IAU Symposium 256

Tourism

Trentham Monkey Forest - walk among 140 free-roaming Barbary monkeys in their beautiful forest. Watch them play, groom and nurture their babies without the confinement of a cage. This is fun for all ages, and presents fantastic photo opportunities! more info

Waterworld - not just a swimming pool! Located on festival Park, other things to do include an Odeon cinema, a marina with narrow-boats, shops and restaurants, and... more info

Stoke Ski Centre - ... a dry-slope ski paradise! more info

Gladstone Pottery Museum - Stoke-on-Trent is famous for its potteries. The Gladstone museum features a well-preserved factory with some of the few remaining bottle ovens, showing the work and lives of the factory workers. It also hosts a curious toilet gallery! more info

Wedgwood Visitor Centre - perhaps the most famous of all potteries is Wedgwood. Its visitor centre offers tours of the factory seeing all aspects of the process take place for real. You can even have a go at it yourself! It has shops (check also the "seconds" for great discounts!) and a restaurant. more info

Little Moreton Hall - magnificent Tudor-style timber-framed moated manor house, with delightful garden and ducks. (note: you can buy a combination ticket with Biddulph Grange Gardens) more info

Biddulph Grange Gardens - splendid Victorian garden bursting with colour and exotica. (note: you can buy a combination ticket with Little Moreton Hall) more info

Churnet Valley Steam Railway (and more!) - take a vintage steam locomotive journey through the Churnet Valley. This is not just for fans of trains: besides the trip back into Victorian times, there are stunning pre-Raphaelite windows in the St.Edwards church in Cheddleton, designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, a Flint Mill museum (free admission), a nature reserve, typical narrow boats that cruise the Caldon Canal, and some quintessentially British tea rooms. more info

Jodrell Bank Observatory - visit the 51-year old Lovell Telescope, with 76 metres diametre a truly awesome sight and one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world. more info

Alton Towers - enormous theme park. If you like this sort of thing, you mustn't miss it! more info

Peak District - Britain's first national park offers great opportunities for nature lovers and keen hikers. Why not rent a bicycle and enjoy the level cyclepaths, or hone your climbing skills on the rock cliffs and boulders. The pretty village of Castleton is set in a beautiful landscape, overlooked by the ruins of Peveril Castle, whilst Chatsworth House is a palace to impress. more info

Chester - the ancient town of Chester is one of the most interesting towns of Britain. The largely medieval walls follow the original roman layout, and roman remains such as the amphitheatre can still be seen. The town is also well known for its unique medieval rows of two-tiered timber-framed shops that line its pedestrian streets, and it boasts a castle and a large cathedral. Nearby are Chester Zoo and the Blue Planet Aquarium (see below). more info

Chester Zoo - one of the top zoos in the world, Chester Zoo hosts giraffes, elephants, a variety of big cats and monkeys, meerkats, amphibians, birds, and much more. more info

Blue Planet Aquarium - walk through a glass tunnel and be surrounded by sharks and manta rays. Marvel about the colourful world of tropical fish and coral and tiny frogs. more info

Shrewsbury and surroundings - the attractive medieval town of Shrewsbury is a pleasant place to wander around. Charles Darwin was born and educated here. Nearby are the roman ruins of Wroxeter. The surrounding hills are loft with idyllic priories and romantic abbeys, and the castles of Stokesay and Ludlow are not far to the South. more info

Llangollen and surroundings - the Welsh town of Llangollen has a rich history and plenty to see and do. A steep, but not very long hike up the neigbouring outcrop gets you to Castell Dinas Bran, the ruins of a medieval castle on the site of a prehistoric settlement, with spectacular views all around. Few places beat this one for a picnic! Not far from Llangollen, the ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey are extensive, inspiring and tremendously scenic. more info