Move over, Alison Hammond. There’s a new West Midlands icon in town - and it’s just been officially crowned the best tourist attraction in the country.
Each year, VisitEngland (our official tourism board) gives out Awards for Excellence, celebrating the best tourist-y bits the country has to offer. And, among the illustrious gongs up for grabs (think hotels, camping and holiday park of the year) is the big one: Large Visitor Attraction of the Year.
And, this year, the top spot didn’t go to a theme park, castle or royal residence. It went to… Dudley.
The Black Country Living Museum, to be precise. Set across 29 acres of open-air history, it brings 250 years of the West Midlands’ industrial past to life - all soot, steam, and the clang of metal on metal. You’ll wander down cobbled streets, pop into reconstructed pubs and shops, and meet characters from every era of the region’s history; experiencing first-hand its glow up from iron-clad powerhouse to postwar suburbia.
If you're one of those people who are never quite sure which bit the Black Country actually is: it’s the chunk of the West Midlands famous for fuelling the Industrial Revolution. Think furnaces, foundries and proper accents (all the more reason to pop along and learn something, frankly.)
Plus, the museum recently finished a massive £30 million redevelopment, its biggest since 1978. The new additions stretch the story into the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s - complete with postwar music, vintage tech and changing social attitudes.Classic. It’s also got a coal mine you can actually descend into, and (some say) the best fish and chips in the region. Because history tastes better battered.
Oh, and if it all looks familiar? That’s because this was a major filming location for Peaky Blinders. So yes, you can strut around in a flat cap pretending to be Tommy Shelby. Don’t act like you weren’t going to anyway.
Only 35 minutes from Birmingham, and with free daytime returns included in the ticket price, it’s no surprise the average visit lasts around five hours. Come for the heritage, stay for the haddock.
Time to stick it on the list, bab. And if you want more where that came from, have a look at our pick of the rest of the country’s best immersive living museums.
Need more reccs?
Long-haul travel is a lot of faff, we get it. So why not stay firmly within (or close to) the UK? If you fancy experiencing the British Isles’ next big tourist destination before everyone else, check out this beautiful and remote island. Or how about another VisitEngland winner, in the form of their newly-crowned best hotel in England?
Plus: Here’s our 15 best places to visit in the UK in 2025
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