Delivery was impressively quick and I was soon staring at a huge cardboard box, which proved easier to manoeuvre than expected, though I was happy to have a second pair of hands to help drag it up the stairs. I’d read about the concept of vacuum-packed mattresses to facilitate easier delivery and placement in the home, so was curious to see what would unfold, literally and figuratively, once I got it in situ. When I had it roughly positioned on the divan base, I carefully set about the plastic packaging with a pair of scissors, following the admirably concise instructions, to create a rush of air and see the mattress begin its six hour journey toward being expanded enough to use.

Fast forward through most of a working day, numerous cups of tea and the child’s tap-dancing lesson, and the Simba Original Hybrid was ready for dressing. It was interesting to note it filled our divan base a lot more accurately than its aged predecessor, though the provenance of that is lost to the mists of time. The layered construction features an “Aerocoil” spring layer consisting of 1,900 springs and a “Simbatex” foam layer with nine zones to help isolate movement. There’s also a removable cover on the top layer to help you keep things nice and sanitary. A good smattering of buzzwords, but what does that actually amount to?

First impressions were strong, with a luxurious give to the mattress that seemed to offer support across the body evenly across the hips and back to support the whole body. The Simba Hybrid original is described as medium-firm which seems about right to my entirely subjective assessment. The firmness appears uniform across the entire width of the mattress, not tapering toward the edges, and it immediately felt comfortable to me. The days of being able to fall asleep on any random floor are long gone, but I appreciated the reassuring firmness on offer here. As an aside, it also looked rather smart… largely irrelevant for something that’s covered in a sheet for the vast majority of its lifespan, but pleasing nonetheless. I’d expected to take a few nights to adjust, but immediately felt at home and realised how unfit for purpose the old mattress had been. The difference couldn’t have been starker and I was immediately a convert. I even felt like the occasional stiff neck I pick up had softened – perhaps psychosomatic but equally likely a function of sleeping on a battered old mattress that wasn’t fit for purpose. There aren’t a huge number of beds in this house, but I immediately feel a pang of guilt for allowing my daughter to continue on her cheap mattress that I picked up without much thought – perhaps she’s due an upgrade too.

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The journey begins at Pickering, where we were rather early after leaving leeway for the unpredictability of traffic on A64. This afforded us the chance to stop by the tea room just off the platform and start with a few snacks while grabbing hot drinks to take on the train. The Coronation Chicken sandwiches were executed extremely well and fill generously! Boarding goes smoothly after your kids are issued with tokens to redeem for a gift from Santa himself and the train is judiciously loaded with blankets, a sensible precaution given the time of year and heritage nature of the fleet – it’s worth dressing up warm too.

Pulling out of Pickering station on the NYMR Santa Special is an experience in itself as invariably rail enthusiasts line the route at all the best vantage points while you get snug and take in the views. This was actually a novelty for me as it’s been years since I’ve been aboard in daylight, my last few journeys having been on the Disco Steam Train experience. We’d got Little Fork’s best mate with us for the ride too so they kept themselves occupied before the elves came round to introduce themselves and inject some jollity into our travels. We listened to Santa land his sleigh on the roof of the train ready to make his rounds. The big man made his appearance in due course distributing toys to all the kids and patiently listening to their requests for Christmas itself, with us then becoming occupied putting together said gift before the train reversed course to get back to Pickering from our stop at Levisham.

The return leg was filled with more games from the elves while the children snuggled with their new toys and we patted ourselves on the back for another 12 months of having kept the magic intact, phew! Tickets for the NYMR Santa Special are still available to book for £30 a head here.

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It took about 40 minutes to get to William’s Den but parking was plentiful and easy when we arrived so we were quickly checked in and getting our bearings while the helpful staff took us through the various activities which would be taking place throughout the day. We started with the indoor play area which immediately made me realise this is not another identikit soft play cage in which to send your children. This multi-level facility is singularly impressive, incorporating water and sand play as well as opportunities to climb and plenty of hiding spots for hide and seek, perfect for parents to engage too! There was absolutely masses to explore and engage with, making this comfortably one of, if not the most, impressive indoor play facilities I’ve been to.

