Primrose Valley

Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo and resort at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire. It has been running since 1959 and was the first site in Europe to combine rides and a zoo. The theme park has eight themed areas, with thrill coasters such as Sik, Hero, Kumali and Velocity, plus gentler family and kids' rides.

Tip: Check the day's keeper talk and show times on the website before you go, and plan your route around them.

Scarborough Castle crowns a headland between the town's two bays. Climb to the viewing platforms in the Inner Bailey and the Great Tower for views over the town, the harbour and the bay. An exhibition tells the story of the site, including a Bronze Age sword on display, and there's a World Builder trail for younger visitors.

Tip: Leave plenty of time to wander the wide grassy headland as well as the castle itself.

The Rotunda is the Museum of Coastal Heritage and Geology, opened in 1829 and among the world's first purpose-built museums. It was built to a design suggested by William Smith, the "Father of English Geology", and looks out over Scarborough's South Bay. Inside, a Georgian gallery has a frieze of the local coastline's geology, drawn by Smith's nephew John Phillips.

Tip: There's no car park on site, so use the nearby South Bay underground car park or Palm Court multi-storey. Check which galleries are open, as the West Wing is closed.

The Deep is a public aquarium in Hull, overlooking the Humber Estuary where the River Hull meets it. Its Endless Ocean tank holds sharks, rays and northern Europe's only pair of green sawfish, and you can walk through Europe's deepest viewing tunnel or ride a glass lift through the water.

Tip: Check the daily talk times when you arrive and plan your visit around the shark and penguin talks. Use HU1 4DP or HU9 1TU for sat nav, which takes you to Tower Street.

Castle Howard is a Baroque country house in North Yorkshire, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and home to the Howard family for over 300 years. Inside, you can explore grand galleries, bedrooms and a world-class art and sculpture collection. The house is also well known as a filming location, including for Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton.

Tip: Buying tickets online costs less than buying at the Ticket Office, so book online. House and Gardens tickets include the playground.

Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor house near Driffield, built in the early 1600s. Inside, the Long Gallery has a richly plastered ceiling, and many 17th-century fittings survive, including carved woodwork, plaster ceilings and an alabaster overmantel. Next door stands the Norman Manor House, first built in 1173. Both are Grade I listed, and the Hall is still a lived-in family home.

Tip: Book tickets online ahead if you can. Card payments only, as cash isn't accepted on site.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey crown a clifftop above the historic fishing port of Whitby. The headland has been home to an Anglo-Saxon monastery, a great medieval abbey and a 17th-century mansion, and it has long been wrapped in myths and legends. The substantial remains of the abbey church are Grade I listed and cared for by English Heritage.

Tip: Head into the museum in Cholmley House as well as the ruins - it holds most of the stories of the headland.

Sledmere House is a Grade I listed Georgian country house between Driffield and Malton, and the ancestral home of the Sykes family. It is known for its Chippendale and Sheraton furnishings, fine plasterwork and the Long Library, which is described as one of the most beautiful rooms in England. The Turkish Room, with its Kutahya tiles, is another highlight.

Tip: The farm shop, adventure play area and farm do not need a ticket and parking is free, but check the website for current opening times before you set off.