Edgbaston, seen from Millenium Green

I badly codged this together on MS Paint sometime in January after going for a walk around Kings Norton and The Fields, Millenium Green. I found a gap in the trees and was quite shocked at how far I could see! I have highlighted a few key localities on the top photo, and the map at the bottom shows it is ~4 miles as the crow flies between the edge of the city boundary and the QE hospital. Not bad, eh!

Hawkesley Hall; King’s Norton

One day, I was doing a volunteering shift at Stirchley Stores with a rather nice man called Steve. We were talking about this blog and he asked if I knew anything about Hawkesley Hall. I said, I’ve never heard of it, which was true. Fast forward a few weeks to a day when I decided to go and find it, and I’m quite pleased that I have! There are no remains on the site, so if the signs weren’t here you’d have no idea. There are carved stone blocks with minimal information on, but to someone who doesn’t know, this area just looks like a patch of trees in the middle of an estate.

Hawkesley Hall is possibly the sister manor to Hawkesley House on Turves Green – the former being Little Hawkesley and the latter being Great Hawkesley. There is a chance that the former was the first home of the Hawkeslow family, and then they upgraded and moved to Turves Green. I wish I could claim to be a genius and know all this, but a lot of my information is from here and here.

There is a path around this site, and it supposedly follows the line of the moat. I like this idea; you can walk around the perimeter of the property before taking the path that would lead up to, and now through, the house.

It would be very interesting to know more about this – what the original house would’ve looked like, what the surrounding area would look like, how the Victorian house that was built on the same land would look like etc. I love peering into the past at old buildings and imagining how the world has changed so much in that one location!

Lime Tree Walk

To get to this location, you need to aim for the Hawkesley Estate. I walked up from the canal, but the 45 stops a 5 minute walk away, and the 35 and 27 also stop nearby. Once again, check out my brilliant Google Earth Map to find out more!

Local Explorer Walk – King’s Norton and West Heath

Based around Merecroft Pool, Wychall Reservoir and West Heath park.

I’ve wanted to find Merecroft Pool for a while, in order to blog about it, but then as I was getting ready to go for a walk, I found a Local Explorer Walks leaflet in my drawer, and I decided to follow the walk that has Merecroft Pool as its focus. I have already covered half of the walk in previous posts – it follows the River Rea route past Wychall Reservoir and behind Wychall Road – so this post may sound familiar if you’ve read the other ones!

I started this route at Merecroft Pool itself, near the entrance to King’s Norton Nature Reserve on Beaks Hill Road. As this route is circular, you can start it anywhere! See my brilliant Google Earth route map for more information.

As I walked this route fairly recently, I can vouch for the need for the walker to be wearing either sturdy waterproof boots, or sturdy wellies! Most of the route around the pool was more mud than not and some of it was a few inches deep. The rest of the route is either along tarmacked walkways or on public roads. It is not really suitable for cyclists, wheelchairs or buggies around the pool, but the rest of the walk is. The route is about 2 miles long.

Merecroft Pool is a former millpond, and this area used to be farmed. It is now built up, suburban Birmingham, and a few houses around the pool have direct access from their gardens to the pool. You can read some more of the history over on the Friends of King’s Norton Nature Reserve website.

I walked this route in an anti-clockwise direction, following the Google Earth map view above. 

The paths are narrow and very muddy! They are not tarmacked and there are lots of low branches.

The route continues over the road and round to the left, back towards Wychall Reservoir. The route here is on a proper road surface.

Continue past Wychall Reservoir.

When you leave the River Rea path, you need to head up Staple Lodge Road until you reach West Heath Park. There are paths in the park, though if it has been raining you might prefer to walk up Oddingley Road. Follow the route (it basically follows the line of Oddingley Road) through the park.

 If you do walk through the park, you will come to a set of steps. Follow these, and they will bring you out on Vardon Way.

Continue walking in a straight line, down some alleyways, and you will end up back at the pool!

There are a number of ways of getting here; the 47 goes past and stops near the field on Wychall Lane, as does the 49. King’s Norton railway station is nearby. There is no parking and no visitor facilities. Please take rubbish with you. I didn’t time how long the walk took me, but I walk fairly quickly. The leaflet suggests an hour.

Canal Walk; Tunnel Lane – King’s Norton Junction

This route starts at Lifford Lake, or it can be started from Lifford Lane. Follow the sign on a lamp post for the River Rea Heritage trail. When you get to Lifford Lake, follow the lane to the right. Follow it all the way round, you will go past some derelict warehouses and then end up on the canal tow path! Turning right takes you towards the guillotine lock; turning left takes you into unchartered territory… or up towards the Maypole.

This is a relatively short walk and the towpath is suitable for all types of users. There are often cyclists down here so be prepared to move aside. 

