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The 14 best places to visit in the West Midlands

Home to Shropshire, Worcestershire and towns such as Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent, the region offers beautiful days out for heritage lovers

Weston Park historic country house

If you’re looking for a day out in England, you should look no further that the West Midlands, which is home to some of the UK’s most impressive historic houses and gardens. From Eastnor Castle to Arbury Hall, the region is a heritage lover’s paradise, and here we are listing the best places to visit when in the West Midlands. You can also view a map of the historic houses and gardens in the region here.

Herefordshire

Eastnor Castle

Eastnor Castle, Ledbury

Located in the peaceful surroundings of the Herefordshire countryside and sitting at the foot of the beautiful and historic Malvern Hills, Eastnor Castle sits in 100 acres of grounds and is surrounded by a 5,000 acre estate.

See the magnificent State rooms as you are immersed in the fascinating world of Eastnor and its family.

Hergest Croft Gardens

Hergest Croft Gardens, Kington

Hergest Croft Gardens lies in the heart of the Welsh Marches with stunning views towards the Black Mountains.

From spring bulbs to autumn colour this is a garden for all seasons. There are gorgeous flower borders. An old fashioned Kitchen Garden with a Rose Garden, Spring Borders with carpets of bulbs, and unusual vegetables; the Azalea Garden with spectacular colour in the spring; and Park Wood, with thirty foot high rhododendrons is fantastic all to discover.

For those who love Arts & Crafts...

Winterbourne House & Garden is one of the best surviving examples of an Edwardian Arts and Crafts suburban villa garden.

The house is nestled in a surprisingly quiet corner of the city on the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus.

Winterbourne House and Gardens in Birmingham

Shropshire

Hodnet Hall Garden in Shropshire

Hodnet Hall Gardens, Market Drayton

Over 60 acres of colourful flowers, magnificent forest trees, sweeping lawns and a chain of ornamental pools along the cultivated garden valley and providing a natural habitat for wildfowl and other wildlife.

Whatever the season, visitors will always find something fresh and interesting to ensure an enjoyable outing.

Walcot Hall in Shropshire

Walcot Hall, Lydbury North

Walcot Hall is considered as one of the top wedding and events venues in Shropshire. With its turquoise freestanding ballroom, characterful accommodation and eclectic furnishings, it really is a feast for the eyes.

The 30 acres of grounds, including one of the finest arboretums in Britain, offer a wide variety of panoramas, floral displays and garden features including the extensive lake, walled courtyard, unusual statues and fountain.

Weston Park historic country house

Weston Park, Shifnal

Weston Park is the former ancestral home of the Earls of Bradford and is owned by the Weston Park Foundation, an independent charitable trust.

The House is not only home to a world class collection of art, antiques, silver and fine china, it also becomes home to this celebrating special events including weddings and birthdays.

Wollerton Old Hall Garden in Shropshire

Wollerton Old Hall Garden, Market Drayton

Designed by Lesley and John Jenkins since 1984, the garden is set around a Grade 2* 16th Century Hall (not open to the public) and has developed into an important modern garden in the English Garden tradition with echoes of Arts and Crafts.

Covering 4 acres, it consists of a series of linked garden “rooms” filled with modern plantings.

Visit the West Midlands sustainably

If you’re planning a day out in the West Midlands, we’re very keen to ensure you explore sustainable travel options. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Good Journey, who offer a helpful guide on how you can explore the UK without a (petrol/diesel) car. Take a look at their website to find out more.

Staffordshire

Middleton Hall historic Tudor manor in England

Middleton Hall & Gardens, Tamworth

Middleton Hall is set in 42 acres of the peaceful North Warwickshire countryside and run by an independent charitable trust. Spend the day exploring our historic manor house, exquisite gardens and grounds and independent shops in The Courtyard.

If you want to discover more of the Estate, visit the neighboring Middleton Lakes nature reserve run by the RSPB. We open to the public as an historic house and gardens but also host weddings, private parties and tours.

Whitmore Hall in Staffordshire

Whitmore Hall, Newcastle under Lyme

In the same family for over 900 years, descendants of the Normans, the house is a fine example of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

It is built of warm brick, with pediment and a later, 19th century porch. One of the outstanding features of Whitmore is the extremely rare example of a late Elizabethan stable block, the ground floor is part cobbled and has nine oak-carved stalls.

Warwickshire

Arbury Hall, Warwickshire

Arbury Hall, Arbury

Arbury Hall has been the seat of the Newdegate family for over 450 years and is the ancestral home of Viscount Daventry.

This Tudor/Elizabethan House was Gothicised by Sir Roger Newdegate in the 18th Century and is regarded as the ‘Gothic Gem’ of the Midlands.

A Capability Brown landscape...

The parkland at Chillington Hall in Wolverhampton was landscaped by the famous 18th Century English landscape architect Capability Brown and incorporates magnificent lake and its architectural follies.

Chillington Hall

Worcestershire

Hagley Hall gardens and grounds

Hagley Hall, Hagley

Hagley Hall and Park are among the supreme achievements of eighteenth-century English architecture and landscape gardening. They remain largely the creation of one man, George, 1st Lord Lyttelton.

Hagley, last of the great Palladian houses, was perhaps influenced by nearby Croome Court, but it ultimately derives from Colen Campbell’s designs for Houghton in Norfolk.

Little Malvern Court in Worcestershire

Little Malvern Court, Malvern

Found nestling at the foot of the wooded slopes of the Malvern Hills, with far-reaching views across the Severn Valley to the Cotswolds, Little Malvern Court provides the perfect blend of history and horticulture.

The Prior’s Hall, with its oak framed roof, was part of a former Benedictine Monastery, dating back to the 1400s. After the dissolution of the monasteries, Little Malvern Court became a family home and still today remains in the same family by descent. The Hall hosts a collection of religious vestments and relics, embroideries and paintings.

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Eastnor Castle drawing room and vaulted ceilings

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