Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is known for its pop icons and musical entertainment being home to such stars as Beverley Knight, Robert Plant, and Goldie, the drum and bass guru. The city also houses many concert halls and theatres, and has some delightful places to visit for the whole family.

Bantock House and Park is located just a mile outside of the Wolverhampton City Centre, and was home to the Bantock family, a wealthy family in the early 1800's. The house has been completely restored to show what it was like to live as a wealthy family in the early 19th century. The first floor features a large display of locally made Art including Japanware, Enamels, Steel Jewellry and Locks. The museum as a whole has many hands-on interactive projects for the entire family to participate in. On the grounds, is Bantock Park, a 43 acre park which has a putting green, football pitches, nature trails and a children's playground for the kids to burn off some energy. The park encourages wildlife by allowing hedges untrimmed during certain times of the year; while it looks unplanned, quite the opposite is true. The park and house are open afternoons from 12PM to 4PM Tuesday through Sunday and entry is free.

If plays and theatrics are more your style, you'll want to drop by the Arena Theatre. The Arena Theatre is one of the West Midlands' longest established and most successful small- scale touring venues. Bright and bold in design, it embraces excellent front of house facilities and two exceptionally relaxing theatres with flexible performing spaces. This cozy theatre only seats 150 people, so every seat in the house is a good seat, and it is an outstanding theatre for visiting musical venues and plays. You feel as though you are right on stage with the singers or actors. Tickets are usually modestly priced resulting in a lot of value for your money.

Molineux stadium, used for football games, can hold 29,245 fans and has featured live music acts such as Bon Jovi, Sting and Phil Collins. It is also home to the Wolverhampton Wanderers and has hosted England Internationals.

If you enjoy horse racing, then the Wolverhampton Racecourse is worth a visit. Dunstall Park is Britain's first floodlit all weather racecourse allowing horserace fans to visit day and night throughout the year. You may also want to visit the Monmore Green Greyhound Stadium. It boasts a 170 seat, air-conditioned restaurant with a panoramic view of the racecourse. Gambling is permitted, and bars are on every floor.

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