Let’s Go With The Children: Yorkshire & The North East by Ros Walker (Cube Publications, £3.99)

HERE'S the perfect bank holiday outing for tired parents with stroppy kids who say they're bored. Lock em in the stocks for half an hour while you go off to enjoy a swift pint of your favourite, or a nice cup of tea.

OK, OK, so that's probably not a great idea. Social services mightn't approve (not to say your kids).

But you really can give the little darlings the opportunity to at least try out the stocks (chances are they'll love it). And to stand in the dock in a courtroom. And even to get a taste of life as a workhouse orphan (which should make the little beggars grateful for all you do for them).

If a day out at the Yorkshire Law And Order Museums doesn't grab you, however, what about a spot of caving, instead (at Stumps Cross Caverns?) Or an encounter with a scientific wizard (the Whitby Wizard)? Or an adventure exploring underground labyrinths, secret passageways and life-size statues (The Forbidden Corner)?

When it comes to things to do with kids over the holidays, Yorkshire really has got the lot.

Often, the trouble is finding out what there is.

Now Yorkshire mum Ros Walker has come to the rescue with an updated 2006 edition of Let's Go With The Children, her great little guide to fun things to do in Yorkshire.

There are oodles of ideas here. All the region's better-known fun days out are included: the exotic marine life of Hull's The Deep, the gruesome delights of the York Dungeon, the white-knuckle rides of Flamingo Land and Lightwater Valley, Whitby's Dracula Experience and the World Of James Heriott.

But there are lots of lesser-known but no less fantastic places you could take the kids, if only you knew about them.

Now, thanks to Ros, you can. She lists hundreds of different days out and fun attractions, with separate sections for North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire, plus regions further afield in the North East.

Best of all, her handy guide, which gives just enough information about each attraction, includes prices as well, so your outing needn't break the bank.

So there's no excuse for the kids to be bored this bank holiday. Or this summer either, come to that.

Have a good one!

Let's Go With The Children: Yorkshire & The North East by Ros Walker is published by Cube Publications priced £3.99. It is available from WH Smith, good bookshops and newsagents.

Here are just a few ideas from the guide.