The Van Gogh Experience is a travelling exhibition that will be based in York at St Mary’s just between Coppergate and Castlegate. It describes itself as a 360 degree immersive experience that combines Van Gogh’s life story with his art and is suitable for all ages. We visited as a family first thing on a Friday morning to test those claims.

The interior of the church has been transformed into a cool, calm space that rather than distracting from from the show, adds to it. Rather than hiding the nature of the building, it uses its archways and spaces to neatly frame elements of the experience. A small ante-room has been turned into the bedroom that features in Van Gogh’s work but the rest of the room is simply filled with deckchairs reclined well enough to give one a good field of vision to take in the animations.

We’d worried that the environment would be a little overwhelming for a 17 month old baby but, save for a two minute wobble on entrance, she happily sat for the full 40 minutes or so of the show looking around at the different elements of the presentation and taking it all in. I’m far from an art critic and happy to own up to very limited knowledge in this area, but the experience really did feel as immersive as promised, the music gently complementing the animations that seamlessly flowed around the room to tease out details of individual artworks.

To broaden the experience there’s an optional virtual reality element that takes you on a tour of parts of the artist’s life, neatly framing artworks around “real life” surroundings. I was pushed for time by now and unable to finish it, but £3 didn’t feel like too much of an imposition over and above the ticket price.

We finished our visit by letting Baby Fork loose with some crayons to create an artwork ready for projection on to a wall amongst a range of other masterpieces. It’s no exaggeration to say that she’s not far from matching my notoriously meagre talents in that department.

The Van Gogh experience is with us in York until 5th January 2020 and I’d strongly encourage you to get a visit in before then. It’s a real bonus for our city to see an attraction like this make its UK debut here and is something I’d encourage every York resident to make time for.

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

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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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Castle Howard has been a favourite spot to visit for a good fifteen years, offering an unparalleled combination of outdoor space to explore with a stunning building for a backdrop. The grounds feature a great range of landmarks including fountains, temples and follies to take in along with an adventure play ground that has recently been taken to an entirely new level.

Skelf Island has just opened (conveniently timed for the summer holiday) near to the existing playground and really ups the game. Accessed via an elevated rope bridge (or a lower level walkway for the less adventurous), the new development that brings Skelf Island into use for the public is truly impressive, bringing together a great variety of tunnels, slides and bridges along with loads of opportunity to climb and scramble around. The zip wire is bound to prove popular too.

We already have plans for another trip to Castle Howard next month, and I don’t doubt that there will be many more, which will feature trips across the water to Skelf Island with increasing frequency.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for our attendance. Not that Baby Fork is open to influence anyway

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The Everyman York foyer area is now predictably plush, dominated by a large ticket desk and packed with neat nooks and crannies that have been put to use as private booths for more intimate conversation. It’s worth mentioning that in my experience, the staff here are superbly helpful. On a recent occasion, a friend became a little confused about what that particular week’s baby friendly screening was. No problem though, as without any prompting the assistant manager just scheduled another screening to make sure my friend didn’t miss out. I think this is the most startlingly quick and helpful decision-making I’ve come across in a chain business; it speaks well of the business’s ability to trust its staff and give them autonomy.

The baby screening on the day of our visit (coincidentally my birthday, let’s not make a big deal of that though) was Mission Impossible 6 and saw the screen pretty busy with parents eager to keep up with the latest blockbuster. Because the screens haven’t been designed to squeeze in the absolute maximum number of seats, there’s enough space for pushchairs to remain in the screen and keep those precious changing bags within easy reach. The baby screenings at Everyman include coffee and cake, which is delivered to your seat as you get comfy throughout the trailers. I’m happy to vouch for the quality of the americano and chocolate brownies!

Any room containing numbers of babies into double digits will always be a little lively but we were still comfortable to enjoy the film and not worry about Baby Fork’s occasional squeaking and squealing or our sneaking out to change her. The film itself was a typical, slick, spectacular Tom Cruise vehicle full of dangerous stunts and plot twists sudden enough to induce whiplash. Oh, and yes you can see the bit where he breaks his ankle quite clearly.

With our blockbuster out of the way and appetites regaining momentum after that earlier cake, we made our way into the Spielburger restaurant. I have to confess to being a little slow on the update with puns on occasion (shamefully given my weakness for them) so it took me some months to realise that a ‘Spiel’ wasn’t an ingredient. Still, I drove past the Beeswing for years wondering what a bee would need a swing for, so it could have been more embarrassing.

The Spielburger restaurant is separated from the Everyman York foyer and downstairs bar area, making it feel like a different experience sharing a space with those enjoying a drink before their film. It’s not a huge space but it doesn’t feel cramped or like there’re more seats squeezed in than are comfortable. The room is dominated by a large portrait of a wide eyed young person enjoying a burger. I only registered it in passing but others might find her gaze disconcerting should you end up in her eyeline.

