Museums & heritage in Birmingham

Ashby Boat Company

Nuneaton

Hire a narrowboat and pilot it yourselves along the Ashby Canal, a stretch with no locks to fumble with.

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

Bromsgrove · ages 0+

Wander 700 years of rescued buildings, ride the miniature train and count phone boxes in the National Collection of Telephone Kiosks.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+10 more

Bagots Castle

Coventry

Free ruins of a 14th century castle to poke about in, with a visitor centre and a picnic spot, open weekends only.

Picnic area

Bancroft River Cruises

Stratford-upon-Avon

A private boat charter along the Avon through town and out into open countryside, with catering laid on if you want it.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBooking requiredDog friendly+3 more

Bantock House

Wolverhampton

Free house museum with a mouse trail to hunt round the rooms and a nine-hole pitch and putt outside.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+4 more

Birmingham Snow Hill

Birmingham

A working railway station where kids travel for £1 on the family travelcard and the trains themselves are the entertainment.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféGift shop+5 more

Boscobel House

Stafford

A hands-on hide-and-seek history trail where Charles II once dodged Cromwell's men, with a willow tunnel and tree-themed playground.

Gift shopFood on siteOutdoor playParking+1 more

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre

Sutton Cheney

Interactive Battle of Bosworth exhibition, Discovery Zone and free country-park trails near Market Bosworth.

ToiletsAccessible toiletBaby changeParking+7 more

Cadbury World

Birmingham · ages 0-18

A self-guided chocolate tour with a 4D cinema, a Chocolate Quest ride and a doodling-and-tempering zone to get sticky in.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBooking required+15 more

Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel

Birmingham

A stay-over rather than a day trip, in a historic house hotel with cots for the little ones and dogs welcome in your room.

ParkingRestaurant

Castle Bromwich Historic Gardens

Birmingham

A walled historic garden with a maze, mud kitchen and ponds to poke about in, plus an archery lawn to explore.

Accessible toiletBirthday partiesCaféDog friendly+6 more

Centrala

Birmingham

A small Birmingham gallery running family workshops around creativity, community and culture through painting and storytelling.

Chasewater Railway - (Brownhills West,Station)

Walsall

A proper steam train ride around Chasewater on nearly four miles of track, with a museum and model railway to fill the gaps between trains.

Accessible toiletCaféDog friendlyFree parking+5 more

Conkers Discovery Centre

Moira · ages 3+

A big woodland day out with rope trails, a splash park, a barefoot walk and an indoor play house for the rainy bits.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesBooking required+15 more

Coventry Canal Basin

Coventry

A free wander along the towpath and old canal buildings, good for stretching legs without spending a penny.

ParkingToilets

Coventry Music Museum

Coventry · up to age 15

A small, music-mad museum where kids can compose in the studio and sit in a Ghost Town car, not just look at cases of guitars.

Accessible toiletCaféCard onlyCash only+2 more

Drakelow Tunnels Museum

Kidderminster

Guided tours through a real WWII and Cold War tunnel network, plus rock houses cut into the hillside above.

Booking required

Dudley Zoo & Castle

Dudley · ages 0+

Zoo and castle in Dudley - animals for Birmingham day-trips. Soft Play N.

ParkingToiletsBaby changeCafé+15 more

Eastside Projects

Birmingham

A free contemporary art gallery in Digbeth, open Wednesday to Saturday afternoons during exhibitions.

Bike parkingToilets

Forge Mill Needle Museum

Redditch

A working needle mill turned museum with Forest School sessions and grounds to explore, coffee and cake included.

Accessible toiletCaféFree parkingGift shop+3 more

Glenfield Tunnel

Leicester

Seasonal guided walks into a historic 1829 railway tunnel near Leicester - free with donation, book via LIHS.

Booking required

Hartlebury Castle

Kidderminster

A bishop's palace with talking portraits, a county museum full of hands-on displays, and grounds with a playground and nature trail to wander after.

Bike parkingCaféDog friendlyFree parking+4 more

Harvington Hall

Kidderminster

A moated Elizabethan manor with priest holes and secret passages, plus candlelight tours if you fancy something spookier.

