20 Attractions to Explore Near RSPB Dearne Valley - Old Moor

This folly built to commemorate an aristocratic victory over Catholic rebellion plays tricks on the eye. It was situated in Wentworth in Northern England, this unusual structure is in the shape of a tall three-sided pyramid, truncated at the top to house a hexagonal glass-sided cupola that appears to move about, due to an optical illusion.

Elsecar Heritage Railway is South Yorkshire’s only Heritage Railway. Established in the early 90's, when Barnsley Council re-opened the former colliery workshops at Elsecar as a tourist attraction, the former colliery line at Elsecar has been reopened as a heritage railway. It currently running between Rockingham station and Hemingfield Basin. The railway is operated using a variety of different preserved rolling stock.

The Trans Pennine Trail is a fantastic long-distance route which links the North and Irish seas. It was voted the most popular route on the National Cycle Network. It passes through the Pennines, alongside rivers and canals and through historic towns and cities in the North of England. Most of the surfaces and gradients make it a relatively easy trail, suitable for cyclists, pushchairs and wheelchair users.

Elsecar Heritage Centre is a Living History centre in Elsecar, South Yorkshire. It also comprises various shops, galleries, art studios and an exhibition hall. It runs craft workshops, special events, and a monthly antiques fair. The buildings were originally used for various industries including ironworks and forges, a distillery, and engineering workshops.

Wentworth Woodhouse, is one of the largest houses in Europe, that was once the home of the Fitzwilliam family. The Preservation Trust offers guided tours of the house and gardens. Whilst not all rooms are open, the tours help to tell the story of this great estate. It covers an area of more than 2.5 acres, and is surrounded by a 180-acre park, and an estate of 15,000 acres.

Monk Bretton was a Cluniac priory established around 1154 by Adam Fitz Swane as a daughter house of St John's in Pontefract. When the monastery was built, however, the site in the wooded valley of the River Dearne was peaceful and remote. In the course of time the priory took the name of the nearby village of Bretton to be commonly known as Monk Bretton Priory.

Worsbrough Mill is a 17th century working water mill set in 240 acres of tranquil Country Park. It is an amazing place to visit, have fun and see history come to life for all the family. The mill is open to the public and takes its water from the River Dove, but is hydraulically separate from Worsbrough Reservoir.

The South Yorkshire Transport Museum is a transport museum of South Yorkshire and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. It was formerly known as the Sheffield Bus Museum. The Museum, a registered charity, is currently home to around 50 vehicles, including buses, a tram, locomotive and 2 tractors.

Locke Park is a 47-acre public open space and one of the largest outdoor green spaces in the Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. A 70 ft high monument built at the highest point of the park and designed by Richard Phené Spiers, a Paris-trained architect and Master of Architecture at the Royal Academy Schools, London. The park contains a larger than life bronze statue of Locke, which was erected in 1866. The statue by sculptor Carlo Marochetti is Grade II listed.

Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre is dedicated to the history and people of Barnsley. Visitors will uncover the incredible story of Barnsley told through centuries-old artefacts, documents, films and recordings that have been donated by people living and working in the borough.

Brodsworth Hall was built and the pleasure gardens laid out in the 1860s as an up-to-date new home for the Thellusson family and their servants. It survived with remarkably few changes until taken on by English Heritage in 1990. The gardens have been restored and the faded and worn interiors gently conserved, telling the story of the changing fortunes of the people who lived and worked here.

Clifton Park Museum is located close to the centre of Rotherham in South Yorkshire. The building dates from 1783 and was originally the home of the Walker Family, a local firm of iron founders. It tells the story of Rotherham from earliest times to the present day. Exhibits include Roman artefacts from the local Templeborough Fort; the renowned Rockingham ceramics collection from nearby Swinton, including the 1.2 metre tall Rhinoceros Vase which, when it was fired in 1826.

Conisbrough Castle is a medieval fortification in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, England. The castle was initially built in the 11th century by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Hamelin Plantagenet, the illegitimate, parvenu brother of Henry II, acquired the property by marriage in the late 12th century.

Over 500 acres of beautiful garden inSouth Yorkshire, which was the only grade I registered landscape has to explore. There are fascinating stories to uncover, plus an endless variety of gentle walking trails, picnics, and hide and seek spots to keep the kids entertained. The Pleasure Ground displays layers of garden design characteristic of different periods and fashions, including an early 18th century Union Jack garden, a Victorian flower garden, and 20th-century collections of rhododendrons

Wentworth Castle is a grade-I listed country house, the former seat of the Earls of Strafford, at Stainborough, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is now home to the Northern College for Residential and Community Education. There are 63 acres of gardens and 500 acres of parkland to explore. That means there’ll be an endless variety of gentle walking trails, picnic spots as well as plenty of hide and seek spots to keep the kids entertained whilst on an outdoor adventure.

Magna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children, located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham, England. The principal exhibits are divided into four pavilions: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. There is also an outdoor play area Sci-Tek and water play area called Aqua-Tek.

Sprotbrough Flash is one of the richest wildlife sites in South Yorkshire. A mosaic of open water, wetland, woodland and limestone grassland aod so more. The size of the protected area is 28 hectares. The Trans Pennine Trail passes through the area. Sightings of a range of bird and land life have been noted here. one of the iconic location whee you can spend some nice time int the middle of nature.

Cusworth Hall is a Grade I Listed country house Set in the landscaped parklands of Cusworth Park, Cusworth Hall is a good example of a Georgian country house. It is now a country house museum.It was built in the 1740s by some of the best craftsmen and artists of the day, so for older kids studying architecture or artistic history this can be a helpful and significant stop.

The beautiful Cusworth Hall building is set on acres of historic land. WIth a functional Hall, Museum and Park across the land that Cusworth Hall Sites on. The present house was built in 1740–1745 by George Platt for William Wrightson to replace a previous house and was further altered in 1749–1753 by James Paine.

Valley Centertainment is one of the premier leisure parks in the Yorkshire region and comprises approximately 190,000 sq ft of leisure accommodation. It was built on land previously occupied by steel mills which also includes what is now Meadowhall shopping centre and the Fly DSA Arena. It is home to several restaurants, bars, a cinema, and a bowling alley as well as other attractions.