I love this place! It's a really fun place to come to with friends and it's really good to get into…read morefriendly, competitive, dangerous lazer gun battles with them too! Your scores are added up, and you have a couple of goes. It's quite fun to work out who has had the most hits, and who died the most time - and is much harder than it sounds!

I visited Big Sheep Little Cow while staying in the area on a family holiday…read more This is a great attraction with lots to keep the kids and adults entertained. There is an excellent indoor play area, some outdoor play areas with go karts and ride on trikes..., and of course a huge selection of farm animals for your little ones to learn about. There is a cafe serving lunches and refreshments, and a party area upstairs. It cost us £24 for two adults and my three year old to access the playbarn and go on the farm tour, and my one year old went free. You can pay less just to access the playbarn, without going on the farm tour. This seems to be a great spot for parent and toddler meet ups. The farm tour was really excellent - lasting around an hour, with the opportunity to hold/pet mice, rats, Guinea pigs, and hedgehogs in the indoor small animal section. We then moved outside and saw goats, llama, pigs, donkeys, Shetland Ponies, sheep, chickens and ducks. There was lots of opportunities for the little ones to interact with the animals such as brushing the pig, sitting on the Shetland pony and feeding the hungry lambs. We all had a great day out at Big Sheep Little Cow and my three year old in particular got to try out new things through interacting with the farm animals. Special mention to all the lovely staff we came across - everyone was so friendly, and we all left smiling!

Fabulous place for kids and animal soppy adults. For the entrance fee you get a tour of the animals…read more- usually lambs, calves, a pig you can wash, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, chickens etc.If you visit at the right time you can feed the lambs and or calves. You can also pay a little more and use their indoor play barn (adults can go on the equipment too!) with a death slide etc. They have a decent cafe and at peak times the tractor ride and go-karts are open. A great day out - or party destination. Dry or wet weather.

this is a fab, place for wind surfing and other beach sports. the farmer takes about £3.00 (could…read morebe more) for you to park your car, so you can get onto the beach. some years back it was a nudist beach, but not anymore! the beach is a long strip, and the tide will go right out, but take care as when the tide is high, you really need to be off the beach! normally around 4pm depends on season. it can get very busy when the weather is good and lots of people walk there dogs here great cheap place to take the kids for a good old fashioned beach trip, as there are no shops nearby! there is a snack van, but take a picnic or a BBQ! wind breakers are a must! as it is a very windy beach! BUT TAKE HOME YOUR RUBBISH! as some people don't and is spoils it for others! make a day of making sand castles, exploring rock pools and the old world war 2 concrete pill box, coastal defense bunker. there is enough things to do to fill a day. beach volley ball, beach football, kite flying, burying dad in the sand etc. if your shy about getting changed on a beach, do it in an old duvet cover! get your knotted hankies out, sit on a deck chair and relax! places like this one are getting harder to find. we use to be able to launch our jet ski's here, but thanks to people not following simple beach rules, give way to people in the water and wind surfers! you can no longer launch jet ski's/bikes! lots of wind surfers come here and i've seen kite surfers as well. think you can still launch boats. there are very basic toilet facilities (converted barn) take your own tissue, these are provided for the caravan site nearby, but beach users can also use toilets

dont let ya kids play in the stream outlet near the carpark it can be pollutedread more

Surfing 60 miles from the nearest coast purely from a novelty point of view that's ace…read more You need to arrive about half an hour before your start time to watch a five minute safety brief, nothing too serious just a little guidance and tips. After that its over to the changing rooms and you get a wet suit to wear, being quite new the suits are in good condition. Once your suited up and ready to go you need to wait for the session that's running to finish. The session starts with a quick intro and a check to see how experienced everyone is, all newbies in my group so I don't know if experience changes what you do. To get comfortable with the water you first get to the top of the wave by sitting down in the flow of water which promptly pushes you to the top, even a tubby bloke like myself. You then practice body boarding learning to move the board and getting onto your knee's, then the main event with the instructor holding your arm you stand on a surf board, a small version of one anyway more like a long skateboard, then wiggle your way into the flow using the instructor to keep you upright and once you've got your balance they let go and you either sink or swim. Falling is painless unless you include your pride, but everyone falls eventually. Overall the instructor was great both with kids and adults, we had great fun and plan on going again, for £90 for a family of four for an hour it can seem expensive however we are happy to pay it again.

