Blue Dolphin Holiday Park

Come and get smiley in Filey... or stock up on the rock in nearby Scarborough. It’s a bigger resort than Filey, but both have fab beaches, trad seaside amusements, and lovely parks and gardens, plus all sorts of concerts and events during the season. Sewerby Hall and Gardens, 14 miles from Blue Dolphin Holiday Park, is a beautiful house and museum with 50 acres of gardens to explore, and plenty to keep children happy, including a small zoo, pitch and putt and adventure play area. The kids will be in the pink if you take them to Flamingo Land, a substantial adventure park with scream-inducing rides, as well as gentler versions for the little ones, and a fantastic zoo. The sights, sounds - and smells - of World War II are recreated to dramatic effect at the Eden Camp historical park, near Malton. Or go further back in time in York, at the Jorvik Viking Centre, where you can wander through reconstructions of the York streets of 975 AD. York is a brilliant place to visit, with masses of history, interesting visitor attractions and fab shopping. Nature lovers will be in their element in the North York Moors National Park, where the spectacular combination of windswept moors, ancient woodland and dramatic coastline harbours an abundance of wildlife, and there are plenty of picturesque villages for refreshment stops. One of the nicest ways to explore is to take a trip on the steam railway that runs between Pickering and Whitby (with various stops in between). Whitby itself has an imposing ruined abbey on the clifftops, as well as arguably the best fish and chip shop in the country (the world?), and an authentic replica of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour, which runs regular voyages along the coast for visitors. Just to the south of Whitby are the tumbling cobbled streets and hidden alleys of Robin Hood’s Bay, another atmospheric fishing village that’s worth a visit. Any guests who are feeling a bit twitchy shouldn’t miss a trip to Flamborough Head to gaze at the gannets (the only colony to be found on the British mainland), puffins and other sea birds - a staggering 200,000 birds inhabit this RSPB sanctuary from April to August. You can hire binoculars and there’s a visitor centre and shop.