Step back in time at Nunnington Hall
This characterful manor house in the Howardian Hills has plenty to appeal to young and old alike with elegant interiors, beautiful gardens and a captivating collection of miniatures to discover. Over the last 450 years, Nunnington Hall has been remodelled by a succession of owners, who have transformed the original Tudor Hall that once stood here into an imposing 17th century mansion. Nunnington is now owned by the National Trust and its displays include hands-on activities that help to bring its past to life. Children can take a peek under the floorboards in one of the bedrooms, try dressing up as an evacuee or vote for the kind of house they would prefer to live in. Fans of dolls’ houses will also enjoy viewing the Carlisle Collection of miniature rooms and children can have lots of fun in Nunnington’s grounds, where they’ll find the Lion’s Den play area, along with a variety seasonal and themed games to take part in.

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children aged over 5. Under 5s get in free.

Have train-themed fun at the National Railway Museum
If there’s a train enthusiast in your family, they will love visiting the National Railway Museum in York. This free museum tells the story of the UK’s railways and documents the evolution of trains over time. You’ll have hours of fun wandering through the Great Hall and hopping aboard the many engines and carriages here. The museum’s permanent collections cover over 300 years of railway history and include the world’s fastest steam locomotive, the Mallard, as well as a Japanese Bullet Train. You can also admire the grandeur of the age of steam as you peek through the windows of the ‘Palaces on Wheels’ – a selection of Royal Train saloons that were once used to transport monarchs like Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. The National Railway Museum’s interactive exhibits will have little ones gripped as they learn about becoming an engineer or watch a family-friendly science show. Those who want to can also delve deeper into the collections here with the Treasure Hunters app. This allows you to take a closer look at some of the amazing objects on display while competing to score points.

Free entry

Imagine mediaeval life at Helmsley Castle
Now cared for by English Heritage, Helmsley Castle has 900 years of history to explore. Parts of this ruined castle date back as far as 1120, when a wooden fort was first built in the town. This was expanded over the centuries until the castle’s final owner, Thomas Duncombe, decided to let it fall into decay to form a romantic backdrop for his nearby manor at Duncombe Park. Today, visitors to the castle can take an audio tour, during which they’ll learn about the various roles this fascinating building has played – from a mediaeval fortress to a grand Tudor mansion, a Civil War stronghold and a rambling Victorian ruin. Younger guests can search the castle’s grounds for bronze archers or get stuck into hands-on activities in the Mansion House. If you’d like to spend more time together outdoors, you could also follow the scenic 1.9-mile walking route between Helmsley Castle and Rievaulx Abbey.

Tickets start at £7.70 for adults and £4 for children aged 5-17 years. Under 5s get in free.

Find your own fossils at Runswick Bay
If you enjoy hunting for fossils, you’re sure to find some great specimens to add to your collection on a fossil hunting tour of Runswick Bay. Organised by Fossils UK – the online companion to Whitby’s popular Natural Wonders shop – these tours take place throughout the year and are suitable for families with children aged four and over. Each tour lasts two hours and starts with a short safety presentation. You’ll also be told about the different kinds of fossils that can be found at Runswick before heading out onto the beach to begin your search. You’ll likely come across dozens of ammonites, some of which sparkle with bits of pyrite or ‘fool’s gold’. A knowledgeable tour guide will help you to identify your finds and can show you how to split a pebble open to reveal any fossils hidden inside. You’ll also learn about the geology of Runswick Bay and towards the end of the tour will have the chance to search for Whitby Jet in some of the beach’s rock pools.

Tours cost £20 for adults and £10 for children under 16.

Explore the coastal history collections at the Rotunda Museum
If you’re planning a day at the seaside, the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough is well worth a visit. This coastal history and geology museum opened in 1829 and is one of the world’s first purpose-built museums. It was created to house the collections of the Scarborough Philosophical Society and these can still be seen here, along with many other intriguing artefacts and treasures. At the heart of the museum stands the Georgian Gallery – a stunning space with a domed roof and an original painted frieze that describes the geology of the North Yorkshire coastline. Visitors here can see dinosaur footprints and fossils, along with 11,000-year-old items from Star Carr, a famous prehistoric site that was discovered just outside Scarborough. Aspiring palaeontologists will be kept engaged as they discover now-extinct sea creatures in the Ancient Seas Gallery, follow one of the museum’s trails or take part in crafts and other activities.

