Wakefield: Why this city has been dubbed the Center Parcs of Yorkshire

Locals say that this West Yorkshire city is “like Center Parcs only cheaper.”

Prices for three night breaks to Center Parcs start from £699. When Which? surveyed consumers, it found that the average break costs £1435.

Our reporter Sophie Mei Lan was at Appletree Community Garden in Wakefield talking about staycations when someone declared: “Wakefield is just like Center Parcs.”

She decided to find out if this really is the case.

At first this sounded like an odd alternative to the holiday park, the more I thought about it the more I realised that Wakefield does have a lot to offer, maybe more, all within a relatively small district.

Wakefield is in the heart of Yorkshire and is the hubbub of activity and green space, similar to Center Parcs, only larger.

Green space

As a child I have fond memories of an expensive weekend away in Sherwood Forest, Center Parcs. There’s 400 acres of idyllic forest, where you can play, cycle and participate in outdoor activities.

Since moving to the Wakefield district, I’ve discovered it is much greener than you may think.

According to a Barratt Homes survey in 2021 Wakefield is the second best city in the country when it comes to the number of allotments per capita.

There’s 35 allotments per 100,000 people, across 1.3 million square metres of space.

That’s without mentioning the range of community gardens such as Fieldhead Hospital’s Caring Garden, Greentracks on Barnsley Road and of course Appletree Community Garden on Agbrigg Road. The latter is where I go to pretend I have a garden instead of the concrete haven it is.

Wakefield also has a range of country parks to explore for free such as Newmillerdam, Pugneys Country Park, Hemsworth Water Park and Anglers Country Park. That’s not to mention the National Trust’s Nostell Priory, Walton Colliery and a range of public parks and gardens.

Activities

You can even contact the council for help hiring equipment or a bicycle. Thornes Park has an athletics stadium whereas Pontefract Park near to Pontefract Racecourse hosts a weekly Park Run.

The park has a fishing lake and Huggamug cafe. Inside the Aspire gym in the park is a Climbing Zone.

If you fancy a walk or bike ride there’s plenty of cycle paths and trails. You can follow the Trans Pennine Trail or Wakefield District Cycle Forum can help with cycling routes and regular community rides.

For little ones too, there’s a range of play areas such as The Ridings free indoor play centre and there will be a long awaited bowling alley being built in Trinity Walk Shopping Centre as well as the newly opened events hub WX Exchange.

Or for a multi-activity centre, Xscape in Castleford is a popular place for families and young adults with laser quest, go karting, amusements and bowling on offer to name but a few.

I do have fond memories of our break to Center Parcs but nowadays, now we’re the paying parents, saving cash is king.

When leaving Wakefield we’d opt to stay at a budget caravan park such as Sand Le Mer, North Yorkshire Water Park or Alton Towers.

Wakefield may be more of a pick ‘n mix break away where you pay-as-you-go, it can be extremely cost effective however with a range of free activities on offer and an array of green spaces and places to stay.