Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Staffordshire
Wondering what to do in Staffordshire? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
🎟️ This weekend near Staffordshire
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 15:00
Sound of Wolves Cypher x HMV Wolverhampton
Hmv Wolves, Wolverhampton · 18.6 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 18:00
Heavy Foks x Dive presents: ANAEMIA
DIVE, Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton · 18.5 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 18:30
FUSE - SKUM, Ten Eighty Trees, Fatal Reflection, and Polarno...
The Victoria Inn, Derby · 24.8 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
Reel nostalgic
Onyx Bar And Restaurant, West Bromwich · 22.9 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Aquariums
26.3 mi from Staffordshire
National Sea Life Centre
The National Sea Life Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon is an aquarium where you can walk through the UK's only 360° ocean tunnel, surrounded by sharks, rays and a giant turtle. You'll...
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27.6 mi from Staffordshire
Matlock Bath Aquarium
Matlock Bath Aquarium sits in a Victorian building in the centre of Matlock Bath, at the heart of the Peak District, and brings together a fascinating aquarium of over 50 fish spec...
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Attractions & Visitor Centres
29.5 mi from Staffordshire
Cadbury World
Cadbury World is a chocolate-themed visitor attraction in Bournville, Birmingham, where you can journey through interactive zones learning how Cadbury chocolate is made, watch choc...
Museums & Galleries
1.6 mi from Staffordshire
Amerton Railway Workshop & Engine Shed
Amerton Railway is a volunteer-run narrow-gauge heritage railway in Stowe-by-Chartley, Stafford, where you can ride vintage 1930s carriages on a one-mile journey between Amerton st...
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1.7 mi from Staffordshire
Amerton Railway Ticket Office
Amerton Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway near Stafford, offering steam and diesel train rides through the Staffordshire countryside. You travel in vintage 1930s carriage...
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3.8 mi from Staffordshire
Shugborough Servants' Quarters
Museum in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
4.1 mi from Staffordshire
The Museum of the Staffordshire Yeomanry
Military museum in Stafford, England, United Kingdom
4.1 mi from Staffordshire
Ancient High House
The Ancient High House is an Elizabethan town house located on the main street in Stafford. The house was constructed in 1595 by the Dorrington family, from local oak, which anecdo... — Wikipedia
8.3 mi from Staffordshire
Redfern Cottage
Redfern's Cottage is the Museum of Uttoxeter Life, telling the story of the town from forest clearing to modern day across eight museum galleries. You can explore collections cover...
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8.7 mi from Staffordshire
Foxfield Steam Railway
Foxfield Steam Railway is a heritage railway in Forsbrook, Staffordshire Moorlands, where you can ride classic steam trains and see lovingly restored locomotives cared for by a fri...
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9.8 mi from Staffordshire
Museum of Cannock Chase
The Museum of Cannock Chase sits on the edge of the Hednesford Hills Nature Reserve, on the site of the former Valley Colliery. Inside you'll find a Cannock Chase Gallery, an Inter...
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10 mi from Staffordshire
Gladstone Pottery Museum
The Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium-sized coal-fired pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the... — Wikipedia
12.2 mi from Staffordshire
The Children's Country House at Sudbury
The Children's Country House at Sudbury is a National Trust property where the historic Hall, once home to the Vernon family, is explored through more than 12 rooms across three le...
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13.1 mi from Staffordshire
Etruria Industrial Museum
The Etruria Industrial Museum is home to Shirley's 1857 Bone and Flint Mill, described as the only operational steam-powered potters' mill in the world. You can see the mill driven...
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13.1 mi from Staffordshire
Etruria Industrial Museum
Etruria Industrial Museum, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is home to Shirley's 1857 Bone and Flint Mill, described as the only operational steam-powered potters' mill in the wor...
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13.1 mi from Staffordshire
Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Bethesda Street, Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free. — Wikipedia
13.4 mi from Staffordshire
Belong Heritage Gallery
Belong Heritage Gallery sits within the Belong Newcastle-under-Lyme community village, a dementia-friendly facility linking the town's past with the present through memories, exhib...
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13.5 mi from Staffordshire
Brampton Museum
Brampton Museum is a museum and gallery in Newcastle-under-Lyme, set within Brampton Park, telling over 2000 years of local borough history through its collections and changing fre...
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13.6 mi from Staffordshire
Chasewater Railway Museum
Chasewater Railway Museum sits within the Heritage Centre at Brownhills West Station, offering a collection of railway items dating back as early as the 1800s. The displays focus m...
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13.8 mi from Staffordshire
Raven Mason Collection
University museum in the West Midlands, United Kingdom
Theme Parks
7.6 mi from Staffordshire
Go Ape Cannock Chase
Go Ape Cannock Chase is a forest adventure park in Staffordshire offering high ropes courses, zip lines, Tarzan Swings and all-terrain Segway rides through Cannock Chase Forest. It...
