Stafford?

wobblegobble

Anyone have suggestions for interesting places to visit in a 20 mile radius of Stafford? (stately homes, wildlife parks, museums etc) Happy to travel further out if there is something really nice otherwise we will just spend the day in Stafford itself.

Restaurant/pub recommendations in/near Stafford would be welcome too (have heard the Soup Kitchen is good)

mumof3plusoh

not sure if Shugborough hall is open and how far away. Check National Trust website.
HTH

bazza1603

Little further out - Go every year to see my gran .

Telford way there RAF Cosford Its free entry
Dayton Manor
Trentham gardens...with loads of Monkeys
Severn valley railway with links to Bridgnorth and the cliffe side railway
Hoo Farm with pony rides.

Good Luck

Barry

shebangs

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catlad

there a park im stafford near rail station the ancient high house if you dont mind going up big steps a big high st and in eccleshall there a few small shops

greenface

Who are you ??? have you got a age ? Can you find any children to take (maybe even children are going ) ??when are you thinking of going to stafford ?? I like to help but you have to play along here . Trentham Gardens covers most bases.

wobblegobble

Thanks for replies. Great suggestions and plenty to investigate further.

Knitting_Nora

Hi

Stafford resident until recently....so here's my tuppence worth:

If you're in Stafford itself (particularly the town centre) then the Soup Kitchen (just off the main high st) is THE place to eat in town as far as many of us are concerned - huge variety, good prices, lovely staff, and consistently good quality. Make sure you have dessert! Will say that it gets busy - not a problem once you've been seated as tables have pretty good space, but it does mean you may have to wait a little while.

There are also plenty of other places to eat in town though - inc the usual pizza express (useful for money saving vouchers etc); and The Swan if you're feeling flush. The town itself has quite a lot of history if you like that sort of thing? And I recommend a visit to the gallery on the market place - always something a bit different.

If you're parking in town, then head for one of the council-run carparks as these are quite a bit cheaper than the private ones, and there are plenty of them. While you're there (especially if you've been to the Soup Kitchen, as you'll be at the 'right end' of town), as someone has already said - walk across the road to Victoria Park (opposite the train station). It's free, and has the river running through it - lovely. It also houses a large aviary and a little palm house. Can get cold by the river this time of year though - so wrap up warm.

Shugborough is lovely (http://www.shugborough.org.uk/) but doesn't open until March for individual visitors.

Greenface is spot on with suggesting Trentham (gardens, shopping, monkey forest...) - there's a lot there, including nice places to eat (David's hasn't let me down yet), lovely gardens (though don't bother in the winter - you have to pay to go into them, and it's very bleak this time of year!), and the monkey forest is totally random, and quite expensive in my opinion, but worth seeing just once.

If you're heading out to Trentham from Stafford, then I fully recommend eating at the restaurant within Aston Marina near Stone - lovely. Of course, Stone is a really lovely canal town itself - worth a stop, especially on farmer's market day (first Sat of the month - Stafford town has the market on 2nd Sat every month).

Plenty more in the area - shout if you want more info.

Nora.