Rainy day ideas

Indoor activities

Find indoor activities for half term holidays, bank holiday weekends, seaside escapes and city breaks. Take your pick from indoor attractions and such as free museums and other indoor attractions such as aquariums and galleries, or if you’re feeling braver, there are climbing centres, underground caverns and cycle velodromes. You can tour television studios and explore living history heritage attractions, or even whet your whistle on a brewery tour. Whatever you fancy doing, England is packed with indoor activities and things to do on a rainy day.

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Get on board at the National Railway Museum

The world's largest railway museum is home to a staggering collection of restored locomotives, including the fastest steam engine of all time.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Step back in time at York Castle Museum

Travel back in time on a rainy day at this trend-setting museum, which transports visitors back through 300 years of history.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Nine floors of silver-screens

A visit to the National Media Museum is a must if you love photography, film, television, animation, gaming or the internet.

Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Discover military history at The Royal Armouries

Britain’s national museum of arms and armour is home to a fascinating and unique collection, including the only existing suit of armour built for an elephant.

Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Sunderland Museum

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a great place for the whole family to spend the day – and it’s free.

Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

 

Sit in Harry Potter's classroom at Durham Cathedral

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry came to life via a number of locations across the UK, one of which was the awe-inspiring Durham Cathedral.

Location: Durham City, Durham

 

Go under the sea at The Deep Aquarium

Get out of the rain and head... into the water? This underwater world features Europe's deepest viewing tunnel, offering unparalleled views of exotic fish, sharks and other sea creatures.

Location: Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire

 

Bag some bon bons at England’s Oldest Sweet Shop

Evoke happy childhood memories with hundreds of retro sweets at The Oldest Sweet Shop in England.

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

 

Unleash your inner explorer at Tropical World

Set off on a journey through the jungle, the desert and below the surface of the water to discover all of the creatures who call them home.

Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Explore mining history at Woodhorn Museum

Explore hundreds of years of mining heritage at this unique museum in Northumberland, built from what was once the largest pit village in the world.

Location: Ashington, Northumberland

 

Rainy Day Activities: Get interactive on a family trip to Eureka!

Eureka! in Halifax is an indoor attraction that inspires children to learn all about the world around them by playing, imagining, experimenting and having fun.

Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Hop from gallery to shop at the Salts Mill

Found near Bradford, the Yorkshire Salts Mill is an indoor hive of art galleries and indie shops, set within the culturally rich World Heritage Site of Saltaire.

Location: Saltaire, West Yorkshire

 

Discover 2,000 years of history at Durham Cathedral

Open Treasure is Durham Cathedral’s new world-class visitor experience, located in the most intact surviving set of medieval monastic buildings in the UK.

Location: Durham City, Durham

 

Peep into Durham’s locomotive past

Discover Durham’s role in the development of the railways at Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon.

Location: Vale of Durham

 

Take a tour of the Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth

Admire historical artworks in a grand setting at Chatsworth.

Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Discover Sheffield’s story at Kelham Island Museum

The ‘Steel City’s’ unique industrial story is brought to life through interactive galleries at this captivating indoor museum.

Location: Kelham Island, South Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Relax in Harrogate’s Turkish Baths

Use the next rainy day as an excuse for a spa treatment in these elaborate Turkish baths, recently restored to their former glory.

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

 

Hunt for ancient treasures in The Yorkshire Museum

This grandiose Georgian museum is filled with curiosities from an eye-popping Viking treasure hoard to dinosaur fossils and a working observatory.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Venture into the gruesome York Dungeon

There’s spine-chilling fun to be had in this dungeon, where 2,000 horrible years of history are brought to life by grisly theatre and sudden frights.

Location: York, North Yorkshire

 

Rainy Day Activities: Scale the innovative Rokt Climbing Gym

Adrenalin pumping, heart stopping, fear inducing - this unique activity centre in Yorkshire offers indoor climbing at its best.

Location: Brighouse, West Yorkshire

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