Leeds

The entertaining Abbey House Museum is contained in the gatehouse of the picturesque, ruined Kirkstall Abbey, dating from 1152. Abbey House allows visitors to walk around the streets of 1880s Leeds, while the upstairs section features galleries detailing the history of Kirkstall Abbey and the social history of the area. The museum has won awards for being family-friendly and fun for children. There is a restaurant and a gift shop at the museum. What is left of Kirkstall Abbey is set in lovely grounds by the Aire River and it would be a great pity to visit the museum without exploring the ruins. There is a small playground for children outside the museum.

Website : museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/abbey-house-museum/

The Armley Mills Industrial Museum was a working cloth mill until 1969, when the City Council turned it into an award-winning industrial museum. In fact, it was once the world's largest wool mill. Exhibits trace the history of textiles, clothing, engineering, and locomotive manufacture in Yorkshire. Particularly interesting is a section devoted to the 1920s silent movie projectors, operating water wheels and the huge spinning mules that were in use in the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum has an unexpectedly lovely riverside setting and is the ideal place to learn about the industries that the city of Leeds was built on.

Website : www.visitleeds.co.uk/thedms.aspx?dms=3&venue=1583802

In the heart of the city, the Leeds Art Gallery offers a feast for art lovers, its collections covering everything from traditional prints, watercolours, paintings and sculpture to weird and wonderful contemporary works. The gallery is renowned for having the best collection of British art outside of London - a fiercely contested accolade. Adjoining the gallery is the Henry Moore Institute, with its acclaimed sculpture study centre, and a full programme of sculpture exhibitions that run all year round. There is no admission charge for the Leeds Art Gallery and the collection could easily captivate visitors for a few hours.

Website : www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery

This fun, lively museum contains six themed galleries (covering War, Tournaments, Self-Defence, Hunting, Oriental Weaponry and the new and attractive Hall of Steel), and is filled with interactive displays, dramatic interpretations, action scenarios and some really exciting exhibits. This is more a cross between a theme park and a museum, bringing history alive in many unique ways, from watching gun-makers ply their craft to demonstrations of English traditions like falconry and horsemanship. Those interested in weaponry and military history will be thrilled by the extensive collection of the museum and the chance to witness things previously only read about.

Website : www.royalarmouries.org

There is surely no more interesting day out in Leeds than a visit to the Thackray Museum, which tells the story of medical advances through the ages. A recreated Victorian street, complete with sights, sounds and smells, highlights the lives, ailments and treatment of a bygone era in vivid clarity, and visitors can also step inside the human body in an interactive gallery. The museum was the vision of Paul Thackray, a former director of a medical supplies company, and since its opening in 1997 has become one of Britain's best museums as well as one of the largest medical museums in the UK.

Website : www.thackraymuseum.org