Café

Hatton Locks

Warwick

Free canal walk past 21 locks stacked up a hillside, with a flat towpath that's easy going for buggies.

CaféParkingToilets

Highbury Hall

Birmingham · ages 0+

Free entry to a historic hall with model railways, old bicycles and family walks around the grounds.

Ikon Gallery

Birmingham

Free contemporary art exhibitions in Birmingham plus hands-on family Saturdays like a clay-making day.

CaféGift shopWheelchair accessible

Jones Family Cruising

Penkridge

Hire a narrowboat for the week and let the kids take turns steering and working the locks on the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal.

Booking requiredFood on siteToilets

Knight's Village at Warwick Castle

Warwick

A full castle day of jousting, mazes and a Zog trail, with a maze section that gets loud and dark for littler ones.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingDog friendlyGift shop+6 more

Lapworth Museum of Geology

Birmingham

Free museum of fossils, rocks and prehistoric creatures on the University of Birmingham campus, no booking needed.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingGift shop+4 more

Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield

Wander a genuinely huge medieval cathedral for free, spot the carved Lichfield Angel, and climb the library's spiral steps if legs allow.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+4 more

Lightwoods Park and House

Smethwick

Free park with a play area, skate park and outdoor gym, plus a restaurant if you fancy skipping the packed lunch.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesDog friendly+6 more

Lunt Roman Fort

Coventry

Climb a reconstructed Roman gate, explore the granary and try a battle drill in the only known gyrus inside a Roman fort.

Birthday partiesBooking requiredParkingSchool visits

Maxstoke Castle

Birmingham

A guided tour round a genuine medieval castle, open on weekdays for a look behind its walls.

Middleton Hall & Gardens

Tamworth · ages 2-17

A 950-year-old house, a walled Georgian garden and a nature trail to hunt through on a kids' trail, with your ticket covering the whole day.

CaféGroup bookingsPicnic areaPicnics allowed+1 more

Midland Air Museum

Coventry · ages 5-15

Wander among historic aircraft outdoors and climb into cockpits like the Vulcan bomber's.

Blue badge parkingCaféDog friendlyFree parking+1 more

Moseley Folk & Arts Festival

Birmingham · ages 0+

A grown-up folk and arts weekend in Moseley Park where under-12s get in free and can bring a picnic blanket to sit on.

Accessible toiletFood on sitePicnics allowedPublic transport nearby+2 more

National Cold War Exhibition

Shifnal · ages 4+

Free entry to a huge aircraft hangar, then extras like the Spitfire cockpit or a 4D theatre ride you pay for on top.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingBooking requiredCafé+9 more

National Fairground Museum Statfold

Tamworth

Vintage fairground rides, a heritage railway and a soft play barn on one site near Tamworth, plus mini golf outdoors.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBaby changeBirthday parties+12 more

National Trust Shugborough Estate

Stafford

A working farm with Longhorn cows and Dorking chickens, a grand mansion, and acres of parkland to wander at Shugborough Estate.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingCafé+8 more

nook gallery ltd

Birmingham

A small contemporary art and craft gallery with changing exhibitions, film screenings and workshops in artist studios.

Oak House Museum

West Bromwich

A half-timbered Tudor and Stuart house with original 17th century rooms to poke round, plus a playground for afterwards.

Accessible toiletOutdoor playSchool visitsStep-free access+1 more

Pen Museum

Birmingham · ages 5+

Kids get to write with a quill, bash out words on an old typewriter and make their own pen nib on Victorian machinery.

Accessible toiletGroup bookingsSchool visitsStep-free access+1 more

Purple Gallery

Birmingham

A small Birmingham gallery of paintings, ceramics and jewellery, with a sculpture garden to wander round in summer.

Free parkingGift shop

RBSA Gallery

Birmingham

A city-centre gallery with changing contemporary art shows and workshops, and a lift to all three floors if you've got a buggy.

Accessible toiletWheelchair accessible

Rose Narrowboats Ltd

Rugby

Take the wheel of your own narrowboat for a weekend, a week or a whole season, or gather a group of up to twelve for a day out on the water.