As the weather improved, we made our way outside to start to engage with the various activities out there with den building, mud kitchens, zip lines and masses more to explore. The mole hill tunnels were particularly popular, as well as being muddy – make sure to wear wellies when you visit if the weather has been wet. It’s passed for this year so perhaps less pertinent to your current plans, but we were there for Halloween and found it to be a thoroughly cohesive and well thought through endeavour. On arrival we pre-booked a slot for the trick or treating street, with not a massive idea of what to expect, which when the time came was prompt and well organised with the staff all super-helpful and in character at all times. The experience itself went on for about 40 minutes, stopping at a number of ‘houses’ along a ‘street’ that each contained a different actor with whom to interact and extort sweets from.

By this point we were ready to eat so made our way back to be seated promptly in the busy restaurant and restore our energy for more play. I’ve spoken to chefs before who’ve helped in the kitchen here so expected a touch more than the usual chicken nuggets and hotdogs routine, so was excited to pick on a Korean fried chicken burger that would represent the more adventurous part of the table along with a mini kids burger and a pizza. The Korean chicken thighs were robustly flavoured and spiced, with chilli and gochujang tempered by lettuce and a sweet brioche bun making this by some margin the most interesting thing I’ve eaten in this kind of setting. The presence of a large wood-fired oven suggested that the pizza would hit the spot and it duly delivering, with fresh tomato and plenty of cheese on a base left slightly soft and child friendly while the burger was another pleasant surprise with a well judged hit of caramelisation on the patty which was enrobed by cheese. Suitably fortified, we took another run around the outdoors before rushing back to decorate a chocolate apple with as many sprinkles as our daughter could feasibly encase the chocolate with.

The Halloween activities were tremendously well organised with pumpkin carving, a disco and fancy dress competition amongst the other elements of the offering but the broader context of day to day operation was just as slick. While this visit had been focussed around Halloween, there was more than enough on offer to tempt us back for repeat visits, William’s Den being firmly in the top tier of family destinations that I’ve encountered so far. It was well thought through, engaging and broad with lots of nice touches and things to do that make it easily worth the drive out of York.

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Starting from Pickering at twilight, the NYMR Light Spectacular experience dresses a steam train inside and out with thousands of lights, equips all of those on board with light up wrist bands and throws in a soundtrack running right from the 60’s to the present day. Pickering station is 1930’s themed and a charming time capsule, which would have been sadly lost had it been demolished to build a car park in the 70’s as was proposed at the time! When we arrived, the waiting room and cafe were up and running so we quickly furnished ourselves with refreshments while gasping at the sight of the steam locomotive waiting for us, wreathed in countless lights.

As you make your way inside to your seat, the number of lights remains just as remarkable and striking with the whole train seemingly threaded through with, and consumed externally under, huge numbers of twinkling lights of all colours. By this point the train was humming with anticipation and excited families, who were all donning their light up wristbands as the music got underway and we started to pull out of Pickering station to begin our hour long round trip to Levisham. At this point the music, introduced in classic radio DJ style, kicked off in earnest and ramped up the volume while also revealing that our wristbands could sync themselves with the music as well as divide us into groups to spark audience participation. With the mobile party in full swing, I registered that actually one of the most attractive elements of the light show was the way that the lights threw the scenery we passed into relief; the coloured lights and resulting shadows really bringing the passing countryside to life in unexpected and unique ways.

Regardless of your taste in music, and mine certainly runs to the niche, it was hard not to get swept up in the atmosphere as we gently chugged to Levisham and back…my stoic resistance to dancing may even have been breached for the first time in a decade or so. Alighting at Pickering gave us the chance to really take in the train from the outside, with darkness having descended since our original departure to make sure we could really appreciate the effort that was involved in fitting 17,000 lights to a steam train. While we had a great time riding the train, it must have brought a smile to the faces of everyone we passed!

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is deservedly a landmark attraction for the region and it’s so much fun seeing it given a light hearted makeover for a limited event like this. The NYMR Light Spectacular really is a unique way to experience both the railway itself and the countryside through which it runs, I really can’t think of a comparable experience.

(Disclaimer – press event)

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Drake’s Fisheries York has been resident in the centre of the city for more than a decade and is part of a family owned business that goes back more than 30 years. I’ve walked past many times over the years without ever making the detour inside but the recent refurbishment has certainly upped the kerb appeal and made it more attractive to passers by. Inside also feels modern and welcome, with the layout lending itself to privacy in which to enjoy your meal. The menu hits all the traditional beats you’d expect and makes sure to emphasise the use of quality local supplier Cross of York while branching out far enough to intrigue those of us with more adventurous tastes. To make sure we sampled as many of the dishes on offer as reasonably possible, we chose a sharing platter from the specials board which promised good variety, augmenting it with a child’s portion of fish and chips that added a fruit shoot & an ice lolly for only £6. A couple of glasses of Brew York beer completed the order nicely.

