Museums & heritage in Sheffield

A&G Passenger Boats Ltd.

Sheffield · ages 0-15

A sit-down meal on a boat that cruises Sheffield's waterways, from pie and peas to a full three-course dinner.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGroup bookingsFood on site+2 more

Bakewell Old House Museum

Bakewell

A 500 year old tithe house in Bakewell where kids follow trails through eleven creaky rooms hunting for rats and dolls' houses.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingDog friendly+3 more

Birdswood Canal Boat

Matlock

A canal boat trip with commentary out to the Leawood Pump House, at £23 a head for the premium heritage sailing.

Booking requiredCaféChanging Places

Bishops' House

Sheffield

A free Jacobean house in Meersbrook Park where kids can poke round old timber-framed rooms then hit the playground next door.

Group bookingsSchool visits

Bolsover Castle Visitor Centre & Café

Bolsover

A hilltop castle with a wooden play castle outside, a dressing up box, and 107 steps to climb inside the real one.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+11 more

Cannon Hall - Museum

Cawthorne

Free entry to a hall packed with sensory toys, plus woodland trails, tepees and a proper adventure playground outside.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+7 more

Castle Hill

Huddersfield

Climb Victoria Tower on top of Castle Hill for the view over Huddersfield, and change for coins at the door.

Public transport nearbySchool visits

Chatsworth

Bakewell · ages 3-16

A vast garden of fountains and sculpture to roam, a farmyard for animal handling, and a woodland playground with big slides and water play.

Accessible toiletBooking requiredCaféDog friendly+8 more

City of Caves

Nottingham

Sandstone tunnels under Nottingham with WW2 shelters and a medieval tannery, walked with an audio guide.

Booking requiredCard onlyGift shopGroup bookings

Creswell Crags

Worksop

A limestone gorge, Ice Age caves and rock art to hunt out, with a museum and lakeside walk to fill the rest of the day.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBlue badge parking+19 more

Cromford Mills

Cromford, Derbyshire

A free mill yard, shops and exhibition, with paid tours telling the story of the world's first water powered cotton mill.

CaféGift shopPicnic area

Cupola Gallery

Sheffield

A gallery with a sculpture garden to wander round, open six days a week if you fancy an easy browse with kids in tow.

Wheelchair accessible

Cusworth Hall Museum

Doncaster

Free entry to a Georgian hall with walking trails, play areas and a peek at the Great Kitchen and chapel paintings.

Blue badge parkingCard onlyDog friendlyFood on site+4 more

Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

Wirksworth

Ride heritage steam and diesel trains through the Derbyshire countryside, with a model railway carriage and picnic stops along the way.

ToiletsParkingPicnic areaGift shop+3 more

Elsecar Heritage Centre

Elsecar

A free wander round shops, cafés and a heritage site, with a beer tap and two tea rooms to fall back on.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+7 more

Experience Barnsley Museum & Discovery Centre

Barnsley

Free museum with an Egyptian LEGO trail, a Cleopatra exhibition and a Friday session just for under-5s.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesFree parking+8 more

Eyam Museum

Hope Valley · ages 0-16

Plague village history told through trails and dressing-up clothes, with a first floor you'll need to leave the buggy for.

Gift shopGroup bookingsParkingPushchair friendly+2 more

Graves Gallery

Sheffield

Free art gallery above Sheffield Central Library, good for a quiet browse rather than a run-about.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingBreastfeeding friendlyGift shop+6 more

Haddon Hall

Bakewell · ages 0-15

A medieval manor with terraced gardens to explore, kids get in free and there's archery some summer Tuesdays.

ToiletsCaféGift shopParking

Hardwick Hall

Chesterfield

Parkland picnic, woodland play trails and Bess of Hardwick's famous house - kids wider-estate tickets from £3.

ToiletsAccessible toiletBaby changeCafé+8 more

Heights of Abraham

Matlock Bath · ages 4-15

A cable car ride over the valley, two cavern tours underground, then a hilltop park of play areas and views.

