What it's like to visit the largest sculpture park in Europe (btw, it's in Wakefield)
Works of art aplenty, and we finish Harry Potter
Readers, hello! Have you had a good week? Oh my goodness, what glorious sunshine we’ve had. It’s given me such a boost to get out of the house, to get out of my big winter coat and feel the warmth on my face.
Other big news in our house this week: we’ve finished Harry Potter. I started the first book with my eldest in October 2020, mid-lockdown, and she was instantly hooked. Almost 18 months later we turned the final page on Thursday. She’s adored every minute of the stories (as have I, it’s 20 years since I read them) and she is now a self-confessed ‘Potter nerd’ with enough merchandise to open up her own Potter shop.
Her enthusiasm led us to a summer of Potter themed outings last year (you can read about that here) and her encyclopedic knowledge of all things Potter is truly impressive.
Anyway, enough about that. This week’s adventure is an exploration of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a fabulous space near Wakefield. If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter then please share it with friends or family who you think might enjoy it too.
This week’s adventure… Yorkshire Sculpture Park
I had a few ideas in my head of what the Yorkshire Sculpture Park would be like before we went, and almost none of them were correct.
I pictured a muddy sculpture trail with a few art works to look at, but what we actually got to explore was a beautiful, vast 18th century estate with stunning views and more than 100 works of art.
The park is around seven miles from Wakefield, and about a 1hr drive from our home in Bolton. Tickets are £6 for adults and free for kids, and dogs on a lead are allowed too.
Driving into the site we saw giant, red letters stacked on top of each other, spelling out LOVE. The girls dashed over, eager to peer up at it and make hand-shaped hearts. It turns out this was the work of American artist Robert Indiana, and the slanted O is his trademark.
But that’s the thing with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. You don’t have to be an art aficionado in any way to enjoy it. Even in the most family-friendly art galleries there’s a sense of always telling the kids to be careful or stop running around, but due to the fact it’s outdoors and there is so much space, this place openly invites playfulness and running around.
There are 500 acres of road and car-free land to explore. If you like the look of a sculpture then you can stop and find out more about it. If you don’t, then it’s something interesting to look at as you wander past.
There are lots of prompts and idea of how to think about the artworks too, ideal for families. We picked up a leaflet with a tick box list encouraging us to find a sculpture we could walk around, another we’d like to put outside our house and one that touched the sky.
Another leaflet was packed with ideas on how to play with the sculptures and engage with them - could we make a sculpture with our shadows? Are clouds actually art works?
We also followed the lower lake trail which is an ideal length for little legs, and takes you past an 18th century shell grotto, has lots of opportunities to look for swans, ducks and other wildlife and (of course) has several works of art.
The place is so huge we probably only got around a third of it in the four hours we were there, but if you’re with older kids (or even without kids, imagine!) then you’d cover more ground.
It was chilly when we visited last weekend but beautifully sunny, and we also met up with our friends and their super-cute 6mth old baby, who thoroughly enjoyed her first trip there too.
Oh, and there’s a cafe with fab views over the park near the entrance, and a shop full of gorgeous crafts, jewellery and children’s books.
I’d certainly recommend it if you are looking for a different day out over the Easter holidays.
And if you prefer your works of art on the beach, take a trip to Anthony Gormley’s Another Place in Crosby, you can read about our visit here.
Right friends, I’m now off to see my 5yo in a Mother’s Day Assembly. Tissues at the ready.
Thanks as ever to everyone who got this far, you’re my fave subscribers.
See you next Friday,
Jenna
I am up in Lancashire next week and hope to visit the YSP. Did you book in advance?