The sharing platter we ordered turned out to be a pretty significant challenge, with large portions of the menu represented across it. Truth be told, we could have coped just fine without the extra child portion with the amount of food. When our food arrived, we found beef dripping cooked chips, portions of different coleslaws and a few different sauces to be excellent scene-setters for some superbly executed fish dishes. Battered fish was an obvious starting point with crisp batter and flaking fish both present and correct while scampi were obviously whole bits of meat rather than the sadly reformed efforts often occupying freezer aisles. Calamari is another potential stumbling block, deftly handled here and left as soft as one would hope. Mackerel pâté and prawn cocktail finished off the selection with a flourish, the prawn cocktail enjoying retro presentation and the pâté with brown bread making the most of the strong fish.

It might have taken fatherhood to push me into more regular visits to the chip shop, but it’s a habit I’ve been starting to enjoy, more so thanks to Drake’s Fisheries York. There’s an impressive energy and confidence about this restaurant post-refurbishment that reflects ambition to be more than a simple chippy, which is also present in the menu. The platter that we enjoyed represented great value at just £30 and will certainly tempt me back regularly to sample more dishes, the addition of which I’ll be watching closely.

(Disclaimer – PR visit)

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Minskip Farm Shop has been working away for some time to forge a reputation for quality produce at its site that’s easily accessed from the A1. There’s been clear progress since our last visit with the new restaurant space well separated from the shopping activities and plenty of opportunity to meet a variety of animals. These additions seemed to have developed a nice buzz around the place with plenty of families taking the opportunity to become closely acquainted with some remarkably chilled out chickens. Thankfully we’d booked a table though, so there was no question of the enthusiastic throngs keeping us from that much anticipated brunch.

You’d expect a “Yolk Farm” to be home to a few chickens and there’s no shortage of them here. The sight of several thousand of the things meandering their way through a luxurious existence such as this is a comforting thing to have in the back of your mind while tucking into a menu that’s, predictably, egg focused.

Amongst the more usual choices on the menu we found our interest piqued by “Get Fresh” (sweetcorn fritters) and “Just Beet It” (beetroot several ways), two of the more unusual dishes that complemented the more usual poached egg & Hollandaise routine, that I don’t doubt were very well executed. I’ve had some sweetcorn fritters in my time that were miserable dry things, no such worries here though on this wonderfully fresh plate with plenty of lime and coriander in the mix. A bit of spice is always nice with brunch too courtesy of fresh chilli, salsa verde topping things off. Just Beet It was billed as a modern art masterpiece. Whether or not that’s hyperbolic is up to you but the taste certainly hit the spot and I enjoyed the presentation. Beetroot is a much under-utilised ingredient that this dish gave every opportunity to shine through its use of different techniques to vary flavour. Potato croquettes made sure there was enough on the plate to be a generous portion and goats cheese worked as well with beetroot as ever. It almost goes without saying that perfectly poached eggs featured with both these dishes, it would be rather odd not to given the theme of the place! As well as these we enjoyed picking through the remainder of a stack of pancakes that, while delicious, didn’t hold Baby Fork’s attention as long as we’d hoped.

Yolk Farm Minskip Farm Shop has been building a strong reputation as a brunch destination which is thoroughly deserved. The dining space isn’t over-embellished but fun details like swinging seats (thankfully tethered from underneath to prevent too much opportunity for carnage) ensure it’s certain to feature in many Instagram posts for some time. Social media friendly seats don’t count for much if you’ve nothing good to eat while enjoying them though and the food is more than a match. Yolk Farm and Minskip Farm shop are now well positioned to offer a good few hours entertainment, picking up produce for the following day before enjoying a meal and saying hello to a variety of animals. It’s been great to see them expanding their comfort zone into a truly broad, family friendly, high quality offering.

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Despite its proximity, I’ve never spent a huge amount of time in the Dales, though I’ve enough familiarity to construct a half decent itinerary without too much thought. We chose Appletreewick on a bit of a whim to use as a base and ended up locating ourselves in a small cottage within the grounds of a farm that gave easy access to a variety of animals on which Baby Fork could hone her creature identifications.