ToiletsCaféRestaurantGift shop+12 more

Houdini's Escape Room Experience - Leeds

Leeds · ages 2-18

Sixty minutes locked in a themed room working through puzzles and riddles as a team, with the game master watching the clock.

Booking requiredCard onlyGroup bookings

Huddersfield Observatory

Huddersfield · ages 0+

Solar telescopes, star talks and beginner astronomy courses run by a members' society meeting twice a month.

ParkingPicnics allowedToilets

Magna Science Adventure Centre

Rotherham · ages 0+

A former steelworks turned science playground, with fire, water and air pavilions plus an outdoor adventure park.

CaféCard onlyFree parkingGift shop+8 more

Midland Railway Butterley

Ripley

Ride heritage steam or DMU trains, explore the museum and playground, then hop the train to Swanwick Junction.

Free parkingCaféToiletsOutdoor play+8 more

Millennium Gallery

Sheffield

Free city-centre gallery near the station, open every day but Monday, with a café for the inevitable snack break.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+7 more

Mr Straw's House

Worksop · ages 5+

A 1920s house left exactly as one family kept it, seen on small pre-booked tours of just four people at a time.

Bike parkingBooking requiredFree parkingGift shop+9 more

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Wakefield · ages 0+

Free entry to a 42 acre former colliery, with the real draw being a guided trip 140 metres underground.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBike parkingBlue badge parking+13 more

National Emergency Services Museum

Sheffield · ages 0-60

Climb into old fire engines and ambulances, try on a uniform, and poke round Victorian police cells across three floors.

ToiletsCaféGift shopWheelchair accessible

National Tramway Museum

Matlock

Ride vintage trams down a rebuilt period street, then loose the kids in a woodland sculpture trail while you eat into a free return visit.

Free parkingParkingGift shopFood on site+6 more

Natural Sciences Museum

Sheffield · ages 0+

Fossil handling, dinosaur exhibits and Edwardian gallery cases to explore, with kids five and under going free.

Booking requiredGroup bookingsSchool visits

Newstead Abbey

Ravenshead

A 300-acre estate near Nottingham with a play park, trails and a house walkthrough, kids go free with a paying adult.

Baby changeBooking requiredBottle warmingBreastfeeding friendly+13 more

Nostell

Wakefield

NT house and parkland near Wakefield - gardens, woodland play and tea-room for a full day.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféChanging Places+7 more

Old Queen's Head

Sheffield

A Grade II listed Tudor building in Sheffield with a courtyard to explore and pub food to fill you up after.

Food on siteRestaurant

Peak Cavern

Castleton

Walk a guided showcave under the gorge with a rope-makers story - chilly low section, from £13.75 online for children.

Booking required

Peak District Mining Museum

Matlock · ages 4+

An underground guided tour through a real lead mine, plus a museum where kids climb mock tunnels and pan for minerals.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredGift shopGroup bookings+6 more

Peak Rail

Darley Dale

Ride steam and diesel heritage trains between Rowsley South and Matlock - kids under 16 travel free with a paying adult.

ToiletsAccessible toiletBaby changeCafé+8 more

Ponden Kirk & Fairy Cave

Keighley

A rocky crevice cave and gritstone outcrop on the moors above Haworth, tied to the Brontë novels.

Pontefract Castle

Pontefract

Ruined castle ruins to scramble round for free, with a playground, dungeon tours and a café that lets dogs in too.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+4 more

Post Hall Gallery

Sheffield

A free gallery to wander round exhibitions and degree shows, with lectures and events on some days.

Accessible toiletParkingPublic transport nearbyToilets+1 more

Sheffield Cathedral

Sheffield

Free to wander round, with lion sculptures to hunt down and a guided tour if you want the real story of the building.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféGift shop+5 more

Sheffield Manor Lodge

Sheffield

Tudor ruins, a lavender labyrinth and a sandpit to dig in, with school holiday trails and free tram links from Sheffield.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBlue badge parkingCafé+9 more

Shepherd Wheel

Sheffield

A free peek inside a real water-powered grinding workshop from the 1500s, tucked by Endcliffe Park.

