Half term crept up on us quickly this year- so if you're stuck for plans, we've got you covered.
The February half term holidays seem to have a completely different weather forecast each year: sometimes we've had snow and other years it's been so warm we've made a trip to the beach (albeit with a coat on).
Here's our favourite things to do / eat / create during half term, whatever the weather, and all the activities you can look forward to this February.
If you're after a family-friendly activity which is both fun and educational, then taking a trip to the Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall is the perfect option. The museum offers visitors the chance to fully immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and smells of 19th century Leeds by exploring life-like cobbled streets complete with shops, pubs and houses.
After you've explored the streets, head upstairs where you will find plenty of comfortable spots for your children to play and relax with their ever growing selection of toys and books, making it the perfect place to while away the afternoon.
Located on Roudhay Road, this rainy day spot is beautiful pottery studio is the perfect rainy-day activity for children and adults alike. Specialising in sentimental baby print items, Jackrabbits Pottery offers light food and drink so you can spend all day long relaxing with a paintbrush in their studio.
The way it works at this paint-your-own pottery studio is you pick a piece from one of their creations – be that a jug, a plate, piggy banks, animals, plaques, baubles, coasters – to paint, then one of their team members will guide you through the process to ensure you leave with something you’ll be proud to display at home.
Bramley Baths Inflatable Sessions
Image: Bramley Baths
Complete with a slide and miniature blow-up obstacle course, it looks like the epitome of every child’s summer holiday swimming dream: brightly coloured and floating in the middle of the pool, ready to be jumped on (and off). Sessions are 1:30 - 2:15 and 2:15 - 3 and just £5 per child on Thursdays, but there's plenty of other children-friendly swim sessions throughout the week too.
Please note that the inflatable is only suitable for 8 – 14 years of age and have to be confident swimmers.
None Go Bye Farm
Image: None Go Bye Farm
Nothing says quaint urban-country village like a trip to the farm. None Go Bye Farm have got you covered for locally-sourced meat and groceries. This family-friendly spot is perfect for all ages as in true farm-to-table style, you can visit the animals in the barns.Think scratching the belly of a pig, whilst rabbit hop towards your feet: you’ll be ready for a day on the farm in no time.
There are also donkeys, goats, geese, rhea and prairie dogs that can be fed using the special animal feed available from inside the farm shop.
Calypso Cove Water Park
Image: Calypso Cove
Based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Calypso Cove boasts a splash zone, wave pool, a hidden diving area behind a huge pirate skull, big slides and more. The impressive pirate skull, which sits as the centre of the park, also functions as an under-water viewing platform where guests can watch other swimmers. The Yorkshire waterpark also has its very own partially sunken pirate ship or Sunken Galleon, complete with water cannons and a tipping bucket. From here, you can slide right into the water or fire jet streams at your friends from the deck.
Booking is essential to visiting, so make sure you plan ahead for your swashbuckling day out.
Teaching the little ones about cooking needn't mean covering the worktops with clouds of flour and mess everywhere (okay, maybe it's a little messier than when you cook, but it's all part of the learning. From the family-run kitchen, The Leeds Deli, you can grab a DIY kit that takes out all of the complications and most of the mess. Included is two dough balls, tomato pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and a choice of toppings like chicken, non-spicy pepperoni, ham, olives, sweetcorn and cheese. As well as this, you'll get all the instructions you need, as well as a kids-sized chefs hat and an activity sheet.
The DIY Pizza Kits from The Leeds Deli cost £10 each and should be reserved online in advance as the packages are made-to-order.
Returning for its 30th anniversary, the Valentine’s Fair is set to take over Leeds city centre once more. Find a huge range of rides, attractions and games that are fun for the whole family, including the 360° spinning ride The Superstar, the 40m-high Booster Ride, huge swinging pendulum The Devil Rock, dodgems, and, of course, Leeds Wheel of Light.
The games will take over the spaces at Millennium Square, Victoria Gardens and Cookridge Street besides food and drink stalls aplenty. The perfect day out for all the family.
Find out more here.
Trampoline Park Jump Inc.
Image: Trampoline Park Jump Inc.
Trampoline Park Jump Inc. is a haven for families looking for something new to entertain the kids. Boasting 50,000 sq ft of adrenaline-fuelled trampolining and inflatables, it’s packed with slides, a sports zone, obstacle course, tumble tracks, jump opportunities, a toddler area and more. If that doesn't take your fancy, there's also a ninja-style course and one of the UK's biggest escape room companies have set up camp inside.
Tickets must be booked online and cost from £5 per child or toddler with accompanying adults to supervise entering free of charge
A 20-year-old man from Bradford has been sentenced to time in prison this week after admitting to numerous child sex offences.
