20 Attractions to Explore Near National Trust - Downs Banks

This unique attraction lets visitors explore and learn about the lives of these fascinating primates, living just as they would in Morocco or Algeria. Monkey Forest is home to 140 free-ranging Barbary macaques, situated in an ancient Staffordshire forest. Trentham Monkey Forest is the perfect day out for all ages, where you can walk, watch and be amazed as the endangered monkeys live as they would in the wild.

Trentham Estate, in the village of Trentham, is a visitor attraction located on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. It is home to the award-winning Trentham Gardens featuring The Italian Garden by Tom Stuart-Smith, and the Floral Labyrinth and Rivers of Grass by Piet Oudolf and vast wildflower and woodland meadow plantings by Nigel Dunnet. At the centre of Trentham Gardens is the mile long, Capability Brown designed, Trentham Lake.

The Foxfield Railway is a preserved standard gauge line located south east of Stoke-on-Trent. The line was built in 1893 to serve the colliery at Dilhorne on the Cheadle Coalfield. It joined the North Staffordshire Railway line near Blythe Bridge. It is open at weekends and operates trains on Sundays, Bank Holidays and some Saturdays from April to October and Santa Special trains in December.

Brampton Museum's collection represents over 100 years of collecting. For the main part, the Collection is characterised by local scenes and artists alongside more regionally and nationally known artists. Being cheek by jowl with the Potteries our collection also includes some works by ceramic artists. Highlights include our Victorian Street scene, which allows you to take a step back in time as you discover the wares of Mellard’s the ironmongers, the treasures of the pawnbroker’s shop, the fasc

Brindley Farm is a historic home and farm located near Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The house, known as Crooked Billet, was built about 1750, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, five bay, stone structure, with later rear wings and a modern side porch. Also on the property are a contributing frame barn and carriage house, dated to 1807. The property has been owned by only two families since 1750, and the house once operated as an inn or tavern. The Du Pont family has owned the property since 1864.

Amerton Farm is situated in superb Staffordshire countryside and is easy to access by road and rail. Amerton Farmhouse dates from 1793, has log fires, oak beams and offers a friendly and comfortable family atmosphere for Bed & Breakfast. There is a guest lounge and dining room situated on the ground floor and the first floor of the house is used totally for Bed & Breakfast visitors.

The Amerton Railway is a 2ft gauge line, set in the rolling Staffordshire countryside, and situated at the very popular Amerton Working Farm. The Railway is home to the 1897 Bagnall-built saddle tank Isabel which became such a part of Stafford life on her plinth outside the main Stafford Station. It is owned by Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway Limited, a registered charity, and operated by volunteers.

The Ancient High House is one of the finest Tudor buildings in the country. Once dominating the skyline of Stafford, it is the largest remaining timber framed town house in England. The house was constructed in 1595 by the Dorrington family, from local oak, which anecdotally came from the nearby Doxey Wood, and is the largest timber framed town house in England.

Victoria Park is a Green Flag award winning park located on the banks of the River Sow in the heart of Stafford Town Centre. The park includes a large lake, tennis courts, children's play area and a Cenotaph which was erected in 1921 in memory of the Tipton men who fallen in the Great War. The names of the Second World War dead were added after that conflict ended in 1945.

The Apedale Heritage Centre was created at the site of Staffordshire's Apedale Mine and is run by volunteers. It is located just outside the village of Chesterton near Newcastle-under-Lyme in the Apedale Community Country Park. Attractions include mine tours and a museum which concentrates on the area's history, concentrating on industrial heritage. Opening times are 10:30 to 16:00 daily with the underground tours taking place at weekends and bank holidays.

The Apedale Valley Light Railway was officially opened in September 2010 by the Moseley Railway Trust. The railway normally operates a diesel service on every Saturday during its opening season, and the second weekend of every month is a Steam weekend.

.Apedale Community Country Park is a 454-acre country park in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The park offers a varied landscape of woodland, meadows, and pools crossed by many paths and tracks. Overlooking the park is a memorial in the form of a pit wheel dedicated to the mine workers of Staffordshire. This is the newest country park in Staffordshire in what was once a hive of industrial activity.

Stafford Castle is considered one of the best surviving examples of Norman earthworks in the country. It was originally built by Robert de Toeni, (later known as Robert of Stafford), in the Norman period, Stafford Castle has dominated the local skyline for over 900 years.A programme of archaeological excavations has gradually revealed many of its secrets. Visitors can follow an informative trail of interpretation panels to discover the castle's history.

The Dorothy Clive Garden is a charitable garden trust, set up by Colonel Harry Clive as a place of rest and continued horticultural education for the general public. Located in glorious countryside on the North Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire borders, the garden is both formal and informal, hosting a network of paths that invite the visitor to explore and discover the intimacy and tranquility of the garden.

The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, that operates along a part of the former North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley Line. Regular services travel between the two main stations at Cheddleton and Kingsley and Froghall . There is an intermediate station at Consall. Some trains also head beyond Cheddleton to Leek Brook Junction and on to Ipstones, but Ipstones station is not in use.

This majestic 12th-century abbey was home to 70 Cistercian monks at its peak. Although converted into a farm after its suppression in 1538, the remains are impressive, including towering fragments of its 13th-century church, infirmary, and 14th-century abbot's lodging. The church took over seven decades to build and was finished in 1254. It is one of the main pilgrimage centres and also a tourist attraction too.

The National Trust's Shugborough Estate, Staffordshire, incorporates a Georgian mansion house and walled garden. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about 5.8 miles east of Stafford and 4.7 miles from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the Dissolution of the Monasteries You can explore sweeping parkland, ancient woodland and a landscape peppered with monuments. See seasonal blooms in the formal gardens, or produce in the walled garden.

Cheddleton Flint Mill is a fine example of a water mill that ground flint for the pottery industry. The site features two water mills, a small museum, a period cottage, the canal and many other exhibits. The site is open to the public. There are actually two mills: one was purpose-built to grind flint for use in the pottery industry, and the other was converted to the same purpose from use as a corn-mill. The mill complex includes a miller's cottage, two flint kilns, a drying kiln and outbuil

Alton Castle is a Gothic-revival castle, on a hill above the Churnet Valley, in the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England. The site has been fortified since Saxon times, with the original castle dating from the 12th century. The current castle was constructed in the mid-19th century by John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, of nearby Alton Towers. Since 1967 the castle has been designated a Grade I listed building. It is also a scheduled ancient monument.

Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The prototype Dive Coaster model from Bolliger & Mabillard opened to the public on 14 March 1998 and was marketed as the "World's first vertical drop roller coaster". With a maximum speed of 68 mph, it is the third fastest roller coaster in the UK, behind Stealth at Thorpe Park and the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.