Birmingham Back to Backs
Birmingham Back to Backs is a historic court of 19th-century back-to-back houses in Birmingham, preserved and restored as a museum showcasing working-class industrial town housing with guided tours across different eras.
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a historic and culturally rich county in the West Midlands known for its pottery heritage, scenic countryside, castles, and family-friendly attractions.
White Ladies Priory
White Ladies Priory is a historic ruin of a 12th-century Augustinian priory near Brewood, Shropshire, known for its medieval church remains, Romanesque architecture, and its role in the escape of King Charles II. It offers outdoor exploration of the priory ruins and the surrounding historic landscape, with year-round public access.
Arbor Low
Arbor Low is a well-preserved Neolithic henge monument in Derbyshire, featuring a large limestone stone circle surrounded by earthworks and a ditch. It offers an outdoor archaeological experience showcasing ancient ceremonial structures and links to nearby barrows in a significant prehistoric landscape.
The Old Manor
Norbury Manor is a historic 17th-century manor with an adjoining medieval hall house, known as The Old Manor, located in Norbury, Derbyshire. The site features distinctive medieval architecture, a herb garden, and the Old Manor is open to visitors seasonally.
Halesowen Abbey
Halesowen Abbey is the ruins of a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1218 in Halesowen, West Midlands. The site is a scheduled monument and Grade I listed, managed by English Heritage. Visitors can view the ruins from nearby footpaths, though there is no direct public access to the site itself. It reflects medieval monastic history and architecture, with its surrounding lands forming important historical estates.
3 miles from Guided Walk - Short guided walk – 3 miles
9 Oct
Join a guided three-mile walk at Clent Hills through woodlands and hills, exploring the countryside’s nature, scenery and history.
Located in Halesowen
Halesowen is a historic market town in the West Midlands with Norman-era church, abbey ruins, and a redeveloped town centre with shopping and cultural amenities. It offers access to nearby countryside and hosts local transport connections by bus.
Potteries Shopping Centre
Potteries Shopping Centre is a large indoor shopping mall in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, featuring over 90 stores, a historic market hall, and an adjacent outdoor leisure complex with restaurants and a cinema. It offers a comprehensive retail and leisure experience for visitors.
Ilam Park
Ilam Park is a 158-acre National Trust country park in Staffordshire featuring the historic Ilam Hall, a Gothic Revival style Grade II* listed building now used as a youth hostel, set amid ancient woodland and scenic river walks.
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall is a Grade I listed historic stately home and museum in Staffordshire, England, featuring opulent 18th-century interiors, a working model farm, rare farm animals, and notable follies with classical and Chinese themes in extensive grounds.
Near The Painted Paradise: 18th century landscapes of Shugborough
7 Oct–1 Nov (another 23 days)
An exhibition of recently conserved watercolours explores Thomas Anson’s vision for Shugborough Estate, including paintings of its monuments by Nicholas Dall, Moses Griffith and Edward Jones.
Dudmaston Hall
Dudmaston Hall is a 17th-century country house and estate in Shropshire featuring historic architecture, extensive gardens, parkland, woodlands, lakes, and a distinguished collection of modern art. Visitors can explore both indoor historic interiors and outdoor landscaped grounds within a traditional English country estate setting.
Near Made in Shropshire Artisan Fair
11 Oct (this Sunday)
A fair in the grounds of Dudmaston Hall featuring around 30 local stalls selling handmade art, crafts and food. Visitors can browse the stalls and meet local makers.
Peak Wildlife Park
Peak Wildlife Park is a large 75-acre zoo in Staffordshire, England, featuring a diverse range of birds, mammals, and reptiles, including polar bears. It focuses on conservation and education and offers a family-friendly outdoor experience with amenities like a café and gift shop.
Letocetum
Letocetum is a Roman settlement site in Staffordshire featuring ruins of bath houses and mansio buildings, representing a historic military and civilian posting station. Visitors can explore both outdoor ruins and indoor museum displays managed by the National Trust and English Heritage.
Croxden Abbey
Croxden Abbey is a historic 12th-century Cistercian abbey ruin in Staffordshire, England, offering visitors an outdoor experience of its extensive archaeological remains and architecture managed by English Heritage.
Boscobel House
Boscobel House is a historically significant Grade II* listed building in Shropshire, known for its role in protecting Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Visitors can explore timber-framed house interiors with original and Victorian exhibits, extensive formal gardens, and the famous Royal Oak tree on the grounds.
Little Moreton Hall
Little Moreton Hall is a historic 16th-century half-timbered moated manor house near Congleton, Cheshire. It features well-preserved Tudor architecture, extensive gardens, and a famous Long Gallery. Visitors can explore the restored house interiors, enjoy the gardens, and dine in the on-site restaurant, making it a comprehensive historic and outdoor experience.
Near Wandering Wolves
7–11 Oct, 14–18 Oct…
A free spotter activity at Little Moreton Hall invites visitors to look for the wolf on the Moreton family crest and find wolves hidden around the hall and courtyard.
