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Things to do in Worcestershire

Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Things to do in Worcestershire

Wondering what to do in Worcestershire? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.

Aquariums

National Sea Life Centre

22.7 mi from Worcestershire

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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Attractions & Visitor Centres

Cadbury World

19.5 mi from Worcestershire

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...

Warwick Castle

26.6 mi from Worcestershire

Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is a historic attraction in Warwick, Warwickshire, offering over 1,100 years of history through live shows, exhibitions and themed experiences. Visitors can watch th...

Museums & Galleries

Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum

0.6 mi from Worcestershire

Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum

This small museum and library in Worcester holds one of the finest collections of Masonic items in the English constitution outside London's Freemasons Hall. You can browse engrave...

The George Marshall Medical Museum

0.9 mi from Worcestershire

The George Marshall Medical Museum

The George Marshall Medical Museum, in Worcester, is a small museum housed within the Charles Hastings Education Centre, showing George Marshall’s collection illustrating 300 years...

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Greyfriars

1 mi from Worcestershire

Greyfriars

Greyfriars is a late-medieval, timber-framed house in the heart of Worcester, rescued from demolition and restored in the mid-20th century by siblings Elsie and Matley Moore. You e...

Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire)

1 mi from Worcestershire

Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire)

The Mercian Regiment Museum in Worcester tells the story of the Worcestershire Regiment, its antecedents and successors, through collections of medals, long service awards, uniform...

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City Art Gallery & Museum

1 mi from Worcestershire

City Art Gallery & Museum

The Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum is an art gallery and local museum in Worcester, the county town of Worcestershire, England. — Wikipedia

Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry Museum

1 mi from Worcestershire

Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry Museum

This small museum tells the story of the Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry, raised in 1794 during the Napoleonic Wars as a part-time cavalry unit for times of civil unrest or invasio...

The Commandery

1.1 mi from Worcestershire

The Commandery

The Commandery is a historic building open to visitors and located in the city of Worcester, England. It opened as a museum in 1977 and was for a while the only museum in England d... — Wikipedia

Tudor House Museum

1.1 mi from Worcestershire

Tudor House Museum

Tudor House Museum is a small independent museum set in a close-studded, timber-framed building dating from around 1520, home to the only remaining original embossed ceiling in Wor...

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Museum of Royal Worcester

1.2 mi from Worcestershire

Museum of Royal Worcester

The Museum of Royal Worcester is a ceramics museum located in the Royal Worcester porcelain factory's former site in Worcester, England. — Wikipedia

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Elgar's Birthplace Museum

3.5 mi from Worcestershire

Elgar's Birthplace Museum

The Firs in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire, England was the birthplace of Edward Elgar. The cottage now houses a museum administered by the National Trust. Edward Elgar was born... — Wikipedia

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Droitwich Spa Heritage & Information Centre

5.1 mi from Worcestershire

Droitwich Spa Heritage & Information Centre

This small heritage centre in the heart of Droitwich Spa tells the story of the town's salt-producing past through its 'Salt Story' exhibition, alongside 'Droitwich Calling', which...

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Malvern Museum

8.3 mi from Worcestershire

Malvern Museum

Malvern Museum of Local History is housed in the town's ancient Benedictine Priory Gatehouse, in the centre of Great Malvern. Inside you'll find themed rooms covering the Malvern H...

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British National Fencing Museum

8.5 mi from Worcestershire

British National Fencing Museum

The British National Fencing Museum, based at Pyndar Lodge near Malvern in Worcestershire, was established by Malcolm Fare in 2002 and traces the history of fencing over 450 years....

The Tudor House Museum

9.4 mi from Worcestershire

The Tudor House Museum

Set in Upton-upon-Severn in the Malvern Hills, the Tudor House Museum is a 17th-century half-timbered building with a timber frame, wattle and daub walls and a steeply pitched roof...

Upton Heritage Centre

9.4 mi from Worcestershire

Upton Heritage Centre

Upton Heritage Centre is set within the oldest surviving building in the riverside town of Upton-upon-Severn, in the Malvern Hills area. Inside, displays trace the town's growth an...

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Avoncroft Museum of Buildings

9.5 mi from Worcestershire

Avoncroft Museum of Buildings

Avoncroft Museum of Buildings is an open-air museum in rural Worcestershire, home to over 30 rescued and rebuilt historic buildings and structures. Visitors can explore the Nationa...

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National Telephone Kiosk Collection

9.6 mi from Worcestershire

National Telephone Kiosk Collection

This special collection at Avoncroft Museum brings together every public telephone kiosk issued by the General Post Office and British Telecom from the 1920s onwards, alongside eme...

