Run over one and three-quarter miles, the illustrious St Leger Race provides the ultimate test for staying thoroughbreds and is the climax of the St Leger Festival. The famous course at Doncaster provides the perfect backdrop for the festivities and is always packed to its 20,000 capacity.
Available :
Sep 2013 (annual)
The Magna science and adventure centre was converted from a former steelworks. Visitors can walk on air, feel the heat of a fire tornado, blast water cannons and take the controls of a JCB.
Available :
Daily
Castle Park is Leicester's Old Town, an historic area of ancient walls and gateways, churches, fine old buildings, museums, gardens and riverside walks.
Available :
Daily
Bringing Leicester's history to life, Castle Park resounds to a festival running up to and over the August Bank Holiday weekend. A wide range of music, street theatre, dance, storytelling, children's activities, guided walks and free events fill the park.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
Opened in May 2003, the £15.7 million iceSheffield is a state-of-the-art ice skating venue, hosting national and international events and recreational skating for the community, including learn-to-skate lessons.
Available :
Daily; not Mon
Celebrate the demise of Guy Fawkes at the After Dark fireworks spectacular at Sheffield's Don Valley Grass Bowl. Attractions include a bonfire, family funfair, fire jugglers, musical accompaniment to the display itself and plenty of food and drink.
Available :
Nov 2013 (annual)
Located in one of Sheffield's oldest industrial districts, the Kelham Island Museum houses working machinery that recreates the sights, sounds and smells of the Industrial Revolution. Find out a about the steel industry and how it thrust Sheffield into the global economy.
Available :
Daily; not Fri or Sat
Part of Sheffield's £120-million Heart of the City project and directly connected through Arundel Gate to the Millennium Gallery, Winter Garden is a huge temperate glasshouse and a green oasis in the city centre. People-watch in this jungle-like interior.
Available :
Daily
Part of Sheffield's Heart of the City project and directly connected through Arundel Gate to the Winter Garden, the Millennium Gallery offers a 21st-century approach to enjoying the visual arts. Watch out for details of visiting blockbuster exhibitions.
Available :
Daily
The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield hosts the World Championships, the most famous and important tournament in snooker. To win here is to reach the pinnacle of the game.
Available :
Apr - May 2013 (annual)
Sheffield's medieval cathedral is the city's oldest building. Now Grade I listed, it contains architecture from the 15th to the 20th centuries, magnificent Tudor memorials and striking stained glass. The bells ring out every Sunday and on special occasions.
Available :
Daily
Situated very close to Sheffield's Millennium Galleries, the Graves Art Gallery features the city's collections of 19th and 20th-century British and European art, along with temporary shows. Highlights include works by Picasso, Stanley Spencer and Henry Moore.
Available :
Daily; not Sun
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) sits in a 200-year-old landscaped park outside Wakefield. It aims to utilise the natural beauty of the area to display a changing array of sculptures including, most notably, works by Barbra Hepworth and Henry Moore.
Available :
Daily
With approximately 20,000 people either participating or attending, the annual Sheffield Fayre at Norfolk Heritage Park is among the largest free events in South Yorkshire. The various events include favourites like the Sheffield Horticultural Show and a History Camp.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
The Leadmill in Sheffield has good reason for its "Great Night Out" guarantee as it was voted best club outside London by NME and Melody Maker. It hosts different club nights and live music throughout the week.
Available :
Daily
The Sheffield International Documentary Festival is among the UK's leading media events - both a public film festival and an industry gathering dedicated to documentary film and TV. It's based at the Showroom Cinema but events take place throughout Sheffield.
Available :
Jun 2013 (annual)
Sheffield's answer to Kew Gardens, the 19-acre Botanical Gardens were originally laid out in 1836. Today, the gardens are listed by English Heritage as a Grade II site and contain three restored Victorian glass pavilions with connecting walkways. They are full of exotic warm-temperate plants from Asia, the Himalayas, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Available :
Daily
This 1920s tradesman's house, once home to Worksop's grocer Mr Straw, is preserved as it was years ago. A fascinating glimpse into the past, it offers a rare opportunity to see once-common household articles in an original setting.
Available :
Mar - Oct 2013; not Mon or Sun (annual)
For well over a century, the Gawthorpe Maypole Procession has raised money for elderly members of Gawthorpe village. The May Queen leads a procession of themed floats, majorettes, vintage vehicles and marching bands along the High Street.
Available :
May 2013 (annual)
When Lewis Hartley mocked his drinking buddy Reggie Sedgewick with the words "Ba gum lad tha' looks b******d" in Gawthorpe's Beehive Inn back in 1963, little did he know that his comment would lead to the World Coal Carrying Championships.