The Racecourse Centre provides basic but comfortable and cheap accommodation for groups and…read moreconferences about a mile from the centre of York. It is classed as 4-star hostel accommodation. Situated in attractive grounds adjacent to the stables, it consists of a series of residential blocks with a dining room and lounge. The twin-bedded rooms all have en-suite toilet and washbasins, but (NB!) showers are separate. Each twin room can also be converted to sleep four with two fold-down beds. There are single and double rooms in a separate annex, with hand-basins but separate toilet and shower facilities. The food is served canteen style (ie self-service) - we had bed and breakfast, and an evening meal. The quality was surprisingly good, with lots of vegetables, excellent desserts and very friendly staff. They happily cater for vegetarians on request. Prices range from £27.50 to £35.00 for bed and breakfast, with discounts for children. A two course dinner is £7.50. There are small discounts for children and students. As well as school and student groups, they entertain sports, social and music groups for all different types - including wedding parties and shopping groups! Our party had over 40, and we were well looked after - the consensus was that it was one of the better places we've stayed. One great feature in the cold weather was that the rooms were toasty warm! The site has plenty of parking and is quiet and secluded. there are buses into the city centre, or it is a 20-25 minute walk. The Racecourse Centre is open to groups all year round, except when it is being used by racing staff attending York Race Meetings. There is no lift, so level access is limited to the ground floor rooms and dining room only - you are advised to discuss any special requirements when booking.

York racecourse is a top class racecourse and a wonderful day out. There are three price bands;…read moreEnclosure, Grandstand and County Stand. Enclosure is the most basic area and costs about £7, it is an outside area with very limited shelter in the event of rain and does not give you access to the parade ring, winner's enclosure etc. However it is popular with families and is the most affordable way to have a fun day at the races. Grandstand costs about £18 and gives access to the paddock etc. and has a good range of bars and food outlets, casual dress is fine in this area. The County Stand is the most expensive costing around £34, this area has many bars, restaurants and marquees including Champagne bars, bistros, seafood bars and more. Men are required to wear a jacket, collared shirt and tie in the County Stand and many of the ladies really dress up for the occasion. Prices vary from meeting to meeting with the Ebor meeting being the most expensive - £52 for the County Stand and £27 for Grandstand in 2011. We had a great day when we visited for the Macmillan Charity meeting in June. We were very fortunate to have won a VIP hospitality day in a competition so that is probably an experience we won't have again, however we have visited the racecourse on a previous occasion a few years ago and had a brilliant time then too so I would wholeheartedly recommend anyone to give it a try. You don't have to be a big gambler to have a great day and at the very least it's a wonderful excuse for a bit of people watching as everyone parades their finery! :-)

This is a great little swimming pool. We've been several times on wet afternoons when we've been on…read moreholiday and it area and found that what this place lacks in size it more than makes up for in activity -- they have some brilliant floats which come out regularly during the school holidays. The changing facilities are good (why can't all swimming pools have decent-sized family changing cubicles?) and the prices quite reasonable. There will be bigger and more exciting swimming pools up and down the country I'm sure, but for what it is this particular swimming pool cannot be faulted. Our two kids (now aged 3 and 5) love it.

From the owner: Here at Ryedale Swim and Fitness Centre, we've got all the tools you need to keep fit, active,…read morehealthy and happy. Firstly, our brand-new 35-station gym is the ideal place to help you achieve all your fitness goals, while our Fitness Motivators and Personal Trainers are also on hand to help you get the most out of your workouts. Secondly, the 25m swimming pool plays host to a number of different aquatic activities, including our award-winning swimming lessons, fun sessions - where you can make use of the flume - and fitness sessions, alongside aqua aerobics sessions as well.