20 things to do with kids on a rainy day in Yorkshire

Yorkshire, renowned for its wild moorland, spectacular waterfalls and Roman and Viking heritage, is a great destination for UK family holidays. However, if you’re visiting Yorkshire in winter or the weather takes a turn for the worse and you really can’t get outside, there are plenty of wet weather activities to keep the kids entertained.

From fascinating museums to adventure sports, historical houses and natural wonders, there is plenty of indoor fun for all ages, so it needn’t put a dampener on your family days out. Make the most of your family-friendly holiday to Yorkshire with our top 20 suggestions for things to do with kids on a rainy day. And for even more inspiration, check out our Ultimate UK guide to things to do in the rain.

Yorkshire cottages

Skip to:

• North Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• South Yorkshire
• East Riding

Rainy days out for kids in North Yorkshire

The National Railway Museum

Discover 300 years of captivating railway history at the National Railway Museum, a great way to spend a rainy day in Yorkshire with the whole family. You don’t need to be a train enthusiast to appreciate the enormous locomotives, from the record-breaking Mallard, to the Shinkansen, the only Japanese bullet train outside of Japan.

Curious minds of all ages will love watching daily demonstrations where they can marvel at the engineering work in progress and see locomotives moving on the turntable, or relive the splendour of days gone by with a steam or diesel ride behind one of the engines. Little tots can let off some steam in the play area, learn how to control the signals and have a go at building their own model trains using the amazing interactive displays. This may be an educational day out in Yorkshire, but it’s certainly a lot of fun!

White Scar Cave

Enjoy a wonderful family day out in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and visit White Scar Cave, the longest show cave in Britain. Since this natural wonder is a cave, it’s the perfect spot for some exploration, even when it’s raining on the surface. Set off with your guide on an 80-minute journey underground, passing streams, waterfalls and thousands of magical stalactites.

The breathtaking scenery within the atmospheric caves is guaranteed to capture the imagination of excited children, and there are project sheets available, graded for age, which kids can take around the caves on their journey. It is, however, important to note that due to the natural shape of the cave passages, pushchairs cannot be taken underground.

Jorvik Viking Centre

Take a ‘smells-and-all’ journey back to Viking-age York and see history brought back to life at the world-famous Jorvik Viking Centre. Board the Time Ride and travel back to AD960 where you will come face to face with animatronic Vikings who tell the interesting stories of life in Jorvik; around every corner children will be mesmerised by the fascinating sights, sounds and smells.

Explore the gallery which offers an astounding collection of Viking artefacts found during the Coppergate excavation where the centre is sited, and dig deeper into the Viking story of York with the latest in cutting-edge technology throughout.

Ripley Castle

Enjoy a historical family day out in Yorkshire at Ripley Castle, a Grade I-listed 14th-century country house with a treasure trove of interesting artefacts to capture little imaginations. There is an entertaining tailor-made tour especially for children where they will be introduced to 26 generations of Ingleby family history and learn of some of the intriguing events that have happened within the castle walls; from a wild boar hunt that nearly killed Kind Edward III, to the gunpowder plot, and Oliver Cromwell being held at gunpoint in the library; there are even ghost stories for the brave!

This fun and engaging tour takes approximately 45 minutes and there is a tearoom to rest tired feet in afterwards with a delicious selection of hot and cold snacks and seasonal meals.

York Motorsports Village

Young petrolheads will be delighted with York Motorsports Village, an exciting race-themed indoor go-karting centre. There is a wide selection of racing packages to suit all ages including safe and easy-to-drive F3 junior karts for children aged over four years old, F2 petrol karts for older children over eight years old and an F1 pro fleet for adults and children over 13 years old.

If you prefer both feet to be firmly on the ground, spectators are warmly welcome and can watch the action from the comfort of the coffee and wine bar. From here, you can monitor race progression across the four-screen Tag Heuer timing display, which cleverly allows you to see the race from the driver’s point of view, so you won’t miss a thing.

Rainy days out for kids in West Yorkshire

Eureka! The National Children's Museum, credit Instagram @eurekamuseum

Eureka! The National Children’s Museum

Eureka! The National Children’s Museum is a museum made especially for kids who are curious about the world around them, where touching and exploring is highly encouraged. There are over 400 interactive, hands-on exhibits designed to inspire inquisitive minds and provoke questions in six unique zones, each with a different theme to discover.

