Museum · 10:00–14:30 (4h30m)
Black Country Living Museum
Book online to save; try the traditional fish and chips for lunch.
An indoor and outdoor museum in Dudley, aimed at ages 4 and up.
PaidIndoors & out
- Café on site
- Parking
Photo: Geni
A proper Black Country weekend: a day in the rebuilt streets of the living museum and a fossil hunt nearby, then a zoo on a castle hill and a Victorian park with two playgrounds.
WeekendAll agesCost ££4 stops
Day 110:00–16:30
- 10:001
- 15:002
Nature & gardens · 15:00–16:30 (1h30m)
Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve
Free fossil hunting on the scree areas; sturdy shoes.
A wooded limestone hill famous for fossils from a 400-million-year-old tropical sea. Waymarked walks pass sculptures and viewing points, and there are scree areas where children can look for fossils.
FreeOutdoorsPhoto: Roger D Kidd
Day 210:00–16:30
- 10:003
Zoo · 10:00–14:00 (4h)
Dudley Zoo and Castle
Take the chairlift or land train up the hill to save little legs.
An outdoor zoo in Dudley, aimed at ages 4 and up.
PaidOutdoors- Pushchair friendly
- Baby changing
- Café on site
- Toilets
- Accessibility
- Parking
Photo: dudleyzoo.org.uk
- 14:304
Park · 14:30–16:30 (2h)
Haden Hill Park and Haden Hill House
Free playgrounds and pools; tea room at the house.
A Victorian park with two playgrounds, ornamental pools and woodland paths around a period-furnished Victorian house museum with a tea room.
FreeIndoors & out- Café on site
- Toilets
Photo: Gordon Griffiths
More days out in West Midlands
West MidlandsWarwick and Kenilworth castles weekend
Warwick
Two very different castles a few miles apart: a full day of towers, shows and dungeons at Warwick, then the vast red ruins of Kenilworth and an afternoon of play and pools at Ryton.
Warwick Castle → Kenilworth Castle → Ryton Pools Country Park
WeekendAges 8–12Sunny dayCost £££
West MidlandsCoventry rainy day: cars, a dinosaur and the cathedral ruins
Coventry city centre
Three city-centre stops within a few minutes' walk of each other: a giant transport collection, a museum where Dippy the Diplodocus is visiting, and the moving ruins of the old cathedral.
Coventry Transport Museum → Herbert Art Gallery and Museum → Coventry Cathedral
One dayAll agesRainy dayCost £
West MidlandsSouth Shropshire castles and a free discovery centre
Ludlow
Explore the ruined castle at the top of Ludlow, then head up the valley to Stokesay's fortified manor for lunch and its new playground, finishing with the free meadows and exhibitions at the Discovery Centre.
Ludlow Castle → Stokesay Castle → Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
One dayAll agesCost ££