Nessy, the Leeds Mummy

With rain on the cards again as has been the case for much of the Easter holidays, Leeds was our destination. The plan was Leeds Art Gallery for us grown ups with its Victorian Tiled Cafe as an added temptation, and for the boys, Leeds City Museum. Disappointingly, the art gallery was closed on arrival - an odd decision to close on a bank holiday Monday when it's open every other Monday. So we diverted to the city museum which turned out to be a great find with lots to see. Highlights of the museum are Leeds' own 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy, Nesyamum, a fantastic exhibit for young and old alike and the Life on Earth gallery which houses a whole array of stuffed animals from around the world. The day opened our eyes to what Leeds has to offer and we've got plans to return, certainly to the art gallery, but also to the city's other attractions.

Visting the Hepworth Gallery

I recommend a visit to the fairly newly opened Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield. We spent an afternoon there on Sunday and were all hugely impressed with what this award-winning place had on offer. Primarily housing the work of sculptor Barbara Hepworth whose tactile works of art feature throughout, there were also paintings, illustrations and a changing exhibition to admire.

The museum is located on the banks of the River Calder in a gritty part of the city with boarded up brick warehouses, boats and barges as its neighbours.

As much as we enjoyed our visit the kids came back saying what a great day they had had. The space is big enough for them to explore and there has been a lot of thought put in as to how to keep families interested. The boys participated in the art pod in the gallery where friendly staff guided through some creative activities that linked in with the current exhibition. They also spent time in the sculpture workshop playing with newplast clay and play dough. There is a very spacious and clean picnic area where we had our lunch with tea and cake in the cafe later in the afternoon. Outside there is a lovely adventure playground for the kids.

We spent more than four hours there and I still feel I'd like to go back soon for a visit. The gallery pays homage to this part of Yorkshire with its varied landscape and industrial past.