We went for a house burger with blue cheese and a “1216” that packed harissa mayo and fried potato scraps along with Red Leicester and bacon. We chose regular and truffle fries to go with our burgers and made it through the brief wait with the aid of decent coffee and a cloudy lemonade. When our food arrived, we found the burgers presented with a knife impaling them rather than a skewer, perfectly attractively presented. It was only a pound extra to add bacon to the house burger so I didn’t think twice about adding the extra layer to go with the beef, cheese, pickle and lettuce. The 1216 (Sorry, I didn’t get the origin of the name) had its cheese presented differently as a square that had been melted and allowed to solidify.

Both burgers were very enjoyable, with all the elements in agreement. The harissa mayo was well judged but most importantly the succulent patties showed good depth of flavour with well balanced seasoning. Fries hit the mark and kept us picking through them for longer than our appetites strictly needed, though the truffle element was limited to a truffle infused hard cheese shaved over one portion. I much preferred the selection of condiments on the table, in particular the Beaver brand Coney Island hot dog relish that was packed with onion, pickles and tomato.

The City Screen still retains a deserved following, but Everyman York takes the prize for comfort and prestige these days. Neither experience is disappointing but throughout each interaction with Everyman I’ve been very impressed with the customer service, comfort, general environment and the food.  I particularly like the segmentation of the building that allows a meal in the restaurant followed by a pre-film drink in the bar then transitioning into a film. Some of the drinks prices are a touch higher than I’d prefer, but the experience justifies it. I’ll be making a habit of the Baby Club as long as Baby Fork is young enough.

​Disclaimer: No charge was made for this visit. Opinions are impartial

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We started the day meeting some lovely family bloggers from the region for a picnic on a lawn in front of the beautiful Banqueting House. We were very lucky to have plenty of sun as we ate given the catastrophic forecast, so made the most of it. Our hosts had laid on croquet, bubble wands and a host of ways to have fun that will serve to prompt us for entertainment when we return with Baby Fork as she grows older. The Banqueting House was a lovely backdrop and also housed the opportunity to get dressed up in period clothes before we started our tour of “Folly!”.​

Our first port of call was the Gazing Ball, a polished sphere that reflected the tranquil, still ponds in the near distance. The ball was perched on what looked like a stylised climbing frame with windows of varying shapes framing the horizon in different ways. While the smaller members of the group busied themselves scaling the structure, we enjoyed the views and noted the small sculpture of a human heart proudly presented at the top.

Next up was the product of a young mind, a cloud designed by 11 year old Foster Carter​ which was​suspended from a frame. His was the winning entry amongst over 1800 that were submitted, so I’m sure he’s enormously proud to see his design come to life. It’s fair to say that the recent weather has been rather extreme so we pondered the irony of sheltering under a an artificial cloud on a blazing hot day while playing chicken with a weather forecast that suggested impending doom.

The next part of our journey took in some spectacular views across the gardens, placid lakes and trickling waterfalls as we approached the Listening Tower. This houses a mechanism to maintain a constant, gentle dripping of water, audible when you put your ear close to one of the listening holes punched into the tower. I loved the symmetry of the distant, gentle drip of water in my ear while looking over another stunning view, this time of the serene lakes beneath us.

The last folly was reached by a bit of a steep climb that the more ambulatory kids tackled with more enthusiasm than I could make apparent while pushing a buggy. The climb was rewarded not just with a much needed ice cream, but also with the sight of an enormous stylised parrot with a rotating head housing the lens for a camera obscura. The children (and adults) loved the bright colours and striking design of this one that contrasted neatly with the more traditional layout of the garden. The folly’s innards hid the opportunity to take in the parrot’s eye view, projected onto a plate in the middle of the space that had to be in otherwise pitch blackness. It’s rare to get the opportunity to mess around with a camera obscura, especially with views such as these to take in. I think the last time I got my hands on one was in Dumfries, lovely in itself but perhaps less picturesque than Studley Royal Gardens.

Having taken in the follies, we carried on pushing our luck with the weather to take a stroll around the Abbey ruins. These were just as imposing and evocative as my childhood memories suggested and something I’d more recently spotted in the recent BBC drama Gunpowder. Having been to a recent evening event in which the Abbey was illuminated, my partner was able to pick out some carvings revealed then that wouldn’t otherwise have been obvious. As we made it back to the car, raindrops had started falling, which quickly turned into sheets of water that tested our windscreen wipers to the limit, but did nothing to dampen the enjoyment of our visit.

At five months, Baby Fork isn’t doing too much in the way of listening for water, climbing sculptures or marvelling at the camera obscura, but it was a delightful to see in attendance the other kids of varying ages all enjoying their visit, as were the adults. Between the gardens, abbey and sculptures, there’re plenty of attractions here to fill a day out. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the schedule to make sure Baby Fork gets to appreciate it in the future.

​Disclaimer: No charge was made for our attendance. Opinions are impartial.

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