Booking requiredGroup bookings

RSPB Sandwell Valley

Birmingham

Free reserve of meadows, lakes and woodland trails where kids can go wild-play spotting and get properly muddy.

Baby changeBlue badge parkingFree parkingOutdoor play+3 more

Selly Manor Museum

Birmingham

A timber-framed Tudor house where kids can try on armour, dress up and poke about a real medieval garden.

Toilets

Seventh Circle - Artworks & Aesthetics Ltd

Birmingham

Free contemporary art gallery with hands-on workshops like making your own ceramic pumpkins or trying watercolours.

Free parking

Snibston Colliery

Coalville

Former-miner surface tours plus the Into the Dark coalface simulation - no real underground, but a proper Leicestershire pit day out.

ParkingBlue badge parkingEV chargingCafé+7 more

Stafford Castle

Stafford

Free ruined castle grounds with a woodland loop path, a hidden mouse trail in the Ancient High House, and explorer backpacks to borrow.

Accessible toiletFree parkingFood on siteToilets+1 more

Stoneleigh Abbey

Kenilworth

A guided hour inside a historic abbey house, then parkland walks to wear the kids out afterwards.

Baby changeCaféFree parkingToilets

Stourbridge Glass Museum

Stourbridge · ages 4-17

Watch live glass making demonstrations, then let the kids design their own cameo glass on the digital screens.

Dog friendly

Stratford Town Walk - 365 days a year!

Stratford-upon-Avon

A guided walk through Stratford's Shakespeare sites, told in stories rather than plaques, running most afternoons.

Booking required

Tamworth Castle

Tamworth · ages 2-16

Climb 900 years of chambers and stairs, from Saxons to Victorians, in a proper working castle right by the town centre.

Toilets

The Exchange

Birmingham

A free city centre exhibition space with step-free access, a proper café and long opening hours to build a day around.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesDog friendly+3 more

The National Motorcycle Museum

Solihull

Over a thousand restored motorcycles under one roof, with a guided tour if you want the highlights pointed out.

Card onlyGift shopGroup bookingsMembership scheme+3 more

The New Art Gallery Walsall

Walsall · ages 0-99

Free art gallery with drop-in workshops, sensory sessions for babies, and a Costa on site for when everyone's had enough culture.

Bike parkingCaféGift shopPublic transport nearby+1 more

The Staffordshire Regiment Museum

Lichfield

A regimental history museum in Lichfield with free parking and picnic space, open daily with last entry at 3pm.

Accessible toiletBaby changeDog friendlyFree parking+2 more

Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum

Birmingham · ages 0+

Play in MiniBrum, try 200+ hands-on science exhibits and watch a 4K planetarium show.

Birthday partiesCaféGift shopBaby change+8 more

Triumph Factory Visitor Experience

Hinckley

A free 90-minute tour round a working motorcycle factory, plus an exhibition on Triumph's history.

Booking requiredCafé

Tudor World

Stratford-upon-Avon · ages 0-16

A creaky old Tudor building packed with hands-on history, a quiz for the kids and, after dark, a proper ghost tour by lantern light.

Blue badge parkingDog friendlyFirst aidPublic transport nearby+2 more

Wall Roman Site

Lichfield

Free Roman ruins and a small museum on the edge of Lichfield, with a bathhouse footprint you can walk right up to.

Free parkingToilets

Warwick Castle

Warwick

Medieval castle day trip from Birmingham - Soft Play N.

Birthday partiesEV chargingGift shopGroup bookings+4 more

West Midlands Police Museum

Birmingham · ages 3+

Three floors of real police history to explore yourselves, with a handling collection and dress-up to try along the way.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+2 more

Witley Court & Gardens

Great Witley

Ruined mansion, huge fountains and a wilderness play area to climb through, all set in gardens you can wander for a couple of hours.

CaféGroup bookingsFood on siteParking+2 more

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Wolverhampton

Free family trails, an art-making space and a Pop Art play area to explore, with the Warhol show a small add-on cost for adults.

Blue badge parkingCaféPublic transport nearbyStep-free access+3 more

Wren's Nest

Dudley

Fossil hunting on free geological trails where you might spot the Dudley Bug on a guided walk.

Blue badge parkingPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible