Roll with it

YORKSHIRE is a great place to be if you're a kid. Where else could you find underground labyrinths, get lost in a maize maze, see grey reef sharks, tour a great-smelling rock factory and meet a real live wizard, all in one county? And that's not to even mention taking a boat trip through Britain's longest and deepest canal tunnel, watching a medieval jousting tournament, hitching a ride on a Japanese bullet train - and checking out a flying salami.

Flying salami? You heard right. It is, apparently, just one of the fun displays at the Wizard's Workshop in Grosmont, up on the North York Moors, a little-known science centre that, if Ros Walker has her way, is about to become a lot better known.

Ros is the author of the 2004 Let's Go With The Children guide to Yorkshire and the North East - a guide positively bursting with fun places to visit for families with children.

It features all the region's better-known fun days out: the white-knuckle rides at Lightwater Valley and Flamingo Land; the grey reef sharks of Hull's underwater spectacular The Deep; the labyrinths, follies and secret passages of the Forbidden Corner; and the great-trains-and-gadgetry experience that is the National Railway Museum.

The great thing about this guide, however, is that it features countless smaller and less well-known attractions, too - new places to go that are guaranteed to spice up any bored youngster's Easter holiday.

Places such as the Honey Farm at East Ayton, where kids can get to see honeybees in action and explore the adventure play area; John Bull's World of Rock at Carnaby near Bridlington, where sweet-toothed youngsters can take a tour (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory-style) of the delicious-smelling rock factory, and even make their own souvenir stick of rock; and the Wizard's Workshop in Grosmont.

Run by Dag Hagenaes Kjelldahl, who claims to be descended from Norwegian Vikings, it's one of Ros's favourites; a hands-on science centre in the village's old primary school, crammed with oddball contraptions and fun, fantastic hands-on science experiments - everything from the flying salami (a giant, inflatable sausage) to a bottle organ and a plasma screen.

The great thing about it, Ros says, is Dag the wizard himself, whose wicked sense of humour keeps kids enthralled. "He sports a yellow T-shirt with the words 'The Wizard' written on it," she says. "And because he speaks with a foreign accent, the kids think he really is a wizard."

Ros, who lives in Bingley, knows exactly what makes kids tick because she has two of her own: an eight-year-old and a ten-year-old. It makes her an ideal guide: and she makes no apologies for including lesser-known attractions in her book. In fact, she says, they're its main selling point.

"There are a lot of family guides about, but they tend to be national ones and only cover the large attractions," she says. "This guide is very much for local families, as well as for visitors. The idea is that if I have done my job properly, even people living in the area will be able to find places they have never heard of. I'm one of those parents that does go out with their kids a lot: and I like to look for things that are a bit off the beaten track."

Ideas galore for the hols, then, in this handy 70-page guide. The best thing of all is that it's incredibly easy to use. Attractions are organised in chapters, under headings such as Adventure and Fun, History Art and Science and Farms, Wildlife and Nature Parks. Each entry contains just enough detail to whet your appetite, as well as essential information such as address, opening times and telephone number. And, most useful of all, they're all price-graded: so you'll know in advance just how much your day out is going to cost you.

u Let's Go With The Children: Yorkshire and the North East by Ros Walker is published by Cube Publications, priced £3.50, and is available from WH Smith, most good bookshops, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons, as well as Tourist Information Centres in Helmsley, Malton, Bridlington and Beverley and from the York Model Railway.

Let's get going

Here are some suggestions of where to take the kids, from the Let's Go guide...

Wizard's Workshop, Grosmont, 01947 820160, open throughout Easter.

John Bull's World of Rock, Lancaster Road, Carnaby, near Bridlington, tel 01262 678525. Open daily, Easter to October.

The Forbidden Corner, Middleham near Leyburn, tel 01969 640638. A unique hidden garden crammed with labyrinths, tunnels, castles, secret doors and mazes that is a firm favourite with kids. Open April to October, entrance by pre-booking only.

Beech End Interactive Model Village, Leyburn, tel 01969 625400. Steer tiny narrow boats around the canal and drive minute cars through the streets. Open April to November.

Brimham Rocks, Summerbridge, tel National Trust on 01423 780688. Spectacular rock formations including the Dancing Bear and Druid's Writing Desk, which will have your kids shrieking with delight and excitement. Healthy, outdoors and, apart from parking, free!

Updated: 08:28 Saturday, April 10, 2004