Step-free access

Sherwood Observatory

Sutton-in-Ashfield

A planetarium and observatory near Mansfield where kids get hands-on with telescopes at open events, arrive early to explore the exhibition and grab a bite at the volunteer-run café first.

Blue badge parkingBooking requiredCaféEV charging+6 more

Showroom Café Bar

Sheffield

Relaxed weekend film screenings for kids in a proper independent cinema, with a café bar to fill the rest of the morning.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBlue badge parkingCafé+4 more

Site Gallery

Sheffield

A contemporary art gallery with drop-in workshops, a café, and a family silent disco with headphones and bubbles.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+5 more

South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum

Doncaster

Climb into a real Vulcan Bomber and a Hawk T.1 jet cockpit among a full collection of parked aircraft and helicopters.

CaféDog friendlyEV chargingGift shop+3 more

South Yorkshire Transport Museum

Rotherham

Old buses and cars you can get right up close to, plus free rides on the historic fleet, one Sunday a month.

Blue badge parkingCaféCard onlyFree parking+4 more

Speedwell Cavern

Castleton · ages 5-15

A boat ride into a flooded lead mine to see the Bottomless Pit, down 106 steps in Castleton.

Booking requiredParking

Standedge Tunnel & Visitor Centre - Canal & River Trust

Huddersfield

Boat trips through Britain's longest canal tunnel, plus a towpath walk and tea and cake afterwards.

CaféCard onlyParkingToilets+1 more

The Art House Sheffield

Sheffield

Hands-on clay workshops and pottery handbuilding in a converted studio building, with a café to fuel the sticky-fingers bit.

Bike parkingCaféGroup bookingsStep-free access+2 more

The Cooper Gallery

Barnsley

Free art gallery visits with sensory backpacks to borrow for kids who find busy spaces tricky.

Accessible toiletCaféGift shopPublic transport nearby+5 more

The Great Rutland Cavern

Matlock Bath · ages 4+

A cable car ride over the valley followed by two illuminated show caverns cut into the hillside.

CaféDog friendlyGift shopGroup bookings+7 more

The Harley Gallery

Worksop

Free contemporary art gallery on the Welbeck estate with free parking, a kids' creative activity space and monthly Discover Art! sessions for children.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingBreastfeeding friendly+7 more

The Looping Boat "The Industry"

Sheffield

A striking bit of public art on the towpath, a boat frozen mid-loop, free to look at and gone in ten minutes.

Free parkingPublic transport nearby

The Vulcan Experience - Pre-booked visits only

Doncaster

Get up close to the Avro Vulcan XH558 and an English Electric Canberra, with engineering demos thrown in.

Booking required

Thoresby Park

Newark

Newark - Thoresby Park estate with play park, courtyard cafe, woodland walks and a free military museum.

Booking requiredCaféGift shopIndoor play+6 more

Treak Cliff Cavern

Castleton · ages 5-17

A 45-minute self-guided walk into a real cavern hung with Blue John stone, but it's steps and slopes, not a pram job.

ParkingToiletsCaféGift shop+1 more

Wakefield Museum

Wakefield

Free museum with craft Saturdays and a weekly Museum Minis session for the under-fives, no ticket needed.

Breastfeeding friendlyCaféDog friendlyHearing loop+2 more

Wednesday Warehouse

Sheffield

A free Sunday-morning museum of Sheffield Wednesday memorabilia, from old shirts to match tickets and programmes.

Cash onlyGift shop

West Yorkshire Astronomical Society

Pontefract

Open nights with planetarium shows and real telescope observing, run in small groups so nobody's just staring at the back of someone's head.

Booking required

Weston Park Museum

Sheffield

Free Sheffield city museum - Egypt, wildlife and a play bus for under-fives when rain hits.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféGift shop+4 more

Wortley Top Forge

Sheffield · ages 0-16

A working water-powered forge with real waterwheels turning, plus a miniature steam railway to ride round the site.

Accessible toiletBaby changePicnic areaPicnics allowed+1 more