Warwickshire
The kind of stately home that makes film directors go weak at the knees, Stoneleigh name-drops Charles I and Jane Austen among its past visitors…
Must-see attractions in The Midlands & the Marches
Birmingham
The next best thing to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory is Cadbury World, 4 miles south of Birmingham. It educates visitors about the history of cocoa and…
Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare genealogists can trace the family tree to the childhood home of the Bard's mother at Wilmcote, 3 miles west of Stratford. Aimed squarely at…
Stratford-upon-Avon
Aristocratic sculptor Lord Ronald Gower is the master behind this multisculpture homage to Shakespeare, which features the characters of Hamlet …
Birmingham
Exotic marine creatures including otters, jellyfish, piranhas and razor-jawed hammerhead sharks swim in the Sir Norman Foster–designed National Sea Life…
Stratford-upon-Avon
Gifted by American publisher George W Childs in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, and designed by Birmingham architect Jethro Cossins, this…
Birmingham
Quirky tours of this cluster of restored back-to-back terraced houses take you through four working-class homes, telling the stories of those who lived…
Stratford-upon-Avon
Before tying the knot with Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway lived in Shottery, 1 mile west of the centre of Stratford, in this delightful thatched farmhouse. As…
Stratford-upon-Avon
The handsome Jacobean town house belonging to Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband, respected doctor John Hall, stands south of Stratford's…
The Midlands & the Marches
Sitting pretty in vast landscaped grounds, this neoclassical mansion is a must for fans of stately homes. Entering the house through a grand portico, you…
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
The Midlands & the Marches
Given a few hundred years, every battlefield ends up simply a field, but the site of the Battle of Bosworth – where Richard III met his maker in 1485 – is…
Shropshire
Perched in an ideal defensive location atop a cliff above a crook in the river, the town castle was built to ward off the marauding Welsh – or to enforce…
Shropshire
All that remains of a vast, cruciform Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 is the lovely red-sandstone Shrewsbury Abbey. Twice used for meetings of the…
The Midlands & the Marches
Founded as an Augustinian priory in around 1170, this evocative lakeside property was converted into a residence in 1539. It's inextricably associated…
The Midlands & the Marches
Scattered around the Newarke Houses Museum are the ruins of Leicester's medieval castle, where Richard III spent his final days before the Battle of…
Shropshire
One of Britain's largest parish churches, the church of St Laurence contains grand Elizabethan alabaster tombs and delightfully cheeky medieval…
Peak District
Dominating the former lead-mining village of Tideswell, the massive parish church of St John the Baptist – aka the Cathedral of the Peak – has stood here…
Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard
Nottingham
The underground passageway Mortimer's Hole, at Nottingham Castle, emerges at Brewhouse Yard, where five atmospheric 17th-century cottages house the Museum…
Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre
The Midlands & the Marches
Sherwood Forest's 2018-opened curved timber visitor centre provides information about the forest's wildlife, walking trails and Robin Hood legends –…
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
The Midlands & the Marches
For a thorough overview of the Potteries area's history, this museum and gallery houses an extensive ceramics display, from Toby jugs and jasperware to…
Warwickshire
One of the most evocative insights into pre-WWII Coventry is this half-timbered and brick hall where the town's trades came together in the Middle Ages to…
The Midlands & the Marches
Founded in AD 943 and reconstructed in the 18th century, Derby Cathedral's vaulted ceiling towers above a fine collection of medieval tombs, including the…
Shropshire
Built in imposing neoclassical style in 1785, Attingham Park looks like something straight out of a period drama with its grand columned facade, manicured…
The Midlands & the Marches
Near Oakham, the Rutland Water Nature Reserve has 31 hides throughout the reserve and a viewing section upstairs in the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre,…
Stratford-upon-Avon
A youthful Shakespeare allegedly poached deer in the grounds of this lavish Elizabethan pile on the River Avon, 5 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon…
Peak District
In Victorian times, spa activities centred on Buxton's extravagant baths, built in Regency style in 1854 and fronted by the Crescent, a grand, curving…
Shropshire
Once the largest tile factory in the world, Jackfield was famous for its encaustic tiles, with ornate designs produced using layers of different coloured…
Warwickshire
Behind Coventry's twin cathedrals, the Herbert has an eclectic collection of paintings and sculptures (including work by TS Lowry, Stanley Spencer and…
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham
Major Pre-Raphaelite works by Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and others are among the highlights of the delightful Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery's…
Royal Worcester Porcelain Works
The Midlands & the Marches
Up there with the country's most famous potteries, the Royal Worcester porcelain factory gained an edge over its rivals by picking up the contract to…
Peak District
Brews by this riverside brewery include bottled varieties (such as a fruity strawberry-blonde ale, I Love You Will You Marry Me), keg beers (eg its Vienna…
Birmingham
Just over a mile southeast of the city centre, Digbeth's creative quarter centres on the Custard Factory, a hip art-and-design enclave set in the…
Warwickshire
Markets, live-music gigs, moonlight cinema screenings and workshops (eg gardening or blacksmithing) are just some of the events that take place at this…
The Midlands & the Marches
Founded in the 1770s by Richard Arkwright, the Cromford Mill was the first modern factory, producing cotton on automated machines powered by a series of…
The Midlands & the Marches
This regal, neoclassical mansion is the ancestral home of royal photographer Lord Lichfield. A good proportion of the wall space is devoted to his work;…
Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare's alma mater, King Edward VI School (still a prestigious grammar school today), incorporates a vast black-and-white timbered building, dating…
The Midlands & the Marches
England's most popular classical composer is celebrated at the humble country cottage where Edward Elgar was born in 1857. From mid-2018 the museum will…
Birmingham
Situated 1.5 miles northwest of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, Soho House is where industrialist Matthew Boulton lived from 1766 to 1809. Among the…
The Midlands & the Marches
Set in attractive parkland 8 miles south of Hanley, the modern production centre for Josiah Wedgwood's porcelain empire displays an extensive collection…
Peak District Lead Mining Museum
The Midlands & the Marches
An educational introduction to the mining history of Matlock is provided by this enthusiast-run museum set in an old Victorian dance hall. Kids can…