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Worcestershire County Museum

9.8 mi from Worcestershire

Worcestershire County Museum

Worcestershire County Museum sits within Hartlebury Castle, exploring the county's history through archaeology, agriculture, blacksmithing, Victorian life, and collections on toys...

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Kidderminster Railway Museum

12.8 mi from Worcestershire

Kidderminster Railway Museum

Museum in Kidderminster, England, United Kingdom

The Time Machine Museum of Science Fiction

12.9 mi from Worcestershire

The Time Machine Museum of Science Fiction

Museum in Bromyard, Herefordshire, England, UK

Local and Family History Centre

12.9 mi from Worcestershire

Local and Family History Centre

The Local & Family History Centre is based at 5 Sherford St, Bromyard, Herefordshire, and run by the Bromyard & District Local History Society. It offers a research room, an exhibi...

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Theme Parks

Playland Fun Park

10.2 mi from Worcestershire

Playland Fun Park

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Climbing Frame

10.3 mi from Worcestershire

Climbing Frame

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Go Ape Wyre

13.5 mi from Worcestershire

Go Ape Wyre

Go Ape Wyre is a treetop adventure course set among towering Douglas firs in Wyre Forest's 'Valley of the Giants', offering high ropes, obstacles and zip wires for ages four and up...

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Fun Park

21.5 mi from Worcestershire

Fun Park

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LEGOLAND Discovery Centre

22.7 mi from Worcestershire

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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The Black Country Living Museum

22.8 mi from Worcestershire

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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Amusement Park

26.9 mi from Worcestershire

Amusement Park

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Water Parks

Splash Pad

1.3 mi from Worcestershire

Splash Pad

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Aztec Aquaglide Aqua Park

8.2 mi from Worcestershire

Aztec Aquaglide Aqua Park

Aztec Aquaglide Aqua Park is a floating inflatable water park on a lake at Upton Warren, near Bromsgrove, featuring climbing towers, trampolines, balance bars and slides, with a de...

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Aztec Adventure

8.2 mi from Worcestershire

Aztec Adventure

Aztec Adventure is a water park and outdoor activity centre in Dodderhill, Wychavon, built around an inflatable aqua park, lake-based boat hire and launch, kayaking, paddleboarding...

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Croft Farm Waterpark

12.9 mi from Worcestershire

Croft Farm Waterpark

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Zoos & Wildlife

West Midlands Safari Park

12.8 mi from Worcestershire

West Midlands Safari Park

West Midlands Safari Park is a wildlife and theme park in Bewdley, Wyre Forest, combining four miles of drive-through safari with a walk-through Safari Walk and an Adventure Theme...

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Attwell Farm Park

16.4 mi from Worcestershire

Attwell Farm Park

Attwell Farm Park is a family-run farm attraction near Beoley, Bromsgrove, offering hands-on encounters with over 80 animal species alongside a Bug Barn housing more than 40 exotic...

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All Things Wild

17 mi from Worcestershire

All Things Wild

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Pheasantry

20.3 mi from Worcestershire

Pheasantry

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Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park

21.1 mi from Worcestershire

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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Dudley Zoo & Castle

22.4 mi from Worcestershire

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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Cotswold Farm Park

23.7 mi from Worcestershire

Cotswold Farm Park

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Rabbit Village

24.2 mi from Worcestershire

Rabbit Village

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Birdland Park and Gardens

29.1 mi from Worcestershire

Birdland Park and Gardens

Zoo in Bourton-on-the-Water

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Where to stay near Worcestershire

Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.

More around Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a county of orchards, river valleys and big old houses, and it rewards the kind of day out that isn't rushed. There's enough here to fill a weekend without ever driving far, and if you want a bigger-ticket day, the neighbouring counties are within reach. Here's how the main attractions break down, and how to string them together sensibly.

Heritage houses and halls

The county's strongest card is its country houses. Hanbury Hall is National Trust, as is Dudmaston Hall, which doubles as a museum as well as a house and garden — useful if the weather turns, because you can move indoors without abandoning the plan. Brockhampton Park is the third National Trust property on the list, and it's the one to pick if you'd rather walk than look at paintings.

Beyond the Trust, there's a run of stately homes and halls that give the county its character: Hewell Grange, Badge Court, Cotheridge Court, Severn End and Lickey Grange. Chateau Impney Hotel sits in the same bracket — a stately pile that also happens to be somewhere you can stay. Eastnor Castle is the proper castle of the group and the one that tends to appeal most to children who find houses dull.

