Easter fun for old and young... (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Huge variety of special events are planned for the Easter holidays

6:42pm Sunday 1st April 2012 in Days Out

Although the weather has been glorious over the last week or so, there is no telling whether it will continue through the Easter holiday, so it is best to have a plan B, just in case it takes a turn for the worse.

There are plenty of places to enjoy within easy reach of Bradford, and many of them are free.

One venue which always merits a visit is the National Media Museum, which has just launched the Life Online Gallery – the first in the world dedicated to exploring the social, technological and cultural impact of the internet and the web. Over Easter there are a number of workshops where you can try your hand at a variety of web-based activities.

Watch a demonstration of a mill steam engine at the Industrial Museum in Eccleshill and take part in an Easter egg trail from tomorrow until Tuesday, April 10, when there is an opportunity to win a special Easter egg hamper.

There’s something for everyone to see and do in Lister Park, from enjoying the botanical gardens, the adventure play area and the Mughal Water Gardens to taking in an exhibition at Cartwright Hall.

A little further afield, children’s favourite Thomas the Tank Engine will be hoping that many of his young friends will be able to visit him at Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway over the bank holiday weekend. There is also a beautiful walk to the Abbey itself from the award-winning Bolton Abbey station.

You could take a steam train along the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on one of its immaculately maintained engines, perhaps stopping off at Haworth to sample its traditional delights and maybe learn a little about the literary Bronte family.

From April 6 to 9, luxurious Pullman carriages will run on the KWVR line, marking the first time these special historic carriages have been used for regular services in Yorkshire for almost 50 years. So take a seat, enjoy cream teas and cakes and watch the picturesque Worth Valley whistling by.

If you are really into trains, then there is nothing like a trip on the Settle-Carlisle Railway over the Ribblehead Viaduct through some of the Dales’ wildest countryside and up the lovely Eden Valley.

Animal lovers are spoilt for choice with St Leonard’s Farm Park in Esholt, Butterfly World in Leeds, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park outside Doncaster, and Wentworth Family Farm, Rotherham, where you can see rare breeds of sheep. Home Farm at Temple Newsam is the largest working rare-breeds farm in Europe, while the Jungle Experience in Halifax is a tropical oasis of exotic plants and butterflies, all accompanied by the atmospheric sounds and fragrances of hot and humid climates.

Visit the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds for loads of weekend and half-term fun including a Horse in Action stunt show on Good Friday, starting at 2pm. It’s a spectacular show featuring thrills and spills in a breathtaking charge through history.

Visit Eureka! in Halifax this Easter as the museum explores the oceans with mermaids, titanic passengers and a couple of famous pirates!

Younger visitors to the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield can join in some lively art and craft sessions. On weekdays through the holiday, you’ll find colourful characters from history waiting to tell their tales of living and working in the mines.

Leeds City Museum is hosting a major touring exhibition – Pharaoh: King Of Egypt – from The British Museum until June 17. Featuring over 130 objects from the British Museum’s collection, this blockbuster exhibition explores the different roles of the pharoahs.