Tickets cost £3 for adults and entry is free for under 18s.

Learn about life in wartime at Eden Camp
If you’d like to find out more about life in Britain during the Second World War, Eden Camp brings the period to life with a series of unique, themed experiences. This family owned museum incorporates a real prisoner of war camp that was built in 1942 to accommodate Italian POWs. Long after the end of WWII, the camp was purchased by a local businessman, Stan Johnson, who set about transforming it into the world’s first modern history museum. Visitors to Eden Camp can explore its 35 original huts, which each focus on a different aspect of wartime life. You can explore a German U-boat in hut three or wander down a 1940s high street in hut seven. In ‘The Blitz’, you can experience the sights, sounds and smells of an air raid, while in hut eleven you can carefully cross the duck boards of a muddy trench on the battlefield. Daily puppet shows can be seen in the camp’s music hall and there’s also a brilliant POW-themed assault course for older children and an ‘exercise compound’ for younger ones.

Tickets start at £13 for adults and £12 for children aged 5-16 years. Under 5s get in free.

Take a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Travelling through the beautiful moorland between the market town of Pickering and the Victorian seaside resort of Scarborough, a ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway makes for an exciting and scenic day out. The railway first opened in 1836 and was a well-used trade route for many years before it finally closed in 1965. In 1973, part of the line was reopened by the North Yorkshire Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. and it is now a popular tourist attraction. The line has four historic stations to discover, along with a locomotive shed where trains are restored and maintained. You can enjoy a nostalgic 24-mile journey with some great locations to stop at along the way. These include Goathland, known for its appearance in ITV police drama Heartbeat. The village’s picturesque station was also used as Hogsmeade in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. If you get hungry on your trip, a choice of tasty treats can be found at the railway’s tearooms in Pickering, Goathland and Grosmont, or purchased from its tea hut in Levisham. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has also recently funded a brand new Station Stories app, which allows passengers on the NYMR to hear stories about the railway through a hotspot and audio description tour and fun games.

Tickets start at £12 for adults and are free for children aged 15 and under.

Be an archeologist for the day at DIG
A new addition to the Jorvik group, DIG at St Saviour’s Church in York allows aspiring archeologists to pick up a trowel and get digging to uncover the secrets of the city’s past. This interactive experience is recommended for children aged 5-12 and each dig starts with an interesting and entertaining introductory talk, during which participants will get to see real artefacts and have their questions answered by an archeologist. They’ll then be able to start their own excavation and there are four different pits to choose from. These are based on real-life digs in York and include Roman, Viking, mediaeval and Victorian finds. After unearthing and discussing a variety of historical treasures, visitors can then explore the museum further, examining even more intriguing objects found in the city and seeing exhibitions like Ancient Dustbusters, which looks at dental plaque samples from York’s Roman inhabitants to tell us more about their work and lifestyles. DIG has a play area for babies and toddlers who are too young to take part in the excavation and also runs a ‘Tiny Diggers’ sensory playgroup each Friday.

Tickets cost £9 for adults and £8.25 for children aged 3-17 years. Under 3s get in free.

Visit the reenactment villages at Murton Park
Located just outside York, Murton Park started life as a museum of farming but has since grown to include many other exciting attractions, including its own light railway and living history villages. In the Discover Farming Gallery, you can find out more about Yorkshire’s rural past and view a range of vintage farm machinery, including an impressive collection of tractors. There’s a small soft play area here for rainy days, but if the weather is better children can have fun playing outdoors in the mud kitchen and sandpit, or meeting the park’s many animals. If you’d like to travel further back in time, you can visit a replica Roman fort, Viking and Prehistoric villages or a Tudor farm house, which are all inhabited by reenactors on many dates throughout the year. This family-friendly open air museum is also home to a working half-mile section of the Derwent Valley Light Railway, so you can hop aboard a train and take a short ride through its grounds.

Tickets cost £14 for adults or £12 for children aged 2-16 years and are valid for a year. Under 2s get in free.

Images: @ntnunningtonhall @ntnunningtonhall @murtonpark