Kinver Edge
Kinver Edge is a historic heath and woodland escarpment on the Staffordshire-Worcestershire border, featuring England's last inhabited rock houses open for tours, Iron Age hillforts, and scenic walking and biking trails through diverse natural habitats.
Biddulph Grange
Biddulph Grange is a National Trust Victorian landscaped garden in Staffordshire, England featuring a variety of themed garden areas including Chinese, Egyptian, and Italian sections. It offers year-round plant interest and is particularly child-friendly with tunnels and a quiz trail.
Near Don't go into the cellar presents- Confessions of Sweeney Todd
15 Oct (next Thursday)
A one-man performance of the classic penny dreadful tale of Sweeney Todd, featuring an audience with the infamous Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The show is not a musical.
Located in Biddulph
Biddulph is a picturesque market town in Staffordshire Moorlands known for its historic sites including Mow Cop Castle, Biddulph Grange gardens, and scenic valley setting between Mow Cop and Biddulph Moor.
Moseley Old Hall
Moseley Old Hall is a historic house and museum in Staffordshire, notable as a hiding place of Charles II during his escape in 1651. Visitors can explore the restored early 17th-century hall with period furniture and an enclosed 17th-century-style garden, all managed by the National Trust.
Near Stranger Folk – A digital adventure
8–13 Oct, 15–20 Oct…
Families with children aged 7–12 can use the Stranger Folk app to follow a folklore-themed adventure at Moseley Old Hall, completing magical tasks and solving a riddle together. The adventure can be played in around 20 minutes or spread throughout the day.
Sudbury Hall
Sudbury Hall is a historic Restoration-era English country house in Derbyshire with a renowned Great Staircase and fine art collection, featuring a National Trust Museum of Childhood that offers interactive and child-friendly exhibits within its restored interiors and surrounding grounds.
Near The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ trail
9–12 Oct, 16 Oct–2 Nov
Follow a trail inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, spotting fruits and snacks and discovering facts about the caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation. The trail includes games and activities around the stable-yard and gardens.
Sandbach Crosses
Sandbach Crosses are two elaborately carved 9th-century Anglo-Saxon stone crosses located in the marketplace of Sandbach, Cheshire. They are outdoor historic monuments known for their religious and Celtic carvings, historically and artistically significant as Grade I listed structures and scheduled ancient monuments.
Mow Cop Castle
Mow Cop Castle is an 18th-century folly built to resemble medieval ruins, located on the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire. It stands on a historic ridge known for ancient quarrying and offers scenic views. The site is owned by the National Trust and is free to visit.
2 miles from Design Detective
7–11 Oct, 14–18 Oct…
Visitors can use a free spotter guide to explore the wall paintings and protective marks at Little Moreton Hall, learning about Tudor interior design and how conservators care for historic paintings.
Gib Hill
Gib Hill is a large Neolithic burial mound in Derbyshire, featuring an Early Bronze Age round barrow and forming part of a prehistoric monument complex near Arbor Low henge.
Nine Ladies
The Nine Ladies is a Bronze Age stone circle on Stanton Moor in Derbyshire, notable for its prehistoric origin, consisting of ten millstone grit stones arranged in a circle around 10.8 meters in diameter. It serves as a significant archaeological and cultural site, attracting visitors interested in ancient monuments and modern Pagan rituals.
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse in Birmingham is a rare Victorian industrial heritage site featuring a crescent-shaped former depot and stables, now hosting tours including kayaking, cycling, and walking on the adjacent canal, along with business enterprise spaces.
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park is a small urban zoo located in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, featuring a diverse range of small mammals and reptiles, involved in conservation and breeding programmes and providing educational experiences for visitors of all ages.
Wightwick Manor
Wightwick Manor is a Victorian era Arts and Crafts house near Wolverhampton, showcasing original William Morris designs and a significant Pre-Raphaelite art collection, set in 17 acres of gardens and woodland with an additional De Morgan Gallery in the adjoining Old Manor. It is owned by the National Trust and open to the public with a café and shops onsite.
Royal Oak
The Royal Oak in Boscobel Wood, Shropshire, is the historic English oak tree where King Charles II hid to escape after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Visitors can explore the outdoor site near Boscobel House and learn about its significance in British history, including related traditions and commemorations.
3 miles from Make more of your Photography Workshop at Wightwick Manor and Gardens with Lindsey Bucknor OBE
16 Oct (next Friday)
A photography workshop at Wightwick Manor and Gardens for learners and intermediate photographers, with guidance and support to develop their photography skills. Participants should bring their own camera.
Lilleshall Abbey
Lilleshall Abbey is a historic ruined Augustinian abbey in Shropshire with substantial 12th and 13th century stone remains set in a large monastic precinct. Visitors can explore the evocative outdoor ruins of the church and domestic buildings, surrounded by a cloister garden. The site is open to the public without charge and managed by English Heritage.
Downs Banks
Downs Bank is a National Trust open countryside site in Staffordshire featuring woodland, heathland, and a glaciated valley with a stream. Visitors can explore footpaths and bridleways, enjoy natural habitats including restored heathland, and visit the Millennium Viewpoint with a toposcope.