We’ve spent a lot of time in wonderful Wolverhampton over the past few years, helping the city council to deliver regeneration projects such as Wolverhampton Interchange and Wolverhampton i9. 

Culture plays a huge role in the social and economic prosperity of a place and can help to define its unique identity. Whenever we are in town, we like to take a little time to visit the city centre and soak up all the cultural and leisure delights it has to offer.  Here is a trio of our current favourites.

The Grand Theatre

The Grand is a highly renowned venue, the pride of many Wulfrunians. With its intimate and Victorian inspired three-tiered auditorium, The Grand Theatre hosts a variety of touring productions from concerts to musicals and ballet.

We love our listed buildings and this one is no exception. Constructed in 1894, apparently it took just six months of building work to complete, which would be a staggering feat at any time, let alone the 19th Century. 

The Grand, like many theatres, has had a turbulent past and its fortunes have been intrinsically linked to the world around it, such as the advent of television, the toll of the second world war or the impact of recessions. Indeed, we had experience of this ourselves when we helped to restore and reopen the Liverpool Playhouse as part of our work on nearby Queen’s Square. 

It’s great, therefore, to see The Grand thriving once again. Possibly the strongest sign of its resurgence is the decision in recent years to return to producing its own shows inhouse, including pantomimes. Oh yes they did!

The Little Dessert Shop

We know there are a few of these excellent venues dotted around Wolverhampton and wider the Midlands (we’ve tried a few of those too!) but our favourite Little Dessert Shop is on Queen Street in the heart of the city centre.

From fluffy and delicate pancakes and waffles to moist and rich slices of cake, the little Dessert shop is a must-visit for us in Wolverhampton. Walking up to the entrance, with the smell of freshly baked waffles lingering in the air, we can’t wait to get inside and grab ourselves a private booth. 

With such a wide variety on offer, you might be hard pushed to choose just one dish, so why limit yourself?!

Essington Farm

This is one of our regular stop-offs on the way out of town during the spring and summer months. What could be better on a warm afternoon than driving through the countryside and calling into a farm shop for freshly picked fruit, vegetables and other free-range, homegrown produce? 

Essington Farm is an award-winning independent venue located just 15 minutes away from Wolverhampton City Centre. In addition to the fresh fruit and veg, it has a plant nursery, restaurant, deli and butchers.   

If you have time, you can even pick your own on its 50-acre site, bursting with crops from strawberries and gooseberries, to onions to leeks. You can also grab a fresh pumpkin in October! 

This is just a brief selection of our Wolverhampton highlights package, but we think even Steve Bull would struggle to score a better hattrick!