Kids will love delving inside giant body parts, making some noise and discovering how music is created, or experiencing the world of work by taking over a child-sized town. There is always something new to see with a varied family events programme throughout the year offering science experiments and interactive shows. Kids will have so much fun that they won’t even realise they’re learning!

Xscape Yorkshire, credit Instagram @xscapeyorkshire

Xscape Yorkshire

If you’re looking for action and excitement for the whole family, Xscape Yorkshire is the ultimate place to spend a rainy day (you might even need a couple of rainy days to make the most of it all). Young thrill-seekers will be in their element at this entertainment hotspot in Yorkshire where they will find the country’s biggest real snow slope, two rock climbing walls, an aerial assault course, an indoor skateboard park, two mini-golf courses, a laser zone and a 20-lane bowling alley.

It even boasts a 4DX multiplex cinema, a plethora of restaurants when it’s time to refuel, and plenty of retail outlets to keep the grown-ups occupied; there is everything you need for the ultimate family adventure all under one roof.

Hotel Chocolat, credit Instagram @hotelchocolatleeds

Hotel Chocolat

Kids and adults alike will love unwrapping the history of cocoa and discovering how beans are transformed into chocolate at Hotel Chocolat in Leeds. If the weather’s not on your side, you can take part in one of the children’s workshops where kids can create their own chocolate masterpiece to take home.  

Little ones will be in sweet heaven watching the chocolatiers make their delicious treats, and there is even a café where you can enjoy more chocolatey delights, an ice cream hatch, and a shop to pick up some tasty mementoes for the way home.

Huddersfield Splash Park

Another of the best indoor activities in West Yorkshire, Huddersfield Splash Park offers plenty to keep little limbs busy. Grab the cossies and dive down the water flume, make a splash on the Sidewinder super slide and glide down the Lazy River past shooting water cannons.

There’s a special pool for tiny tots, a 25-metre eight-lane pool for older children and adults, and a whole host of water buckets, jets, slides and fun pools to enjoy.

Kirklees Light Railway

Looking to blow off some steam on rainy days out in Yorkshire? Kirklees Light Railway in Clayton West is the ultimate experience for train enthusiasts, both big and little, where you can climb aboard a hand-painted carriage for a scenic journey along the 15” narrow-gauge track through the South Pennine foothills.

As you chug through the countryside, kids can look out for farm animals in the fields, spot the Emley Moor Mast and enjoy passing through the Shelley Woodhouse Tunnel - the longest tunnel on any 15-inch railway in Britain. If the rain happens to die down, there are also two epic outdoor adventure play areas to discover, along with a miniature ride-on train, picnic areas and a bouncy castle.

Rainy days out for kids in South Yorkshire

Magna Science Adventure Centre, credit Instagram @magnascience

Magna Science Adventure Centre

For indoor activities in Yorkshire with an extra spark, head down to the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham and discover over 100 of the wackiest, interactive science experiments. This hands-on experience for kids features four cavernous pavilions where you can explore the wonders of the elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

Kids can have fun firing a giant water cannon, working a real JCB, launching rockets, boarding an airship and even spinning in a gyroscopic chair! And be sure to catch the amazing Big Melt Show which brings the story of steelmaking to life.

Tropical Butterfly House

If you’re looking for things to do indoors in Yorkshire, then treat the kids to a day out at an indoor rainforest paradise, brimming with tropical birds, curious reptiles and lots of creepy crawlies! The Tropical Butterfly House in Sheffield offers the chance to swap a cold, rainy day for a tropical climate where colourful butterflies fly around your head and leaf cutter ants are free to roam.

Besides this fascinating world of mini beats, kids can also meet and feed the friendly residents of the Farm Barn, walk through Meerkat Mansion, handle a bird of prey and even get a selfie with a dinosaur, what more could you ask for?

Climbing Works, credit Instagram @climbingworks

Climbing Works

Rainy day activities in Yorkshire don’t get much more thrilling than the Climbing Works in Sheffield. The UK’s biggest dedicated bouldering centre is also home to a special kid's bouldering facility called The Mini Works.

Here, families can get involved in this fantastic sport which basically involves climbing but without the use of ropes and harnesses, above a soft matted area. If you’ve got a toddler who loves scaling anything and everything, then this is the perfect place to let them reach new heights safely in a purpose-built space for climbing.

Doncaster Dome

If you’re looking for Yorkshire indoor activities for kids that will please all ages and interests then Doncaster Dome has over 50 different activities to try, all under one roof. Make a big splash in the Amazonia Adventure with its seven pools filled with flumes, slides, jets and geysers, or don your skates and enjoy the UK's only split level ice rink.

And if swimming or skating’s not your thing, there are plenty of play zones as well as regular family events throughout the year, from comedy to concerts.  

Calypso Cove

Why not plunge yourself into a Yorkshire day out with the kids full of daring flumes, sensational slides and a sunken galleon to clamber? Calypso Cove in Barnsley is one of the biggest waterparks in the UK and with its fun pirate theme, will keep the whole family entertained all day long.

Budding buccaneers can experience an adrenaline rush from the two thrill rides: Terror Torrent is the UK’s fastest indoor flume with a pitch-black interior, while Eruption spews you from the belly of a volcano into the choppy depths below. Fire the water cannon at enemy hordes from the Sunken Galleon, shiver your timbers on the Walk The Plank diving board, and enjoy the wave machine in Barnacle Bay.

Rainy days out for kids in East Riding

The Deep

On a rainy day, there are few better places to shelter than in the futuristic surroundings of The Deep. This spectacular aquarium is home to 3,500 fish including Europe’s only pair of Green Sawfish, magnificent sharks and a colony of extremely cute Gentoo penguins.

Catch informative daily talks and feeding sessions, get up close to sea creatures in the touch pool and take a walk through the underwater viewing tunnel where you will be enchanted by the array of vividly coloured fish. Tiny tots will delight in the soft play, sing-alongs and little nipper events, and when you’re feeling peckish you can enjoy a tasty bite to eat in the unique restaurant while fish swim all around you.

Inflata Nation

Bounce away a grey day at Inflata Nation in Beverley, the UK’s first double-decker inflatable theme park. Wade through over 200,000 balls in the ball pit, brave the steep Inflata Wall and ring the bell, or try knocking your opponent over at the wibbly wobbly gladiator podium.

Fancy a race? There are four big slides to shoot down as well as the (nearly) unclimbable Inflata Ladder to conquer. Or see if you can finish the two-lane assault course first and end up in the giant ball pool.

Sewerby Hall and Gardens

When the weather’s not quite sure what it wants to do, head to Sewerby Hall and Gardens in Bridlington, a Grade I-listed Georgian country house set within 50 acres of parkland. Take cover in the Hall and learn what life was like for the residents and workers of the house in the early 19^th century - younger visitors can grab a discovery pack and explore the house searching for clues with a magnifying glass.

Should the weather brighten up, there’s plenty to see in the grounds and gardens, including an outdoor play area and a woodland trail. There’s even a zoo where kids can meet the pigs, parrots and penguins!  

Flamborough Lighthouse

If you and your family fancy a challenge on a rainy day in Yorkshire, why not climb the 119 steps to the top of Flamborough Lighthouse? Join an informative guided tour that lasts for around 20 minutes and uncover its fascinating history.

When you reach the top, you will all be rewarded with incredible panoramic views over Bridlington Bay and the local Heritage Coast. There’s also a brilliant Visitor Centre where you can learn even more about this iconic landmark.

William's Den, credit Instagram @williamsdenplay

William’s Den

Handcrafted from responsibly sourced wood, William’s Den in the rolling Yorkshire Wolds is a unique play space that brings the great outdoors inside. There are eyries to explore, rope bridges to cross, tunnels to clamber through, a treehouse, slide, and even an indoor beck to paddle in! 

We advise bringing a change of clothes with you here as along with sand and water play indoors, there is also a large outdoor play area with a mud kitchen, zip wires and den building space.

Map of indoor attractions in Yorkshire

Plan your family holiday in Yorkshire by finding your favourite indoor family attractions from the list on the map below.

Family holidays in Yorkshire

If you’re looking to stay close by and explore these indoor attractions in Yorkshire, take a look at our full collection of cottages in Yorkshire for some inspiration on where to base your next family staycation.

Family-friendly cottages in Yorkshire