Cotteridge Park

Cotteridge Park is a place I’ve known about but only fully explored sometime this year. I was never sure of how to get there, which road I should go down, if it really was the park I could see from the train? Turns out it is the park I see from the train, it’s really easy to get to and I could quite happily wonder around it for a while.

Dear old Wiki tells me that the park is 22 acres in size and is one of the Victorian parks of the city. Didn’t know that. It also has a boulodrome and last year was awarded a Green Flag award!

I quite like this park because there are lots of boulders. I like boulders. I had to ask a couple of people if they would move so I could get a photo of the boulders. These boulders (this word looks silly now) are thought to be more glacial erratics! Lots of these scattered around the place. If all of the Cotteridge Park rocks are glacial erratics, that gives a total of 10 found so far, since I started the blog.

Every year there is a small free festival in Cotteridge Park, called CoCoMad. I went last year (it was very muddy) and it was BRILLIANT. A good day out despite the rain! There are stalls selling crafts and merch and food, a main stage and an acoustic tent area, a shopping trolley pageant and all sorts of other fun stuff.

Cotteridge has Anglo-Saxon roots and the name is first recorded in the early 1300s. There is quite an in-depth history written here which is worth a read if you want to know more!

Cotteridge Park is also on Twitter!

You can read more about it here and here.

More pics:

A pretty awesome willow tunnel!

River Rea; Cannon Hill Park - Cartland Road

This walk is a pleasant route from Cannon Hill Park back towards Cartland Road. There is the familiar route marker near the lake, and the path leads away past a play area and a small field. The river is on the right of this path. This section is tarmacked and very popular with cyclists.

Along the way, there are bridges over the river, and also small areas that look like old crossing points. It is possible to go to the waters edge but some of the bricks are worn so be careful!

The path branches off in a fork - going up the path on the left takes you to Moor Green and King's Heath. The path to the right takes you along the river towards Stirchley.

The road suddenly stops, and you need to cross a bridge to continue the walk. The river is now on your left, and there is open fields to your right. I never knew this was here, it was quite a surprise when I came across this sign! Another of the 150 or so mills used to stand on this site; Moor Green Mill was a blade sharpening mill, powered by the water from the river.

At Kitchener Road, you must leave the river and walk along the footpaths. This is a residential area and it is the main route, be aware of cars, cyclists, joggers etc. If you walk up this road, you will end up on the Pershore Road. If you take a left onto Cecil Road, you will come out at the end of Dogpool Lane (another mill stood here). Take a left, and cross the road. Just before Dads Lane Chippy, there is a path, and this is the River Rea route again.

The route now follows a simple path, also fully tarmacked, through to Cartland Road. You can continue your walk on the other side of the road or you can detour into Stirchley and visit their newest residents!

Heron :)

Lickey Hills Toposcope

The Lickey Hills Country Park is found approximately 10 miles to the south west of Birmingham City Centre. The land is wholly owned by Birmingham City Council but it isn’t actually in Birmingham! The Lickey Hills  are in fact in Bromsgrove, and the park was gifted to the people of Birmingham in the late 1800s.

The toposcope, which can be found at the top of Beacon Hill offers extensive views across Birmingham. At 975ft above sea level, you can see all the way to South Staffordshire Pennines in the north; Dudley to the northwest; Cannock Chase to the east and over to Birmingham Airport in the southeast. Behind the toposcope, now obscured by trees, you can see to the Cotswolds and sometimes into Wales. It’s a pretty humbling place to be, seeing the land stretching out for miles in all directions!

The Lickey Hills toposcope is quite elaborate, and resembles a small fort. I think the actual toposcope is the metal plate at the top of the fort, and the fort was just built to house it as a centenary celebration. If you can confirm or deny this, get in touch!

Some panorama pictures can be seen here. And here are a few photos I took while I was there a few weeks back:

I got the bus to the 47 terminus and then walked the rest of the way - it is about a mile and a half from the terminus to the beacon. I have doodled over a Google Earth screengrab to highlight key places. The 98 bus also goes up here (I made a booboo and put 92 on the picture); it stops near to The Old Hare and Hounds before turning off to head towards Rubery.

I have marked on BIG HILLS because I'm pretty certain they weren't that steep when I was younger. Good for the thighs though. There is a car park near to the beacon; it is on Monument Lane. There is also a car park at the golf course on Rose Hill, and at the visitor centre on Warren Lane. Bins are few and far between, please take rubbish with you, and please clean up after your dog!

The Lickey Hills are close to the hamlet of Lickey, which dates back to 1225.

Glacial Erratic in Cannon Hill Park

My mission to find all the glacial boulders continues!

I visited Cannon Hill Park last week with my family and may have quoted Donkey from Shrek as I walked past the boulder. This lump of rock used to have a fence around it, and also a notice board to say what it was. Neither of these are here any more!

You can read more about the boulder here and here. Do you have any memories of it? Let me know!

King's Norton Nature Reserve & Wychall Reservoir

This post (and route!) follows on from this one which ended at Popes Lane, KN.

This walk along the river takes you through the King’s Norton Nature Reserve, from Popes Lane, past Wychall Reservoir and up to King’s Norton Park. The start point (or, where I started the route from as a continuation of my river walk) is indicated by three signs. There is a body of water in this area, I’m not sure how deep/how full of weeds it is, but be wary of this and ensure children don’t go running off.

The route is well maintained and is flat and tarmacked, so is suitable for all users. There are benches along the way. The river Rea is on your right and the reservoir is up ahead on the left. Despite being quite close to a busy school, an estate and a main road, this parkland is really quiet and you can hear all sorts of birds. More often than not, I spot herons on the reservoir!

This is quite a brief walk, and when you reach a short access road, turn left and pick up the route through the park. When you get to an opening, with a choice of two routes, take the one on the right in this picture. This will lead you past an industrial site, towards The Camp pub and Westhill Road. I'm not entirely sure where the gate on the left leads to..!

There are not many bins along this route; please take rubbish and dog waste with you. There is no parking, or visitor centre facilities. This part of the route is accessible by foot and bike, and the bus route 47 is nearby!

Photos from my walk (taken by me on June 9th) are now up on the Flickr page!

A few more piccies:

Stirchley Park

A hidden gem in the hectic concrete jungle that is Stirchley!

I think I’ve always known about Stirchley Park, but I just referred to it as ‘the patch of land behind the Co-Op’, and it would seem, so do a lot of people!

This little patch of green is indeed tucked behind the Co-Op and the houses of Bond Street, but with the river (I think it is the Bourne) running through it, the artwork on the walls and the grass area, it’s a pleasant little place. Considering the proximity to the main route into town, the Pershore Road, it’s also really quiet; a perfect little hide-away park.

It has also has a twitter feed!

L x

Pictures were taken by me, June 25th. Click for bigger. Feel free to nick 'em, they are up on Flickr, or, visit and take your own!

There is no parking, unless you use the Co-Op car park. There are two main entrances to the park, I used Hazelwell Street, near the post box, but you can also enter at the corner of Bond St/Ribblesdale Rd.