10 Best Things to Do in Staffordshire

Lud's Church is not a church at all, but a natural chasm nestled between 2 towering walls of moss-coloured stone that forms a part of British legend. It is said that notable and legendary figures from British folklore have visited this site, including Robin Hood and Sir Gawain, who was on his quest to battle the Green Knight. It's purported to be named for a secret Christian splinter group who used it as a meeting place in the middle ages. It's a truly fairy-tale atmosphere where you'll walk among deep shadows with dark green, ancient moss covering the entire forest walls and floor.

Drayton Manor Theme Park offers amusement park rides, games, food and a zoo to entertain the entire family. The park covers a vast stretch of land and hosts over 100 attractions and rides, including a zoo with indigenous and exotic animals. Rides include a 4-D theater, roller coasters, a carousel, drunken barrels, a flying dutchman ship, a haunted ride and more. Attractions include a crazy-golf course, the original set from Thomas the Tank Engine and a Dino Trail with animatronic lifelike dinosaurs.

Trentham Estate offers a contemporary revival of historic and famed Italian gardens, a shopping village and a range of outdoor adventures for the whole family. It's centrally located near Stoke-on-Trent and offers walking paths through brilliantly colored flowers. The Trentham Garden Shopping Village has a vast shopping mall and a wide variety of cafes, shops and restaurants to enjoy. You could also visit the Monkey Forest and Treetop Adventures neighborhoods, where you can spend time with Barbary macaques or take on rope nets and zipper lines for a thrilling adventure.

Doxey Pool is a mysterious pool in the Roaches that's rumored to be haunted by a mermaid called Jenny Greenteeth. The figure of Jenny Greenteeth is a scary figure in British folklore who is believed to travel between the pool and another, Blake Mere, via a subterranean passage that connects them. The truth is that Jenny is likely from the imagination of a woman named Florence Pettit, who claimed to see her in 1949. Regardless, the pool has a haunting atmosphere and is best known as the home of a colony of Bennett's wallabies, which have inhabited the region since World War II.

Shugborough Estate is a 17th-century stately mansion situated just on the edge of Cannock Chase with a museum, garden and farm. The home was originally owned by the Bishops of Lichfield, and then for 3 centuries by the Anson family, after which it passed into the hands of the National Trust. Today, it is open to the public and offers tours to view the staterooms and private apartments and their classic, traditional furnishings. Outside, you can walk the rolling green grounds of the adjacent park and the Shepherd's Monument folly, which some legends claim is the resting place of the Holy Grail.

The Trentham Monkey Forest is a unique local attraction where you can get up close and personal with 140 free-ranging Barbary macaques. These endangered creatures live just as they do in the wild, without cages or bars. You can also learn all about the efforts being made to conserve and rescue this species in the wild. Visitors are not permitted to touch or feed the monkeys, but they are all around you as you walk through the forest. The walk itself is short but includes information boards and knowledgeable guides to answer all your questions.

The Biddulph Grange Garden is a vast garden that's divided into a number of varied neighborhoods, each with a specific theme. Landscaped by the National Trust, the garden takes you on a journey from a traditional Chinese garden to an Egyptian-themed garden, from a western terrace to a classic Italian garden. You can walk through rhododendrons and visit a cherry orchard and much more. A popular section of the garden is the Glen, a long valley with gently sloped sides featuring native Scottish flora.

SnowDome is the place where you can enjoy all your favorite winter sports even in the summer, with indoor skiing, snowboarding, skating and more. This venue offers a wide range of attractions, including ski and snowboard lessons for beginners and a complete snow fun park. You can ride ice chutes on rafts, go sled riding and buy a lift pass for the mountain. The facility also offers a Santa's Winter Wonderland festival each year over the vacation season, where you can undertake the ultimate Christmas adventure alongside Santa and his elves.

The Queen's Chair is a natural throne hewn from a single boulder and positioned right at the edge of a cliff to provide a stunning natural view. The throne itself is something of a hidden gem, nestled deep within the Roaches, a windswept outcropping of rocks in the Peak District National Park. It was originally fashioned to honor a royal visitor, and a stone plaque reads 'Visited by the Prince and Princess of Teck on August 23rd, 1872'. Parking is available, but the climb can be tiring and tricky for inexperienced hikers. When you reach the summit, the haunting silence and panoramic cliffside view reward the journey.

Peak Wildlife Park in central England is a zoo with an array of wildlife from all over the world in naturalistic habitats. Originally called Blackbrook Zoological Park, the zoo holds native, exotic and endangered species that originate from 3 continents. Here, you can see penguins and lemurs, wallabies, meerkats, pygmy goats and other exotic animals. The zoo has an indoor play area for the kids to burn off some energy and hand-feed some of the animals. The onsite restaurant serves stone-baked Neapolitan pizza and beverages and offers vegan and gluten-free options.