20 Attractions to Explore Near Wakefield Cathedral

The Hepworth Wakefield is a newly built art museum opened in May 2011 in Wakefield , West Yorkshire , England . The building was designed by the English architect David Chipperfield . Construction costs were approximately £ 35 million and were raised through funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund , state and municipal grants, the European Regional Development Fund and private donors.

Sandal Castle was one of two fortifications built in Wakefield during the twelfth century. It served as the administrative center for the manor and was later rebuilt into a lavish residence. During the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Wakefield was fought nearby. The castle endured a siege during the seventeenth century Civil War and thereafter Parliament ordered its demolition. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare's plays.

Situated one mile from J39 of the M1, it is a 300-acre park – facilities for sailing, windsurfing, and canoeing. Cycle hire available too. There is also a pirate playground. The area was developed from a former opencast mine and a sand and gravel quarry and was opened to the public in 1985. It is overlooked by Sandal Castle.

Anglers Country Park is a perfect place to explore for nature lovers, walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, picnickers - and not forgetting those little adventurers! Once known as one of the deepest open cast coal mines in the country reaching a depth of 250 feet.

Nostell Priory is a mansion in the village of Nostell in Crofton near Wakefield in the English administrative unit of West Yorkshire. The house was built in 1733 in the Palladian style for the Winn family on the site of a former medieval priory. The manor and its contents were given to the National Trust in 1953 by the property trustees and Rowland Winn. It was one of the unique locations in this area and it attracts a lot of tourists.

Diggerland is The Ultimate Adventure UK Theme Park Experience where children and adults alike can ride, drive and operate REAL diggers, dumpers and other full- size construction machinery. It is the perfect destination for action, fun and thrill packed family days out.

500-acre open-air gallery showing work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. The park's collection of works by Moore is one of the largest open-air displays of his bronzes in Europe.

The National Coal Mining Museum for England. Visit for a unique all weather adventure. Underground tours, exhibitions, the great outdoors & original events. The museum offers guided underground tours where visitors can experience the conditions miners worked in and see the tools and machines they used as the industry and the mine developed through the years. The Yorkshire Mining Museum opened in 1988 and the museum became the National Coal Mining Museum in 1995.

St Aidan's is a natural park of 400 hectares located between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. The land was previously an open-pit coal mining area that was flooded in 1988 after the riverbank collapsed. The nature park was opened to the public in May 2013 under the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Xscape is the ultimate family day out destination with a variety of fun-fuelled activities, places to eat and outdoor sporting brands to shop. From urban climbing, laser tag and adventure golf to skiing, sledging and riding the skycoaster, Xscape is bursting with all your favourite pastimes as well as something a little more adventurous. Guaranteed non-stop fun for everyone.

Bagshaw Museum was the house of a former Victorian mill owner, first opened as a museum in 1911 and named after its first curator, Walter Bagshaw. The museum contains two local history galleries, a South Asia gallery, a temporary exhibition space, and, unusually for a local museum, an Egyptological gallery. The museum also holds a substantial collection of Asian textiles, including Japanese and Chinese pieces from the Hilditch collection, subsequent donations from private individuals.

Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the track) usually have the advantage. The final 3 furlongs of the track are uphill, making it quite testing.

Ponderosa Zoo is a beautiful zoo that was created in 1991 by Maureen Cook with the aim to bridge the gap' between disabled and able-bodied people through the care of animals as a form of therapy. This beautiful Zoo is now home to over 120 animals from lemurs to reindeer. There is also so many other activities in and around this zoo.

Temple Newsam is a Tudor - Jacobean-style house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with gardens designed by Capability Brown. The estate gives its name to the Temple Newsam neighborhood of Leeds City Council, in which it is located, and lies to the east of the city, just south of Halton Moor, Halton, Whitkirk, and Colton. It is one of nine sites in the Leeds Museums & Galleries group.

Leeds Docks is the perfect place to plan your next day out with friends or family, a vibrant, beautiful area with an exciting mix of shopping experiences. Leeds Dock is Leeds’s hottest new shopping destination. Home to an array of urban lifestyle brands, cool bars, and stylish restaurants.

The Kirklees Light Railway is situated in the village of Clayton West, near Huddersfield, in the picturesque foothills of the South Pennines. The railway runs for three-and-a-half miles from Clayton West to Shelley and includes passage through the Shelley Woodhouse Tunnel which – at 467m long – is the longest tunnel on any 15” narrow gauge line in Britain.

This is a national museum that displays the National Collection of Arms and Armour, dating from antiquity to the present day. Its collection was previously on display or in storage at the Tower of London where the Royal Armouries still maintains a presence and displays in the White Tower. In addition to the five original galleries which house 5,000 objects in the permanent displays and the more recent Peace Gallery.

The Tetley is a contemporary art gallery in the art deco headquarters of the former Tetley Brewery in central Leeds. The owners, Carlsberg-Tetley has ceased ale and beer production at the site in 2011, and most of the buildings on the land were razed and the site given over to a new housing development. The Tetley's opening exhibitions involved a number of artists responding to the history and space of the new building under the general title 'A New Reality'.

Pontefract Castle is a place of family-friendly adventure, with wide-open spaces to play and fascinating ruins to investigate. The castle, originally built in the late eleventh century by Ilbert de Lacy, was inherited by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, in 1311 on the death of his father-in-law Henry Lacy. It was one of the main attractions in this area and also you can spend a nice time there.

One of the majestic pieces of architectural skill that was towering over the town from high up on Emley Moor. This transmitting station stands 1,084 feet tall. Its base is 1,949 feet above sea level, imposing over the beautiful rolling moorland. The structure consists of a tapered cylindrical pillar of reinforced concrete, topped by a steel lattice mast carrying 55 m tall antennas. It was the seventh-tallest freestanding structure and the fourth tallest tower in the European Union.