Stratford-upon-Avon
The Guild Chapel was founded in 1269 and is painted with motivational frescoes showing the fate of the damned in the 15th and early 16th centuries…
Must-see attractions in The Midlands & the Marches
The Midlands & the Marches
This chugging, grinding, water-powered mill still produces flour the old-fashioned way – 20 different types are for sale, along with six different oat…
Shropshire
This was once the biggest clay tobacco pipe-maker in the country, but the industry nose dived after the introduction of prerolled cigarettes in the 1880s,…
The Midlands & the Marches
The Duke and Duchess of Rutland's ancestral home, Belvoir (pronounced 'beaver') is a 19th-century baroque and Gothic fantasy built over the ruins of three…
Birmingham
Public art in Victoria Sq includes modernist sphinxes and artist Dhruva Mistry's 1994-installed fountain, The River. Topped by a naked female figure, it's…
The Midlands & the Marches
On the southern shores of the Rutland Water Nature Reserve, this seasonal visitor centre has a self-guided trail leading to several birdwatching hides…
The Midlands & the Marches
Crowning the hilltop, pin-straight St Mary's Church is a 13th-century construction with a fine east window and grand alabaster memorials, including the…
The Midlands & the Marches
Clad in Georgian brickwork, the 12th-century Great Hall stands behind a 15th-century gate near the church of St Mary de Castro. Once used as a crown court…
The Midlands & the Marches
The hilltop remains of Stafford Castle, a classic Norman moat and bailey, sit romantically in a forest glade 1 mile southwest of town, just off the A518…
Peak District
A glorious piece of Victoriana, the glass Devonshire Dome, built in 1779, is the largest unsupported dome in Europe. It's home to a training restaurant…
The Midlands & the Marches
Built between 1861 and 1864, Northampton's landmark Guildhall is adorned with carvings and 14 statues of monarchs, local luminaries and patron saints,…
Shropshire
Along the canal, the 200-year-old Tar Tunnel is an artificial watercourse that was abandoned when natural bitumen started trickling from its walls. There…
Peak District
In a handsome Victorian building, the town museum has records of fossils found in the Peak District, photographs, fine arts, bric-a-brac covering the town…
Statue of Boulton, Watt & Murdoch
Birmingham
Birmingham's Industrial Revolution leading lights Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch are depicted in this gleaming gilded statue. It's…
The Midlands & the Marches
Jutting into the lake, this quaint church is saved from inundation by a limestone barrier wall. Inside are displays on the history of the Rutland…
Shropshire
The ancient, eroded Holy Trinity Church was built in 1150 over Saxon foundations. Note the Norman arch as you enter with the (as yet) undeciphered…
Shropshire
England's largest working water-powered mill still produces flour for local bakers. Visitors get a personal tour of the machinery in action from the…
The Midlands & the Marches
Family-oriented nature centre Conkers has interactive displays, indoor and outdoor playgrounds (the latter includes high and low ropes courses), a viewing…
Birmingham
Birmingham architect Alfred Chatwin designed this Victorian Gothic church in the Bullring. The 1873-completed structure occupies a site where a church has…
The Midlands & the Marches
West of the central Market Sq, St Peter's Church is a marvellous Norman edifice built in 1150 and adorned with ancient carvings. The sign on the door…
Shropshire
The town's most famous son, naturalist Charles Darwin, was born in the Mount in Shrewsbury's Frankwell area in 1809. He's commemorated by a statue outside…
Birmingham
Run by local artists who focus on art as a powerful agent for change, cavernous Eastside Projects has a pronounced and thought-provoking lean towards…
The Midlands & the Marches
Constructed after the 1675 fire, with an ornate barrel-vaulted ceiling and dark-wood organ and reredos, All Saints' Church owes an obvious debt to the…
Peak District
Surrounded by a traditional English walled garden, this solid-looking 17th-century manor house with stone windows and door frames has a craft centre, a…
Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery
Shropshire
Diverse exhibits at Shrewsbury's town museum cover everything from Roman treasures to Shropshire gold, including the Bronze Age Perry Bracelet. Its…
The Midlands & the Marches
A museum tells the story of the valley's textile mills at this large complex 1 mile south of Matlock Bath. The attached shopping village is full of…
Peak District
The exploits of the Royal Air Force Squadron No 617, aka the Dambusters, are detailed in the Derwent Dam Museum in the western tower atop the dam where…
Birmingham
Constructed in 1834 and styled after the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome, Birmingham's neoclassical Town Hall is now used as a venue for classical…
Northampton Museum & Art Gallery
The Midlands & the Marches
The history of shoemaking and footwear fashions is covered at this century-and-a-half-old museum. It's closed for renovations until early 2020; check the…
Birmingham
Victoria Sq's 1993 fountain The River, aka 'the floozie in the Jacuzzi', is overlooked by this disapproving statue of Queen Victoria.
Peak District
Opposite the Crescent, aptly named park the Slopes rises steeply in a series of grassy terraces. Climbing them provides the definitive view over Buxton's…
Warwickshire
Housed in Warwick's striking 17th-century market hall, this museum has some entertaining displays on local history and the Warwick sea dragons (Jurassic…
Shropshire
Northgate is the last surviving gate of five that originally guarded the town, and contains a small museum on local history run by volunteers from the…
The Midlands & the Marches
The most impressive chunk of Leicester Castle's remaining masonry is the monumental gateway known as the Magazine, once a storehouse for cannonballs and…
Lincolnshire
Built in 1825, this is the Victorian replacement for the medieval gate that stood here until 1815, when the original Roman gate was torn down as it was…
Warwickshire
A bronze-cast statue of William Webb Ellis stands outside the main Rugby School gates. It's the work of sculptor Graham Ibbeson who installed it here in…
Lincolnshire
Arcing over Lincoln's High St, the guildhall has been home to the city council since its completion in 1520. Regalia here includes the sword of Richard II.
Lincolnshire
Rough-edged Newport Arch was built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, and is the oldest arch in Britain that still has traffic passing through it.
Birmingham
Built in 1879 in classical style, the dome-topped Council House – the seat of local government – forms the northeastern face of the city centre.
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Birmingham
Birmingham's venerable arts society has exhibited local artists and artisans' works since 1814. The two-floor gallery is just off St Paul’s Sq.
