Best Things To Do This Valentines Day In Wakefield

Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an ideal romantic date location. 500 acres of beautiful, rolling countryside interspersed with stunning, thought-provoking sculptures: so you can have a heart to heart all about art. And there’s surely no better Valentine’s Day selfie spot than the Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture atop a windswept hill near the Park’s entrance.

Why not end your day with a delicious, seasonal meal at The Weston restaurant?

Photo credit: Robert Indiana, LOVE (Red Blue Green), 1966–1998. Artwork © 2022 Morgan Art Foundation Ltd. Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York-DACS, London

Dinner and a show is a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and Theatre Royal Wakefield‘s Radio GaGa is a masterclass in showmanship, celebrating the biggest band to have ever graced the stage – Queen. Playing all your favourite hits including: Don’t Stop Me Now, I Want to Break Free, We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and more. And of course, being Valentine’s Day, the answer to the question “Can anybody find me somebody to love?” is a resounding yes.

Why not grab a pre-show drink? Nearby bars and pubs include The Establishment, The Black Horse, The Hop, Lobby 1867 and many more!

…except you don’t need any tickets, because it’s free! Paradise Carpet by Zarah Hussain is an exhibition at The Art House. Featuring a stunning fusion of animation, immersive light projections and bold, colourful artworks, the installation creates a beautiful digital “carpet” in the heart of the gallery. See your significant other bathed in the soft, coloured light and as you watch the ever-changing patterns shift and weave themselves around each other. The artist has stated that the piece is intended to bring people together through shared experiences and conversation – sounds like an ideal date to us.

A risqué pun? Us? Never… get your mind out of the gutter. We’re talking about the kind of action-packed date you can only have at Xscape in Castleford!
Bring out your competitive sides with some Tenpin bowling, or tear up the track at Gravity E-Karting. See if you make a good team at The Escapologist escape rooms or LaserZone laser tag or just enjoy the adrenaline rush of Gravity’s 70ft skycoaster and bungee experiences together. If you’re feeling really brave – or you’ve gone all foolhardy with love – then you can impress your date with your prowess on the real-snow ski slope at Snozone. Then top it off with a movie and something delicious to eat. It’s your whole Valentine’s itinerary under one roof!

Now bear with us here, but Song of Ascents at The Hepworth Wakefield might be just the thing to set the stage for romance.
Louise Giovanelli’s is known for her large-scale hypnotic paintings that capture ephemeral and sensual moments using beautifully crafted textures and vivid,  beguiling colour. Her works feature mysterious objects such as a closed pair of voluptuous curtains, a shock of lustrous hair, or the reflective surface of a cocktail glass. These images are fuzzy and dream-like, with a soft, intimate quality that could be the perfect opener for some amorous, er, conversation.

Photography: Michael Pollard

Crafting is a great date experience – you get to have fun together, unleash your creative side, and you’ll always have a memento in the form of whatever you end up making! Head to Wool N Stuff in Wakefield City Centre for a brilliant Valentines Craft Workshop on 14 February.
You’ll be making and decorating beautiful felt heart decorations – what could be more appropriate for Valentine’s Day? All materials and refreshments are provided, so all you need to bring is yourselves and your creative spirit.

It’s £20.00 per person which, for a date, is quite affordable – so book now!

The district has a few love stories that you might want to sample this Valentine’s Day.

If your hearts can stand it, head to stately National Trust Nostell and uncover the unhappy story of Swiss-born Sabine Winn, who fell madly in love with Nostell’s Rowland Winn during his Grand Tour, and married him despite the misgivings of their families. Theirs is a tragic love story, as Sabine’s letters reveal her unhappiness at her husband’s long absences in London: “I want to live only for you, yet I am always without you,” she wrote.

Another stormy (and well known) love story can be found at Pontefract Castle. Rumour has it that this is where ill-fated Katherine Howard, fifth wife of notorious King Henry VIII, began her affair with Henry’s friend and courtier, Thomas Culpeper – a relationship for which they would both later be executed.

Looking for a happy story? How about the Wakefield Sculpture Trail‘s Amazonian Caiman God by Jason Wilsher-Mills? You might wonder what this crocodilian creation has to do with love – take a look at the little boat he’s holding in his hand. Inside it are two angels, symbolising the touching love story of the artist’s parents, and their courtship. It’s even been turned into a heart-warming poem by Ian McMillan!

A walk in nature can be a lovely way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with crocuses, aconites, snowdrops and even early daffodils budding in our parks and gardens. The Wakefield district is almost 70% rural, so wherever you are, you’ll find a green space near you, but some special favourites are Anglers Country Park, Newmillerdam Country Park, Pugneys Country Park, RSPB Fairburn Ings, Thornes Park,  Pontefract Park and Friarwood Valley Gardens. Of course, we all know the weather can be fickle in February, so if you don’t want to venture too far into the wild, consider a stroll around The Hepworth Wakefield Garden – an oasis of calm in the heart of the city, so you’re not too far from warmth and light.