Play Area (Fountains Abbey)

If you’re heading to Fountains Abbey with kids in tow, the play area is genuinely one of the better ones in the area — don’t just make a beeline for the ruins and forget about it. There’s a solid mix of equipment: slides, swings, a climbing structure, a zipline, and even some musical bits that younger ones love to bash around on. The wood chip surface is forgiving, and parents can actually keep an eye on everything without having to trail around after the kids the whole time. Picnic tables and benches dotted around mean you can sit down with a coffee and watch rather than hover, which honestly makes the whole day more enjoyable. Suits a wide age range too — from toddlers up to about 12 — so siblings aren’t fighting over who gets to do what.