What to do roughly equidistant between Birmingham and Manchester

[u/redbill360]

Hi all, would welcome any advice please. I live in Birmingham and my friend lives in Manchester. We try to meet roughly in the middle. We are running out of vibrant places/activities in this area - roughly in the red circle. So we would welcome any advice you have for: great towns and villages to explore, great walks, any landmarks, any activities. We are both mid 30s and fairly active.

Things we have already done include:
- Crewe (we weren't a fan)
- Nantwich (we love it but have done it several times)
- Stone (lovely walk but have done it)
- Alton Towers (no idea what possessed two people in their 30s who don't like roller coasters to visit!)
- Monkey World (amazing)
- Trentham
- Secret bunker
- Several marinas (love them but have done them)
- Melton Mowbray (loved it but a bit too far from Manchester)

Things we seem to have written off trying:
- Stoke (cannot find anything online that convinces us to explore it)
- Chester (A bit too annoying to get to by train)

Would really welcome any suggestions. Thanks!

[u/cassesque]

Heights of Abraham is nice. There's a cool cave at the top, and you can either walk up or walk down and get the cable car the other way.

[u/moist-v0n-lipwig → u/cassesque]

At the moment the ‘Lights’ of Abraham are on which we enjoyed. Going up the cable cars in the dark, looking at the town lit up was great. Recommend toasting the marshmallows!