The Top 12 Things To Do In South Yorkshire
With a portion of the Peak District National Park within its borders, as well as stately homes, heritage centres and family-friendly country parks, South Yorkshire is no slouch when it comes to keeping its visitors entertained.
Add Sheffield’s urban attractions and a few hidden gems into the mix, and you have all the ingredients for an activity-filled holiday. Concerned about ‘activity-filled’ being code for ‘expensive’? Don’t worry: many of the places suggested below are free of charge. Here’s our list of the top 12 things to do in South Yorkshire. What will you do first?
If you're planning a stay in South Yorkshire, take a look at the excellent range of campsites and glampsites in the Pitchup range – there's plenty of variety here, including some great options for a bargain break with the kids or a cosy couple's getaway.
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Peak District National Park
Hiking, biking and extreme sports in a spectacular and rugged moorland landscape
If you pick only one destination from this list, the Peak District should be it. The area of the park that’s on the western fringes of South Yorkshire is known as the Dark Peak, encompassing the Sheffield Moors and dramatic gritstone features like Derwent Edge. You can read all about cultural, family-friendly and active activities in Pitchup’s guide to the Peak District National Park.
The best way to explore is to camp in the Peak District National Park. If the national park’s extensive hiking network sounds daunting, you can always draw more focused inspiration from our favourite walks in South Yorkshire.
Around Doncaster
Cusworth Hall Museum and Park
Spend a family day in a country house’s landscaped park
This elegant 18th-century country house has a museum with costumes, everyday objects and other exhibits illustrating 300 years of local social history. There are also regular seasonal events around Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
For most visitors, though, Cusworth Hall is all about the landscaped grounds. Relax with a picnic on a tree-shaded lawn, stroll along the reedy ponds spotting swans and ducklings, or help the kids with ‘I spy’-type challenges on the nature and tree trails.
Brodsworth Hall and Gardens
A gently worn stately home with flower-filled gardens
The grounds at Brodsworth Hall are a riot of seasonal colour. Explore paths that meander through tall trees and topiary hedges, admiring the fragrant rose garden and the extensive fern collection as you go. Then step inside the 19th-century stately home, but don’t expect a look into how the other half lived – the interior has been ‘conserved as found’.
Sure, the rooms are grand and the period furnishings elegant, but the frayed sofas and faded wallpaper reveal the aristocratic owners’ economic struggle in the post-war years. Anyone who’s ever had to fix a leaking roof can sympathise.
Good to know: For a more classic experience of a stately home, Wentworth Woodhouse (half an hour’s drive away) is a palatial mansion with a monumental façade, stucco-decorated ceilings and the Marble Saloon – so grand that it was used for a ball scene in ‘Downton Abbey’.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
400 animals from 70 species
The UK’s foremost walk-through wildlife reserve has a heavy focus on conservation and welfare, with animals including rare polar bears, red pandas and black rhinos in spacious enclosures representing wildlife habitats from savannah to Himalayan valleys. Family-friendly attractions such as the Pangea dinosaur attraction, the comical African penguins at Boulder Beach and ranger talks on wolves or sea lions make Yorkshire Wildlife Park a great place to keep kids entertained outdoors for the day. There’s also a shopping and dining hub as well as several play areas.
Conisbrough Castle
Medieval castle with views from the keep
Built in the 12th century, limestone Conisbrough Castle had already been abandoned by the late 1400s. High on a grassy knoll, its distinctive ruins were the inspiration behind the Coningsburgh Castle that appears in Sir Walter Scott’s novel ‘Ivanhoe’.
Explore the grounds, scattered with informative graphic novel-type boards, then climb the restored four-storey keep for far-reaching views of the surrounding area, including the imposing Conisbrough Viaduct across the river Don. If heights are not an issue, you can cycle over this 21-arch structure as part of a four-mile route into Doncaster.
