Things to do in the Northeast

Ugh, my wife and I have been here for 8 months and we feel as if there is nothing to do anymore.  Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do in the North East.  We live in a small town called Yarm, it is 1 hour south of Newcastle and 1 hour north of York.  I'm talking about things to do on a Saturday just for the day to get out.  When I ask people around town what they are doing their answer is always going to the pub and hanging out.  Well, the two of us are not really pub people and my wife is pregnant so we don't want the smokey environment, plus she can''t drink anyway.  What does anybody else do on their days off!  There is nothing playing at the cinema or the theatre that interests us.  What does anybody else do.

I think there's tons to do in Yarm and the surrounding area, I guess it just depends what you are into!

Here are some ideas:

1) North York Moors National Park (short drive from Yarm) - hiking, cosy pubs, ruined abbeys (there is an amazing display of wild daffodils in Farndale)  - the towns of Helmsley and Stokesley are good bases
2) The coast - the town of Whitby is great - historic, good beach, improving restaurant scene
3) York - take the train from Yarm - loads to do and see in York (good theatre and cinema scene)
4) Newcastle - by train - excellent shopping, art galleries and museums
5) The Yorkshire Dales National Park - try Richmond for a taste of the park

More locally, have you checked out the noticeboard in your local library about events - you may find a film club (there's one in my small town), sports clubs, groups ... etc etc great for meeting people and keeping busy!

Does Yarm have an online community?

Your wife is pregnant, have you thought about joining the NCT or going to prenatal classes at the local hospital together - we made some good friends through that.

Once the weather improves (ha!), your mood will lift and you'll find there's loads to do - good luck!

thanks for the advice Yorkshire/Virginia.  I'll take all those suggestions under advisement.  In regards to the prenatal classes, she is only 9 weeks so we havn't started them yet.  But that will be on us soon enough.