A word of warning that applies to all of them: access varies enormously between private homes, hotels and properties open to the public, so check what's actually open before you set off rather than turning up hopefully.

Museums and rainy-day options

Worcestershire's museums are small, specific and genuinely interesting rather than sprawling. Stourbridge Glass Museum covers the glassmaking industry the area was known for, and it's the best single indoor stop in the county if you want something with real substance. The National Telephone Kiosk Collection is the oddity — a one-subject collection that's far more absorbing than it sounds, and a good shout with older children or anyone with a soft spot for design.

Pair either with Dudmaston Hall and you have a full wet day without getting soaked.

Family days out

  • Climbing Frame — the county's dedicated family attraction, and the obvious answer when the children need to burn energy rather than look at things.
  • Eastnor Castle — castles sell themselves to under-tens.
  • The National Telephone Kiosk Collection — short, quirky and cheap to tack onto something else.

If you're prepared to travel further for a bigger day, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and Sarehole Mill are both in Birmingham, and The Wave is a water park over in Warwickshire. Those are full-day commitments rather than add-ons.

Outdoors

The parkland at Brockhampton Park and the grounds at Hanbury Hall and Dudmaston Hall are the easiest way to get a proper walk with a tea room at the end of it. The estate at Eastnor Castle is another option if you want grounds with a bit of drama to them. In poor light or heavy rain, flip the day round and do the house first, the grounds after lunch.

Building a sensible day

The trick in Worcestershire is one big thing plus one small thing, not three medium things. A workable shape:

  • Heritage day: Hanbury Hall in the morning, lunch, then Hewell Grange or Severn End from the outside if they're not open to look round.
  • Rainy day: Stourbridge Glass Museum, lunch, National Telephone Kiosk Collection.
  • Family day: Climbing Frame in the morning while everyone's fresh, then Eastnor Castle or a long grounds walk afterwards.

Where to eat

All of these hold five-star food hygiene ratings, which is a reasonable starting filter when you don't know an area:

  • Miss Muffet's Delicatessen — a deli, so the one to use for picnic supplies before a grounds walk.
  • Café au Chocolat and Rosado Lounge — tea rooms, both suited to a sit-down lunch or a long afternoon stop.
  • Riverside Cafe — ice cream and creamery, the obvious bribe at the end of a walk.
  • The Anchor — a pub, and the right answer for an evening meal after a full day.

Turning it into a short break

Two nights is the sweet spot: a heritage day, a family or outdoors day, and a half-day museum stop before heading home. There are 238 places to stay in Worcestershire on BritStays, which is plenty of choice, and Chateau Impney Hotel is worth a look if you'd like the stately home experience to extend past closing time.

Practically: book National Trust parking and timed entry where it applies, ring ahead for the privately owned halls, carry boots regardless of forecast, and don't plan a tea room stop as your only lunch option on a busy weekend — pick up something from the deli as a backup.

Frequently asked questions

Which Worcestershire attractions are National Trust properties?

Three of the properties listed for the region are National Trust: Hanbury Hall, Dudmaston Hall and Brockhampton Park. Dudmaston Hall also functions as a museum, so it works as both a heritage visit and a wet-weather option.

What is there to do in Worcestershire if it rains?

Stourbridge Glass Museum and the National Telephone Kiosk Collection are both indoor museums in the county, and Dudmaston Hall gives you a house and museum to explore under cover. Pairing two of these makes a full day without needing to be outdoors.

What is the best attraction in Worcestershire for young children?

Climbing Frame is the county's dedicated family attraction and is the best choice when children need to run about. Eastnor Castle is the other strong option, as castles tend to hold the attention of under-tens better than houses do.

Where can I eat in Worcestershire with a good hygiene rating?

Miss Muffet's Delicatessen for picnic supplies, Café au Chocolat and Rosado Lounge for tea room lunches, Riverside Cafe for ice cream, and The Anchor for a pub meal. All five hold five-star food hygiene ratings.

Are there bigger family attractions near Worcestershire?

Yes, though they involve travelling outside the county. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and Sarehole Mill are both in Birmingham, and The Wave water park is in Warwickshire. Treat any of these as a full day out rather than something to add to a Worcestershire itinerary.

How many nights do I need for a Worcestershire short break?

Two nights works well: one heritage day, one family or outdoors day, and a half-day museum stop before heading home. There are 238 places to stay in the region on BritStays, and Chateau Impney Hotel is an option if you want to stay somewhere with stately home character.

More ways to explore

Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Worcestershire.