8 Best Family Things to Do in Harrogate

Children can clamber over climbing frames and enjoy swings and slides at the Valley Gardens Play Area. There's a paddling pool for toddlers, while older kids and teens can play tennis and pitch and putt. A pavilion sells refreshments. The play area and the gardens are particularly popular for cooling down in the summer. 

This Victorian building in Harrogate used to pump the town's spa water from a natural spring. It now contains an eclectic collection of strange 19th-century therapeutic equipment, together with an interesting collection of toys, playthings, and treasures from ancient Egyptian tombs. 

Newby Hall is a grand 18th-century manor with activities and exhibits designed to please young visitors. There are 15 types of gardens to explore, including the Autumn Garden, the National Collection of Cornus (which has over 100 specimens of 30 species), and a flower-filled pergola that leads to the Rock Garden. 

In the grounds of Newby Hall, you'll find swings, a zip line, and climbing frames. The whole family can hop aboard the miniature train and take a paddleboat on the pond. A collection of dollhouses will delight all.

Lightwater Valley offers multiple thrills and spills to occupy the family all day. The park boasts one of Europe's longest roller coasters, as well as water rides such as Wild Water Rapids and Falls of Terror. Younger kids can enjoy milder attractions such as an indoor  soft play area. Tribute acts and shows are also scheduled regularly for added family entertainment.

One of the more outlandish family attractions in the Harrogate region is just outside Knaresborough, 4 miles east of Harrogate. The Petrifying Well, with its seemingly magical power to turn toys and other objects to stone, has to be seen to be believed. 

Children will be amazed to discover that anything immersed in the mineral-rich waters of the Petrifying Well at Mother Shipton's Cave acquires a rocky coating. That includes teddy bears, and you can buy petrified teddies in the gift shop.

To get a taste of rural life near Harrogate, take the family to Big Sheep & Little Cow in Bedale. This sweep of farmland and valley is just 30 minutes from the city centre, but it's a different world, where cattle graze and lambs leap. 

You can bottle-feed new-born lambs, calves, and piglets (and meet their owners) at places like Big Sheep & Little Cow. City kids will love meeting baby animals at this farm, which also has an indoor adventure play area.

Located around 20 miles north of Harrogate, Camp Hill Estate offers families thrilling activities such as zip wires, a rope obstacle course in the treetops, and quad bike rides.

Most of the outdoor activities at Camp Hill usually close in the winter, but some adventures such as Segway tours and quad bikes remain available for exploring the beautiful estate grounds.

There’s no better way for the family to see the picturesque scenery of the Dales than from a historic steam train. Take a ride from Bolton Abbey – a 30-minute drive from Harrogate – to catch a train drawn by one of the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway's vintage locomotives. 

From the 19th-century station at Bolton Abbey, steam trains take just 15 minutes to choo-choo to Embsay – not an epic journey, but a fun one. At Bolton Abbey, children can also ride the Hambleton Valley Miniature Railway.