62 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England, England

Tread carefully over the cobbles, and enter Tudor World on Sheep Street to find a dimly lit and quirky maze of displays that explore, with the help of Tudor mannequins, aspects of the 16th century, including the plague years, early medicine, witch trials, bearbaiting, punishment, and alleged ghosts. Kids will enjoy peering round the curtains and opening the boxes of smells. At night, ghost tours by lantern light (suitable only for adults and older children) explore the house’s paranormal history in spooky detail.

If you head southeast of Shrewsbury on the B4380 for around 5 miles, you can see, rising on the left, the Wrekin, a  distinctive wooded, conical, 1,335-foot-high hill formed out of volcanic activity. It may have been the inspiration for Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings books, as at various times J. R. R. Tolkien lived reasonably close. The walk to the summit, which has panoramic views, is about 5 miles (best reached via the A5 as you head east out of town). A few miles farther on, on the B4380, you enter the wooded gorge of the River Severn. Part of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape (areas important for biodiversity), this is walking country, and you can find maps and guides on the official website.