Beaconsfield Park - Fun Days Out

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley is an open-air museum of rebuilt, replica and recreated shops, houses and industrial workshops, spread across 26 acres of former industrial land. Historic characters in period settings chat to visitors and demonstrate traditional skills, such as hand-forging nails and casting brass. The visit is self-guided, so you can explore at your own pace.

Highlights include a working replica of the Newcomen steam engine, a colliery with an underground drift, canal-side lime kilns and a 1930s fairground. Electric trams and trolleybuses carry you from the entrance to the village, and a narrowboat trip runs into Dudley Tunnel. There are eateries on site. It suits history fans, families and anyone curious about the Industrial Revolution, and Peaky Blinders fans can see screen-used sets from the show.

Tip: Allow 4 to 5 hours, and head first to the trams or trolleybuses to reach the village at the heart of the site.

Shrewsbury Castle is a Grade I listed red sandstone castle standing on a hill in the neck of the River Severn's meander. Ordered by William I around 1067, it was extended as a base for operations into Wales. Parts of the original medieval structure remain, including the inner bailey.

Inside, the museum tells the story of the county's regimental past, from the King's Shropshire Light Infantry to the 53rd and 85th regiments. Collections include a lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair, Karl Dönitz's Grand Admiral's Baton and several Victoria Crosses. Laura's Tower overlooks the townscape and countryside. History fans and anyone curious about military heritage will enjoy it, and the grounds make a pleasant stop in the middle of town.

Tip: Access to the castle grounds is free, so you can look around them even if you don't go into the museum.

Pitchford Hall is a Grade I listed Tudor country house about six miles from Shrewsbury, built around 1560. Its timber-framed, black-and-white look is striking, and the estate has an orangery and walled garden. Queen Victoria stayed here as a young princess, and during the Second World War the house was chosen as a possible retreat for the royal family.

The star of the grounds is the treehouse, set in a large lime tree and first mentioned in 1692. It is arguably the oldest in the world, with gothic windows on all sides and a carved ceiling inside. A tour covers the hall, the grounds and the treehouse, led by a knowledgeable guide. It suits history lovers, families curious about the treehouse, and anyone happy to wander through Shropshire countryside.

Tip: Tours of the hall, grounds and treehouse need to be booked in advance through Invitation to View.

Blists Hill is an open-air museum on a former industrial site in Madeley, Telford, recreating the sights, sounds and smells of a working-class Victorian town. It is set in the year 1900 and opened in 1973. You can wander through shops and cottages, including a bank, bakery, chemist, printer, post office and fish and chip shop, with costumed demonstrators showing the skills of each trade.

Beyond the high street, the site has three districts. The industrial area has the conserved remains of the Madeley Wood Company blast furnaces, beam engines and a wrought iron works. The countryside area includes a squatter's cottage and a tin tabernacle church. On select days, a replica of Richard Trevithick's 1802 steam locomotive runs on a short stretch of narrow gauge track. The site has also appeared in Doctor Who and Blue Peter.

Tip: Check the National Trust Ironbridge Gorge website before you go, as visits to Blists Hill may need to be booked in advance.

Dudley Zoo & Castle is a 40-acre zoo within the grounds of Dudley Castle, in the Black Country. It opened in 1937 and is run today by a registered charity. The castle ruins share the wooded hillside with the animal enclosures.

Animals include giraffes, tigers, lions, reindeer, wallabies and snow leopards, plus several aviaries, a reptile house and a good range of primates. The zoo is also known for its modernist enclosures and buildings, designed by Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton Group, with engineering by Ove Arup. A chairlift, relaunched in 2012 after a refurbishment, helps with the steep slopes up towards the elephant house.

It suits animal lovers and anyone curious about the architecture or the castle's history.

Tip: The site is steep, and the car park is barrier-operated with a token needed to exit, so keep that in mind when you arrive.

West Midlands Safari Park, near Bewdley in Worcestershire, combines a drive-through safari with walk-through animal areas and an adventure theme park. The four-mile Safari Drive takes you past lions, giraffes, rhinos, tigers and more, including white lions and cheetahs, with the cheetah reserve billed as the UK's largest drive-by one.

On foot, you can visit walk-through areas with penguins, hippos, lemurs, sea lions, lorikeets and meerkats. The African Walking Trail gets you close to elephants, giraffes and rhinos, while Tiger Tropics and Lion Ridge are for big cat fans. Land of the Living Dinosaurs adds animatronic dinosaurs and fossils, and there are daily feeds and talks. Rides in the theme park can be added to your ticket, and the Discovery Trail has mostly indoor exhibits, which helps if the weather turns.

Attingham Park is a National Trust country house near Atcham, on the Shrewsbury to Wellington road. The mansion was built in the 1780s for the first Baron Berwick and is Grade I listed. Inside, you can see the main reception rooms, which were split into a male and a female set on either side of the house, and John Nash's picture gallery, added in 1805.

Outside, the 640 acres of parkland and gardens are Grade II* listed. There are two bridges over the River Tern, a stable block, a walled garden, an ice house, a bee house and the ha-ha in front of the mansion. The wider estate has traces of Roman and Anglo-Saxon history, plus the moat and fish ponds of a lost medieval village. It suits history fans, families and anyone who likes a long walk through historic parkland.

Stokesay is a moated, walled manor house near Craven Arms. Though it looks like a castle, it was really a lightly defended mansion, with work completed by 1291. The stone hall and solar block sit behind two stone towers, and the hall keeps its 13th-century wooden-beamed ceiling. The timber and plaster gatehouse at the entrance dates from the 17th century.

You can explore the Great Hall, climb the North Tower, look inside the Solar and take the walled garden and moat walk. There is an audio tour, and families can follow a puzzle quest inspired by local giants. The playground is themed on the castle's towers and gatehouse. The dog-friendly cottage tearoom outside the castle has a log burner and outdoor seating with views of the Shropshire Hills.

Tip: Book advance tickets online through English Heritage, and finish with a break in the tearoom, which is open to all and welcomes dogs.