one of their salted caramel ice creams!

#38. Flamingoland

Flamingoland is a theme park and zoo all in one near Malton. There is a holiday resort onsite if you want to make a weekend of it, as well as family friendly shows and entertainment.

#39. Diggerland

Diggermad toddlers will love driving their own digger at Diggerland. Everywhere you turn there is another digger you can play on! Read about Diggerland for toddlers here

#40. Standedge Tunnel

Standedge Tunnel is Britain’s longest canal tunnel located in the Pennines. You can take a 30 minute boat tour into the tunnel and learn more about its history. There is also a café and indoor play area. This is probably suited more for older toddlers. Note – there isn’t a toilet on board!

#41. Dalby Forest

The Dalby Forest is located on the south side of the North York Moors. There are family friendly cycle rides, an adventure play area, and toddlers will love the Gruffalo Spotters Trail.

#42. Hire A Boat At Knaresborough

The pretty market town of Knaresborough is situated on the River Nidd. One of the most popular activities in the summer is to hire a boat and have a paddle about on the Nidd followed by an ice cream at one of the waterside café’s and restaurants. There are plenty of boat hire companies and life jackets are provided.