I have never been to Temple Newsam near Leeds before so was happy to visit and review. One of the things that really struck me about it is that is a beautiful place to visit with children and you don’t need a lot of money (or indeed if you are careful, any money). Looking back at the website today I can see we only covered a very small part of what Temple Newsam has to offer and yet, we had a full day there. There is a bus route that comes right into the estate during school holidays (number 10) from Leeds City Centre.
There are several free car parks around the grounds. The nearest car park to the house is payable at £4.10, so you can decide whether to pay or not. I was happy to pay for a space close by, but can see the attraction of parking for free and walking.
The grounds are absolutely stunning and free to walk around. Dogs are welcome too. You can also pay to go in the farm and/or house. We got our tickets from the courtyard gift shop, after walking past this wonderful natural amphitheatre, terraced to the delight of all the children there. Tables from the tea shop spill out into the amphitheatre, making a perfect place to picnic or lunch while the children play.
We visited the farm to begin with. There are many farm buildings with recreated workshops as well as lots of animals! My kids love a petting zoo so liked to look at the animals.
Who can resist pretending to throw rotten tomatoes at their brother in the stocks?
The most memorable animals were the cheeky piglets who could escape from their pens and run round into other pens. The children loved to see them.
There was an old Ferguson tractor that you could sit on and start. Miss H queued dutifully so she could have a go, even though we have our own tractor at home!
There were mini tractors that the under 5’s could play on. I didn’t get a photo as they were always in use and mine are too old now, but would have loved them when they were smaller!
This is the Courtyard Tea rooms where we had our lunch. I always like to see food photos, so here is what we had:
The courtyard is a lovely place to sit and eat out too.
Temple Newsam Leeds
After lunch we headed over to the house itself. It’s a stunning building arranged on three sides around a central quad. In the centre there were circus skill games for the kids to play with which were very popular with our children.
I even had a go at plate spinning myself (it didn’t go well!).
In the house itself we were given a trail to follow where the children looked for various things in the rooms we went through. They love a trail so happily followed this.
The house, it should come as no surprise, was stunning. There are guided tours that you can take too ‘from introductory tours and special rooftop tours, to hidden tours of the secret passageways – you can explore every inch of this magnificent house.’ Master T is a big Horrible Histories fan and would have liked the ‘Gruesome Newsam’ tour, exploring the ‘grisly, ghastly and ghostly secrets of Temple Newsam House’.
We came across a storyteller in one of the rooms who was captivating the smaller children.
In this room you could also make ‘smelly bags’, the children could mix different herbs to make their own pomanders. This was a popular activity!
After our tour of the house, we let the children have a bit of free time rolling down the hill and playing on the terracing in front of the courtyard.
All in all a lovely and affordable day out with the kids near Leeds. We had a lovely time.
If you are looking for other days out with the family in Yorkshire, have a look at my list of great suggestions.
Temple Newsam invited us to visit and review, but as always, all the opinions expressed are my own.