Following an investigation initially by West Mercia and Lancashire Police, Kasey Fitton, aged 20 of Amundsen Avenue in Bradford, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with four children residing outside of West Yorkshire Police force area.
An investigation was then launched by Bradford Safeguarding Unit, who went on to uncover large-scale sexual offending against children.
In February 2026, Fitton was charged with 16 counts of sexual communication with a child and 20 counts of making/possession of indecent images of children - with police confirming that five child victims have been identified.
At Bradford Crown Court, Fitton admitted to all 36 counts, and then earlier this week (7 September), he was jailed for seven and a half years, plus a five year extension on licence. He will also be required to sign the sex offenders register for life, and he has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.
Speaking following the sentencing this week, Detective Superintendent Alan Weekes of Bradford District Police, described Fitton as a 'very dangerous individual to children'.
"There are further investigations ongoing and we would appeal to anyone who may have been a victim to come forward to us," DSI Weekes said.
"We are keen to speak to anyone who interacted with the Snapchat accounts Kaseyfitton23, Kaseyfitton24 and MyCroft110.
"We take all reports of this nature extremely seriously and they are treated with sensitivity. We have specially trained officers who will guide you through the process and do everything we can to get justice."
Featured Image - West Yorkshire Police
News
History has never been this fun – Operation Mincemeat at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House | Review
Declan Kelly
Don’t judge a book by its cover... or in this case, a musical by its posters.
Going in completely blind, I really didn’t know what to expect from Operation Mincemeat. In fact, after the first number, I found myself thinking, I’m not sure this is quite my cup of tea.
How wrong I was.
Watching Tuesday night’s performance at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, I was quickly proven wrong about what I thought a musical needed to be. There are no huge sets, endless costume changes, or hundreds of performers filling the stage. Instead, Operation Mincemeat delivers a genuinely funny, surprisingly heart-warming story with just five performers, while somehow teaching you a bit of history along the way.
If I had to sum this show up in two words? Belly laughter.
Based on the real-life British intelligence operation during the Second World War, the musical follows the unlikely group tasked with convincing Hitler that the Allies were planning to invade Greece rather than Sicily.
And honestly, if you didn’t already know it actually happened, you’d probably think someone had made it up. That ridiculousness is exactly what makes the show work. The comedy comes thick and fast, with characters, accents, and personalities constantly changing as the five-strong cast jump between roles.
And this is where the production really impressed me.The multi-roling is incredibly slick. A pair of glasses, a change in voice or a small shift in posture can completely transform a character, and somehow it never feels like a gimmick. Instead, it becomes part of the magic of the production. It’s a brilliant example of how much can be achieved on stage without throwing money at elaborate sets or costumes.
Credit: Matt CrockettCredit: Matt Crockett
But underneath all the comedy is where Operation Mincemeat really surprised me.
One of the standout performances for me came from Christian Andrews as Hester Leggatt. During ‘Roses’, Andrews completely captivates the audience while portraying an older woman writing about the experience of wives waiting for their loved ones away at war.
What makes the moment so effective is its simplicity. With little more than a pair of glasses, Andrews transforms into Hester, but there is never any sense that the character is being played for laughs. Instead, there is real care and respect in the performance.
Andrews captures the loneliness, vulnerability, and uncertainty of a woman whose life has been put on hold while her partner is away fighting. After so much laughter, the sudden change in tone really lands. For me, it was one of the clearest examples of the craftsmanship behind the show. Both the writing and performance manage to find genuine emotion without losing the production’s personality.
The music follows the same balance, moving between big, energetic numbers and quieter moments that give the characters room to breathe. It never feels like songs have been added simply because this happens to be a musical; they actually help tell the story.
And despite being based on a historical event, it never feels like a history lesson.
Operation Mincemeat at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House / Credit: Matt Crockett
In fact, I left the theatre wanting to find out more about the real Operation Mincemeat, which is probably the biggest compliment I can give it and definitely will be watching the film very soon.
If you’re heading to the theatre expecting huge dance numbers, powerhouse ballads and elaborate sets, then this might not be the show for you. But if you want something different, something that will have you laughing at one of the strangest stories in British history while leaving you amazed at just how slick a production can be with only five cast members, then this is absolutely worth seeing.
What I initially thought wasn’t my cup of tea ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the evening.
Funny, clever, completely bonkers at times and unexpectedly moving, Operation Mincemeat proves you don’t need a massive production to make a big impression. I have seen a lot of theatre productions in my life, but I have never seen anything as slick as this production, and that is pure talent at its finest.
Sometimes, all you need is a ridiculous true story, five brilliant performers and a whole lot of belly laughs.
Sophie Smith -
10th February 2023 