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11.8 mi from Staffordshire
Alton Towers Resort
Alton Towers is a historic estate, theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incor... — Wikipedia
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15.3 mi from Staffordshire
National Forest Adventure Farm
National Forest Adventure Farm is a family-run attraction near Burton upon Trent that began as a maize maze and funfield in 2004 and has grown into an events-based day out. Through...
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20.1 mi from Staffordshire
Jungleland
Jungleland is a giant jungle-themed soft play centre in Telford, with separate age-restricted play areas featuring slides, rollers, rope swings and dizzy disks for children up to 1...
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21.7 mi from Staffordshire
Drayton Manor Resort
Drayton Manor Resort is a large family theme park in Warwickshire, offering over 50 rides and attractions alongside Europe's only Thomas Land and a zoo showcasing a diverse range o...
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22.4 mi from Staffordshire
Conkers
Conkers is a large woodland attraction in the National Forest, with 120 acres of lakes, trails and adventure play to explore. You can splash through the Barefoot Walk, climb and sp...
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22.7 mi from Staffordshire
The Black Country Living Museum
The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley is an open-air living history site where you can explore over 80 reconstructed shops, houses and industrial workshops spanning more than 2...
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26.2 mi from Staffordshire
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Birmingham is an indoor attraction built around LEGO play, with build stations, a 4D cinema, two rides and a LEGO City soft play area. A highlight is t...
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27.4 mi from Staffordshire
Gulliver's Kingdom
Gulliver's Kingdom is a family theme park set on a hillside on the edge of the Peak District National Park in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. You'll find rides designed especially for yo...
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Water Parks
11.8 mi from Staffordshire
Alton Towers Waterpark
Alton Towers Waterpark, previously known as Cariba Creek, is a water park at Alton Towers Resort, in Staffordshire, England. It is themed to a tropical lagoon, adjoining the Splash... — Wikipedia
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Zoos & Wildlife
10.8 mi from Staffordshire
Rodbaston Animal Zone
Rodbaston Animal Zone is a small, licensed zoo collection based at Rodbaston College, home to around 600 animals from over 140 species, from meerkats and monkeys to rabbits and alp...
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15.5 mi from Staffordshire
Peak Wildlife Park
Peak Wildlife Park is a wildlife attraction in Ipstones, Staffordshire Moorlands, built around naturalistic enclosures that replicate animals' native habitats. Since opening in 201...
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18.9 mi from Staffordshire
Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World
Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World is a Shropshire zoo combining animal encounters with a large dinosaur park. You can explore lands and attractions themed around animals and prehistoric cre...
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20.8 mi from Staffordshire
Exotic Zoo Wildlife Park
Exotic Zoo Wildlife Park sits within Telford Town Park, where you can wander through rainforest, desert, outback, nocturnal and farmyard zones to meet crocodiles, lemurs, capybara...
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23.2 mi from Staffordshire
Dudley Zoo & Castle
Dudley Zoo & Castle combines a working zoo, home to over 150 species, with the historic ruins of Dudley Castle on the same site. As a registered charity, it's dedicated to conserva...
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25.7 mi from Staffordshire
Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo near Norton Juxta Twycross, Leicestershire. It is operated by the East Midlands Zoological Society, a charitable trust, and is a founding mem... — Wikipedia
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28.3 mi from Staffordshire
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park is home to a unique collection of animals from across the world, including Red Pandas, lemurs, reptiles, meerkats, otters, birds, wallabies an...
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Where to stay near Staffordshire
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Staffordshire
Haunted Britain
Staffordshire rewards people who plan loosely. It's a county of pottery towns, big country estates, moorland edges and one very famous theme park, and most of it works best as a car-based day with one firm booking and a couple of flexible options behind it. With 239 places to stay on BritStays across the region, it's also easy to turn a single good day out into two or three.
Family days out
If you're travelling with children, the two obvious anchors are Alton Towers Resort and Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent. Both are whole-day commitments rather than things to slot in around something else — the theme park because of queues and walking, the water park because once children are in, they rarely want to leave.
For a gentler day, The Children's Country House at Sudbury is designed around families rather than tolerating them, which makes a real difference with younger children. It's one of two National Trust properties on the Staffordshire list, so a membership card earns its keep here. Brampton Museum is another good family stop and sits comfortably alongside other Stoke-on-Trent plans.
Rainy-day options
Staffordshire has an unusually deep bench of indoor museums, which is handy given the weather. The V&A Wedgwood Collection is the headline act for anyone interested in the Potteries, and The Dudson Museum covers the same ceramic story from a different angle — the two pair well in a single Stoke-on-Trent day.
- Museum of Cannock Chase — good for local and industrial history, and a sensible fallback if outdoor plans on the Chase fall through.
