Best Things to Do in Wakefield (Yorkshire, England)

Up to the 1980s coalmining was the backbone of this city in West Yorkshire.

The landscape had been mined since the 15th century, around the time Wakefield witnessed a decisive battle during the Wars of the Roses.

The open cast collieries that used to scar the countryside have been flooded and turned into nature reserves and parks, while the Caphouse Colliery is now England’s National Coal Mining Museum.

It just so happened that two of England’s greatest artists, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore were born around Wakefield within a few years of each other.

You can appreciate their Modernist sculptures at the fabulous Hepworth gallery and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

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