Low Harrogate

Golden Acre Park

Eccup · 8.7 miles

Large park with lake, wildfowl, informal gardens, demonstration gardens, a special collection of heathers, and woodland and open spaces.

Wetherby Grange Park

Wetherby · 8.7 miles

A multi-purpose sports complex on the outskirts of Wetherby provides facilities for padel, rugby union, crown-green and flat-green bowls and junior football, making it the largest community sports site in the town. The park lies close to Junction 45 of the A1(M) and is a ten- to fifteen-minute walk from Wetherby bus station, with a car park accommodating roughly one hundred vehicles. The present layout dates from 1988, when the former cricket ground was replaced after the second Wetherby bypass – now the A1(M) – divided the pitch. Prior to the bypass the area had been the site of Wetherby Grange, a stately house demolished in 1962. The rugby club moved here from Loshpot Lane in Kirk Deighton, and a new clubhouse opened shortly afterwards; it was rebuilt between 2012 and 2013, retaining a single-storey form but offering larger bar and dressing-room spaces, as well as separate facilities for match officials. The bowling club maintains its own wooden pavilion adjacent to the greens, separate from the main clubhouse. Facilities include four rugby pitches to the south, two of which are flood-lit and a small grandstand added in the late 2010s; a single cricket pitch with practice nets behind the clubhouse; and two bowling greens – one flat, one crown – laid in 1987 and illuminated for night play. A children’s playground and a catering unit near the rugby pitches complement the sports provision. The site is shared by Wetherby Cricket Club, Wetherby RUFC, Wetherby Bowling Club and Kirk Deighton Junior Football Club, each using the designated areas.

Bridge End Quarry (disused)

Otley · 8.7 miles

Gravel workings (disused) formelry operated by Hanson

Yeadon Tarn

Rufford Park · 9.9 miles

A small lake occupies a low-lying spot between the town of Yeadon and Leeds Bradford Airport in West Yorkshire. Covering roughly 7 hectares, the water body is fed by land drainage on its north-eastern side and releases water via Yeadon Beck, which joins the River Aire at Esholt. The surrounding geology – shales capped with boulder clay – allows the tarn to retain about 238 000 cubic metres of water at an elevation of 196 metres above sea level. The tarn’s origins trace back to at least the mid-fourteenth century, when it appears in records as Yedonmarre, a name derived from Old Norse. Historically it served industrial purposes, being shown as a fish pond on early maps and later supplying water to dye-works mill ponds in the 1890s. In 1925 the local council purchased the dam, cleared the perimeter, laid footpaths and renamed the site Yeadon Tarn, a term that replaced the earlier local names Yeadon Dam and Yeadon Moor Dam. During the Second World War the water was deliberately drained to deny enemy bombers a visual reference, before refilling in the post-war years. Recreational use today includes sailing from Tarnfield Park, where the Leeds Sailing and Activity Centre and Yeadon Sailing Club operate, as well as carp fishing, kayaking and model boating. The Environment Agency’s 2000 works created a conservation zone on the north bank and installed windbreak baffles to curb erosion. Wildlife such as cormorants, goosanders, mallards and signal crayfish are recorded, while periodic management of Canada geese addresses aircraft safety concerns. Access is provided by a car park within Tarnfield Park and a regular service of bus 747 along the adjacent road; no specific admission fee is mentioned.

Roundhay Park

Park Villas · 11 miles

A large green space stretches along Leeds’ north-eastern fringe, bordered by the Roundhay suburb, Oakwood and the A6120 ring road. Spanning more than 700 acres of lawns, water, woodland and formal plantings, the area is owned by the people of Leeds under a historic decree and is looked after by Leeds City Council. Entry is free and the park can be reached from the nearby Park Villas estate, with car parking available at former tram and lido sites. The land’s recorded history begins in the 11th century when William the Conqueror granted it to Ilbert de Lacy as a reward for military support. It later served as a medieval hunting ground for the de Lacy family, passed to John of Gaunt and his son Henry IV, and was handed to Thomas Darcy by Henry VIII. In the early 1800s the estate was sold to Thomas Nicholson, who transformed former quarries into the Upper and Waterloo Lakes and built a mansion overlooking the water. After changing hands within the Nicholson family, the property was bought for public use in the early 1870s, landscaped by architect George Corson and officially reopened by Prince Arthur before a crowd of about 100 000. Subsequent developments included a tram link in 1891, a lido opened in 1907 (now a car park), and a lakeside café rebuilt after a fire in 2008. Visitors can explore the lakes, wooded walks and several themed gardens. Canal Gardens host the Arnold and Marjorie Ziff Tropical World, a series of climate-controlled glasshouses containing tropical flora, a butterfly house, aquariums, free-roaming birds, reptiles, meerkats and a nocturnal exhibit with bats. Adjacent rose and walled gardens, restored shelters and footpaths round out the amenities, while the Lakeside Café provides refreshments. All facilities are managed by Leeds City Council and remain open to the public without charge.

Bramham Park

Bramham · 11 miles

The 500-acre landscaped grounds of Bramham Park serve as the venue for large-scale events such as the Leeds Festival and the annual Bramham Horse Trials, linking the estate to contemporary cultural life while retaining its historic setting. Situated between Leeds and Wetherby in the village of Bramham, West Yorkshire, the park surrounds a Grade I listed 18th-century country house built of magnesian limestone ashlar with stone-slate roofs. The house follows a linear plan, its three-storey main block fronted by a raised forecourt and connected by colonnades to flanking pavilions; the surrounding landscape features a series of follies and avenues typical of 18th-century design. The mansion originated in 1698 for Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley, and has passed through successive generations of the Benson and Lane-Fox families, undergoing restoration after a fire in 1828 and again in the early 1900s under architect Detmar Blow. Today the house remains a private residence owned by the Lane-Fox family, while a restricted portion of the grounds operates as a tourist attraction. Access to the gardens and house tours is limited to pre-arranged parties; no general admission facilities such as a visitor centre are mentioned. The estate is reachable via the nearby village of Bramham, which provides the closest point of reference for visitors arriving by road.