Around Barnsley
Elsecar Heritage Centre
Conservation village with shops and events
Check out Elsecar for a family day out; this former ironworks and colliery that has reinvented itself as a heritage centre. Travel back to the days of the Industrial Revolution with interactive storytelling events for kids, guided tours of the 18th-century village and demonstrations of the mighty Newcomen Beam Engine steam pump. There are also plenty of shopping options, from antiques to traditional sweets, plus exhibition areas and craft workshops.
Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens
Decorative arts in a country house with kid-friendly gardens
The 18th-century country house at Cannon Hall might have you wishing for a rainy day, just so you can spend a few hours admiring pewter Art Nouveau objects with floral details, Flemish paintings and a glass collection that ranges from Roman-era bottles to Georgian decanters.
Many visitors, however, simply like to make the most of the grounds, which are dotted with architectural follies, lotus ponds and waterfalls, plus balance beams, wooden teepees and other play equipment. Free and dog-friendly, Cannon Hall is also a popular spot for picnics.
Good to know: Close encounters with alpacas, Shetland ponies and goats await at nearby Cannon Hall Farm, where the kids can scurry around the giant tube maze or tackle ziplines and climbing frames on the adventure course.
Worsbrough Mill Country Park
Historic mill in a nature reserve with birdwatching and fishing
Powered by water from the river Dove, the centuries-old Worsbrough Mill still produces flour from organic grains. Buy a pack or two from the on-site shop for your own bake-off challenges back home.
The main draw for most visitors, however, is the surrounding country park, a free-to-access local nature reserve with woodland, wildflower meadows and reedbeds that attract plenty of wildlife. Explore it on foot or by bike, while helping the kids complete the storytelling trail challenge.
Grebes and coots gather around the large reservoir, as do anglers looking to catch carp, bream and perch. For more ideas on where to go angling, check out our guide to carp fishing in South Yorkshire.
In Sheffield
Millennium Gallery
Steel manufacturing displays in Sheffield city centre
Want to learn more about what put Sheffield on the map? (And no, we’re not talking about its music scene and cool bands like The Human League and Pulp.) The Millennium Gallery has a permanent display of locally made cutlery and tableware that illustrates the history of Sheffield’s world-renowned steel industry.
Rotating exhibitions highlight contemporary local painters, modern design and photography.
Stay in the city centre for more galleries, including Bloc Projects, which promotes up-and-coming artists, and Site Gallery (both 10 minutes’ walk), with a focus on digital and multimedia works.
Kelham Island Museum
Steam power on the River Don
Stroll north from the city centre to the River Don and Kelham Island, once the Steel City’s manufacturing hub, to the exceptional and interactive Kelham Island Museum, which tells Sheffield’s backstory as the UK’s foremost producer of steel. As well as a period house dating from 1916 and a clutch of vintage Simplex cars, highlights include the River Don Engine (it’s fired up at 12pm and 2pm Thursday to Sunday), one of the most powerful steam engines ever made.
Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Themed gardens and a Victorian bear pit
A half-hour’s stroll from the city centre takes you to this green oasis established in the 1830s. There’s plenty to see at Sheffield Botanical Gardens, from the huge Grade II-listed Glass Pavilions to more than 18 themed areas, including Mediterranean and Himalayan gardens. There’s also a rare example of a Victorian bear pit, though thankfully, these days, the only bear at the bottom of it is a sculpture.
Near Wakefield
Magna Science Adventure Centre
Seasonal events, workshops and hands-on experiments
Set in a former steel works and fantastic for curious kids, Magna is divided into six separate attractions and stuffed with interactive activities. Four pavilions represent the four elements and house hands-on experiments suitable for kids of all ages, while the science-based Sci-tek outdoor playground is designed to get little minds thinking and Aqua-tek splash park (open summer only, bring a change of clothes) is full supplied with water cannons and geysers. Don’t miss the firing up of The Big Melt, one of the steel works’ original furnaces, on the hour every hour.
Keen to explore all the attractions of South Yorkshire? Book a camping break and you'll be able to mix up all these outings with fun activities like bug hunts and campfire evenings at your campsite. Pitchup has a great range of options for all tastes and budgets – have a look at the full list to find a place that suits you.