Appletreewick is a tiny village by the River Wharfe not far from Grassington and Pateley Bridge in the south of the Yorkshire Dales that doesn’t count masses of convenience to its name. In normal times it lacks a shop of any kind but the expanded breadth of a business’s focuses at the moment meant that the local pub was happy to sort us out with a few staples to supplement those provided by our kind host. Bread, butter and milk paled into insignificance next to the presence of 24 hour old ducklings tucked in the corner of a barn under a hot lamp. Rest assured these were the subject of regular check ups throughout the week as Baby Fork kept a careful eye on their progress.

One of the Appletreewick’s main attractions is The Craven Arms, a landmark pub that piqued my interest over a decade ago thanks to a TV series purporting to divine the best pint in Yorkshire via the medium of a beer festival in the Craven Arms. While the Cruck Barn that hosted that beer festival and gives the pub a good chunk of its character might be off limits at the moment, the feel of the place is quite intact along with the quality of the beer and pub grub. The other pub in the village is The New Inn, with which I’m less familiar but I know boasts a storied history as a mountain biking hub thanks to the efforts of former landlord John Pitcher, who I believe has been able to embark on a career as a professional cyclist after recovering from serious injuries sustained in a collision with a car while training.

A necessary characteristic of travel at the moment is a touch more forethought than I would typically apply to a holiday so a trip to Skipton passed by without recourse to much in the way of tourist attractions. We still had a lovely stroll around the pretty canal and took in a few sights of the castle to justify the trip before popping to Keelham Farm Shop for provisions, though its intended role as a lunch stop was a bit of a failure thanks to that previously mentioned lack of planning as I’d not checked the opening hours.

One thing that I had managed to plan for was a trip to The Forbidden Corner which bills itself as The Strangest Place in The World. While that may be sliding toward embellishment, it’s certainly one of the strangest places in Yorkshire and represents the kind of day out that parents use children as an excuse to go on. This quite delightfully daft folly makes use of unexpected water jets, stepping stones, dead ends and perspective tricks to craft a thoroughly unique experience. Pre-booking is essential here, though the promised restriction on the number of attendees didn’t leave it as sparsely populated as I’d anticipated.

The next day we decided to pay a visit to “Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub”, The Lister Arms at Malham which earned that accolade from Welcome to Yorkshire in 2019. I’d tried their steak and ale pie, for which they’re renowned, at a demonstration from the head chef last year so was keen to grab another of those to rekindle that memory. We also opted for some globe artichoke and asparagus gnocchi for the other main while a smaller portion of chicken took care of the smallest appetite at the table. We also enjoyed a platter of snacks to be picked at in the background throughout, honey & mustard chipolatas in particular prompting a keen debate on how to best share most fairly. We paired the trip to the Lister Arms with the opportunity to call into The Courtyard Dairy and pick up some top quality cheeses. This legendary establishment supplies many of the North’s finest restaurants as well as being open to the public, even offering a cheese vending machine for round-the-clock access to quality cheeses.

A power cut on the final morning of our break was hardly the end of the world (or fault of the owner), though the lack of tea did feel a bit like it at the time as we packed the car and said our goodbyes to the ever-more-vocal ducklings. Having not spent a night away from home since the beginning of February it certainly felt a bit jarring to be away from home for a week, not that it would compromise our enjoyment of the visit at all. Really the only significant difference to the trip was the need for a bit more pre-booking, something I tackled with evident mixed success, so while foreign travel looks like a bit of a pain for the foreseeable future, I’m looking forward to finding more corners of the UK to explore.

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The Case Howard Christmas theme this year is “A Christmas Masquerade” and, as always, the whole house has been transformed. Designers Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Bretta Gerecke have showered the house in colour and light to create another year of striking imagery and spectacular installations to enjoy as you make your way through the iconic building. The Christmas Masquerade theme has empowered the team to be bold with colours and create a very different experience to that of previous years; don’t assume that you’ll see the same thing as last year if you’ve been before. If you think there’re more pictures of me than usual on this page. that’s to avoid spoiling the experience when you arrive.