Available :
Apr 2013 (annual)
Every Christmas Eve the bell of Dewsbury parish church is tolled once for each year of the Christian era, to remind the devil of his defeat. Now with over 2000 tolls each year it's a cacophonous local call for Christmas cheer.
Available :
Dec 2012 - Dec 2013 (annual)
Chesterfield's popular local market takes a step back in time every July, as it takes on a medieval theme and offers shopping and entertainment for all the family. Expect medieval re-enactments, a court jester and a funfair for the children.
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
In honour of its most famous outlaw, Nottingham holds an annual Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest. Throughout the week visitors are entertained by jugglers and jesters, strolling minstrels and street theatre performers, a falconer and experts in medieval combat.
Available :
Aug 2013 (annual)
Middleton Railway in South Leeds, founded in 1758, was the world's first commercial railway and served coal mines two miles from the city. Fully restored, it offers a thrilling 25-minute journey in restored carriages pulled by authentic 19th-century locomotives.
Available :
Weekends only
Infamous in his native Germany, DJ Sven Väth leads the debauched parties thrown at his groundbreaking club Cocoon. Cocoon in the Park sees the brand hold a one-day party at Temple Newsam, ideal for partygoers in pursuit of outdoor shenanigans.
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
Opera fans gather every year on the beautiful Temple Newsam estate in Leeds for the free summertime Opera in the Park spectacular. There's a pop party in the park the following day.
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
An impressive line-up of British pop stars gather each year for Leeds' Party in the Park in the grounds of Temple Newsam. The one-day festival regularly attracts 70,000 spectators and it's not just the line-up that leaves them smiling - tickets are free!
Available :
Jul 2013 (annual)
Falconry, displays of uniforms and real jousting by knights in armour are among the sights at The Royal Armouries on Leeds' riverside. Modern and purpose-built in 1996, the museum serves as both a family attraction and an important national archive.
Available :
Daily
Brasserie Blanc, in the city's riverside area, is a branch of a high-quality chain with menus by leading chef Raymond Blanc. He offers simple, authentic French food with a leaning to British tastes, such as steak and chips, or Toulouse sausage with mashed potato, as well as Mediterranean favourites like gazpacho or ravioli.
Available :
Daily
The Wardrobe is a vibrant bar, restaurant and club on the eastern edge of the city centre, offering lunches and dinners upstairs and a dance bar downstairs with nightly live music ranging from hiphop and blues to jazz.
Available :
Daily
The Leeds International Jazz Conference brings together performers, educators and anyone with an interest in jazz education for two packed days at Leeds College of Music. The conference attracts delegates from across the world for its lectures, workshops and performances.
Available :
Mar 2013 (annual)
Chatsworth, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, hosts a country fair every year in its 1000-acre grounds. The fair offers visitors a chance to peruse local arts and crafts and buy delicious treats from hundreds of stalls.
Available :
Aug - Sep 2013 (annual)
Chatsworth, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, welcomes the best riders in the country every May to compete in its International Horse Trials. Testing both rider and steed to their limits, it makes for a great day out.
Available :
May 2013 (annual)
Chatsworth House, stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is also known as the "Palace of the Peak". In addition to art treasures, it has a beautiful 105-acre garden and a working farmyard, which is great fun for kids.
Available :
Mar - Dec 2013 (annual)
In a city with many excellent Indian restaurants, Aagrah, in the eastern part of the city centre is rated one of the top names by the locals. Next-door neighbour of BBC Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, this spacious, elegant place attracts a discerning crowd to enjoy imaginative, skilfully prepared Kashmiri cooking.
Available :
Daily
On Leeds centre's eastern edge, award-winning West Yorkshire Playhouse, which opened in 1990 has two auditoria, the Quarry and Courtyard Theatres. It hosts visiting productions as well as longer-running home-grown productions, amidst ballet, comedy and workshops.
Available :
Daily
The Cockpit, in the city centre, attracts leading indie and alternative bands as well as unsigned local newcomers. Friendly, relaxed, affordable, with no dress code, it's open till late playing everything from contemporary electro to retro rock, hiphop and emo.
Available :
Daily
Leeds' HiFi Club is a favourite with lovers of soul, funk, jazz, indie and hip-hop. Relaxed and friendly, it prides itself on its drinks menu and stages regular DJ and live music nights, as well as a popular comedy club.
Available :
Daily
Every Sunday during the summer, 22 of Leeds' parks are filled with the sounds of brass, jazz and concert bands. From Canal Gardens and Roundhay Park to Golden Acre and Middleton parks, there's no shortage of entertainment.
Available :
May - Sep 2013; Sun only (annual)
The Leeds Jewish International Performing Arts Festival presents a 5-day celebration of Jewish arts and culture. A range of performances of Jewish-related drama, music, comedy and dance take place at venues throughout Leeds.
Available :
Jun - Jul 2013 (annual)
08457 76 76 76