- Staffordshire Regiment Museum — military history, and a strong choice for teenagers who have had enough of gardens.
- Brindley Mill — a working mill building, compact and quietly interesting.
- Redfern Cottage — small-scale and personal; the sort of place that works best when you're not rushing.
The Geological Gallery at Biddulph Grange Garden is worth knowing about because it gives you an indoor element at a garden site — useful insurance on a changeable day.
Outdoors
Shugborough Hall and Sandon Hall both give you grounds as well as buildings, which is the right shape for a day when you want fresh air without committing to a long walk. Stafford Castle is the most straightforward outdoor heritage stop in the county: earthworks, views and room for children to run about. Biddulph Grange Garden is the pick if gardens are the point of the trip rather than a bonus.
Wootton Lodge and The Heath House are both on the stately home list and are the kind of places to check ahead on, as access at privately owned houses varies through the year.
Heritage and houses
You could build an entire short break around Staffordshire's houses. Shugborough Hall is the most substantial, Sandon Hall the more intimate, and Stafford Castle adds a ruined, open-air contrast. The Oak House Museum and Soho House Museum extend the theme further, and The Black Country Living Museum is the big open-air option if you want history you can walk around in rather than read about.
Grouping it into a sensible day
Three patterns work well:
- Potteries day: V&A Wedgwood Collection in the morning, The Dudson Museum or Brampton Museum after lunch, Waterworld if the children have earned it.
- Estate day: Shugborough Hall for the main visit, Stafford Castle for an hour outdoors afterwards.
- Wet-weather day: Museum of Cannock Chase and Staffordshire Regiment Museum, with Brindley Mill or Redfern Cottage as a third if time allows.
Avoid stacking Alton Towers Resort with anything else. It will fill the day.
Where to eat
We only recommend places with a 5-star food hygiene rating, and we don't currently have any listed for Staffordshire — so rather than name somewhere we can't stand behind, plan around attraction cafés, which most of the larger sites run, or pack a picnic for the estate days at Shugborough Hall, Sandon Hall or Stafford Castle. If you'd rather eat out, look up the hygiene rating of anywhere you're considering before you book; ratings are published and free to check.
Making it a short break
Two nights is the natural length. Give day one to whichever big-ticket site you've booked — Alton Towers Resort, Waterworld or the V&A Wedgwood Collection — and keep day two loose, with a house or garden and a small museum behind it. A third night lets you add The Black Country Living Museum or The Children's Country House at Sudbury without rushing.
Before you go
Book Alton Towers Resort and Waterworld in advance, and check opening days for the smaller museums and the privately owned houses before setting off, as several open seasonally or on limited days. Take cash for small sites that may not take cards, bring waterproofs for the estate grounds whatever the forecast says, and if you hold National Trust membership, bring the card — two of the properties on this list are National Trust.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best rainy-day option in Staffordshire?
The county has plenty of indoor museums. In Stoke-on-Trent, the V&A Wedgwood Collection and The Dudson Museum both cover the Potteries story, and Brampton Museum is another good indoor stop. Elsewhere in Staffordshire, try the Museum of Cannock Chase, the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Brindley Mill or Redfern Cottage. Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent is indoors too, if the children don't mind getting wet on purpose.
Which attractions are National Trust properties?
Two of the Staffordshire landmarks are run by the National Trust, including The Children's Country House at Sudbury. If you're a member, bring your card, as it may cover more than one stop on your trip.
Can I combine Alton Towers Resort with another attraction in the same day?
It's not advisable. Alton Towers Resort is a full-day visit once you factor in queues, walking and travel, so it's better to give it a day of its own and plan something gentler, such as Shugborough Hall or Stafford Castle, for the following day.
Where can we eat in Staffordshire?
BritStays only recommends places with a 5-star food hygiene rating, and we don't currently have any listed for Staffordshire. In practice that means using the cafés at the larger attractions, or packing a picnic for days at Shugborough Hall, Sandon Hall or Stafford Castle. If you'd rather eat out, check the hygiene rating of anywhere you're considering before booking.
What is there to do outdoors in Staffordshire?
Shugborough Hall and Sandon Hall both have grounds as well as houses, Stafford Castle is an open-air heritage site with room for children to run about, and Biddulph Grange Garden is the pick if gardens are the main reason for your trip. The Geological Gallery at Biddulph Grange Garden gives you an indoor element there if the weather turns.
How many nights do we need for a Staffordshire short break?
Two nights works well: one day for a big-ticket site such as Alton Towers Resort, Waterworld or the V&A Wedgwood Collection, and a second, looser day combining a house or garden with a smaller museum. A third night lets you add The Black Country Living Museum or The Children's Country House at Sudbury. There are 239 places to stay on BritStays in the region.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Staffordshire.