The aim is to provide a tangible sense of walking through a Venetian Masquerade Ball, something that is produced without the sense of losing the huge personality of Castle Howard itself. As you circulate, you see the theme reflected in the palate used and masks adorning a number of the statues throughout the experience.

As unmissable as ever is the 26ft tall Christmas tree that is dressed with three and a half THOUSAND baubles. I suspect this will be in the background of a similar number of selfies by the time all this is taken down. Despite that headline grabbing bauble count, I felt that the most memorable part of the experience was found in The Long Gallery. This room is bisected by a canal complete with bridges that Baby Fork demanded we cross many, many times. Thankfully there was enough to see in the background to temper the repetition of movement.

The team at Castle Howard have again done a fantastic job. The amount of thought and effort that’s gone into this transformation is easy to see. The opportunity to append it with an Afternoon Tea or a trip to Santa depending on the visitor’s age and leanings only broadens the appeal. We’ll be back soon to take Baby Fork’s grannies around, something that we’ll be bound to repeat in the coming years.

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Shaws of Huddersfield remains a family run business after being around for 130 years, during which it has moved site only once and seen five generations of the Shaw family involved in the business. I found the site easily enough and set about taking suitable precautions for hygiene: nets covering my beard and hair, and nattily augmented by safety boots. I’ve toured a few food factories over the last few years and in the best ones you can easily get a sense of the pride that people take in the product they’re producing, something clearly evident in the team here.

After a detailed tour of the factory and a chat with the person responsible for the recipes (imagine the pressure of making changes with that history weighing on you!), we started going through the product range. I hadn’t appreciated that in addition to the customer facing jars that you see in supermarkets, Shaws of Huddersfield do a good amount of business supplying sandwich makers and larger businesses wanting more than it would be practical to buy at retail.

The retail range was where my interests lie though and Shaws were kind enough to provide me with samples of their range, which is split into nine “Heritage” and “Everyday” products. I’ve already established I’m a fan of the Everyday caramelised red onion chutney and I can confirm that the Heritage example ratchets up the indulgence appropriately. Piccalilli from the Heritage range hits all the right notes and the presence of an American Style Relish, Mango Chutney and Spiced Chilli & Tomato speak of a willingness to develop while not losing sight of the the company’s heritage. They’re even sponsoring the Sammie Sandwich Awards to push people to think about interesting ways to use their products; more inventive than just dolloping onto a plate, as we’re all guilty of.

Shaws feels like it occupies an unusual position in the market: certainly bigger than the one man band artisan producers that it may be perceived to compete with, but still within family control. Businesses need to grow and be profitable, but Shaws has done this without losing sight of its quality or core product offering, which remains delicious. I’m glad to have a cupboard well-stocked with their products which I shall be keeping replenished.

Many thanks to Shaws for the factory tour and product samples, for which there was no charge.

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Northwood Trail Fairy Sanctuary is based just a few miles from York near Stamford Bridge and is related to Jollydays, a glamping site that has been working its way into the affections of Yorkshire for a decade or so that, come to think of it, I’m way overdue a visit to.

Upon arrival you’re greeted by the Northwood Kitchen which, while it’s still developing its menu, will focus on good quality and will develop a biodynamic woodland garden for supplies. Incidentally you don’t need tickets to visit the Northwood Kitchen.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the trail itself or to what degree 16 month old Baby Fork would interact with it, but we were lucky enough to hook up with a bunch of friends to help us shepherd our toddler around and all had a fabulous time. The trail could take anything between 20 minutes and an hour to work your way around, depending on the time spent taking in the sights and the size of the legs propelling the group’s smallest member.

There are a whole bunch of features to take in on your way round searching for fairies, whose homes litter the route. Baby Fork had great fun climbing the steps to try some of the front doors while pointing out the treehouses that remained tantalisingly out of reach. There’s plenty to engage with on your way round with a maze and spaces to play provided before you get back to take a look around the fairy museum.

This is pretty unique in my experience and packed full of exhibits including the, surprisingly macabre, mermaid skeletons and a door that you’re directed to open… I won’t spoil the surprise but do make sure you investigate.

We really enjoyed taking in an experience that engaged us with nature in a world that’s full of so much soft play and experiences that are heavily curated. If you’d told me a couple of years ago that I’d enjoy a day out to a fairy sanctuary, I may have raised an eyebrow. This visit was thoroughly enjoyable though and was a real treat for Family Fork.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for our attendance, opinions are impartial.

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