The Saracen’s Head, King’s Norton

The Saracen’s Head on King’s Norton Green is part of a medieval complex of buildings which includes the Old Grammar School. It was a winner on BBC’s ‘Restoration’ program in 2004 and is now known as St Nicholas Place.

It was built as a Tudor Merchants House in 1492, and in 1643 Queen Henrietta Maria of France may have stayed here during the Civil War on her way up to York. The Saracen’s Head is supposedly haunted by the ghost ofthe Queens maid, who caught influenza from the troops who were camped by the stream (the River Rea, near to The Camp pub).

The venue is now fully restored and can be hired out for events – I used to give blood here – and there is also a café, and I believe tours are available. There is a piece of original wattle and daub in the upstairs room too!

King’s Norton Green is part of the King’s Norton ConservationArea and there is also a monthly farmers market on the Green. This is quite a delightful little place to just sit and watch the world go by, or to explore, or to use a base for your next adventure! It is near to many locations I have already blogged about – the canal; Lifford Lake; the River Rea; King’s Norton Nature Reserve and hopefully soon many more!

Canal Walk – Mary Vale Rd to Lifford Lane

I like the canal system in Birmingham. I used to cycle along it quite often with my brother and father, from Northfield to Selly Oak and back. One day soon I hope to pluck up the courage (and get my wheels straightened) and then embark on a bike ride! But until then I shall make do with walking. This route took me from Bournville railway station in Stirchley to Lifford, where I left the towpath to go and find Lifford Lake.  The route continues towards King’s Norton junction along the Birmingham and Worcester Canal. This short stretch of canal featured on a BBC show, Canal Walks, with Juila Bradbury.

To get onto this part of the canal, I walked up Mary Vale Road from Stirchley high street (Pershore Road). The way onto the towpath is indicated with a purple arch; it also the way into platform 2 of the railway station. There is an information board about transport in Stirchley and the panels on the barrier also have etchings. When you get to the bottom of the ramp, turn back on yourself so you go under the bridge.

This is a nice walk, away from the hustle and bustle of Stirchley high street. I saw geese, ducks and a heron when I walked it. It is a relatively level route and is well surfaced. I encountered a few cyclists on my walk so be prepared to move aside! Fishing is not allowed down here due to the overhead wires for the trains and local power station.

There is a small bridge to cross, when you go under the next bridge which takes the Pershore Road over the canal. The bridge for the canal runs alongside and slightly below the main pedestrian bridge so you do not need to go onto the highway to cross the canal. There are some steps to allow access to the main road, or you can go down the slope and continue along the canal.

At Lifford Lane, I left the canal network. If you choose to carry on, the towpath (now on the other side of the canal) will take you down to the King’s Norton Junction, where the Stratford Upon Avon Canal joins. Turn left at the junction to see the guillotine lock, continue straight on to get to Wast Hills tunnel, or turn right to go through King’s Norton Park.

The above picture shows the underside of the bridge that carries Lifford Lane over the canal. This is where I left the towpath. The towpath continues on the other side towards King's Norton Junction, or you could leave here and find Lifford Lake.

Lifford Lake, King's Norton

A hidden gem! I found it on Google Earth, and then proceeded to hunt it out and find it. And boy, did I find it! This is another wondrous place – it is surrounded by industry (the Lifford household recycling centre is a stone’s throw away) and there are no signs from the road that make it obvious. I found my way there from Lifford Lane – take Tunnel Lane (signposted as the River Rea Heritage Trail), and Lifford Lake is straight up this road. There is a small car parking area, and then the following sign is visible:

The space opens out to reveal a large body of water – this was once a compensation lake for the nearby mill (which you passed as you walked up Tunnel Lane – this is now on private land, but you can see the buildings from the gate, as well as the sandstone folly). Lifford Lake was built in 1815 and is popular for fishing. I took a panoramic photo while I was there.

You can read more about Lifford here.

Pics taken by me, August 24th 2012. They are up on Flickr!

Thomas The Tank Engine

Not many people are aware of this, indeed, no one I know other than my family knows this, but Thomas the Tank Engine was born in King’s Norton in 1942. Yes, Thomas the little blue engine and all of his adventures were born from the mind of Reverend W Awdry to amuse his son, all while he was based at St Nicolas Church as a curate. It was originally called The Railway Series.

This isn’t really celebrated much, although I keep hearing whispers that this is all going to change soon! I saw some artwork on the railway bridge at King’s Norton the other day that also suggests this.

More pics from the railway bridge can be seen in the previous blog post, which in turn links to the Flickr page.

L x

King's Norton Railway Station Footbridge

My mom mentioned one of the ladies at her work had seen some art on the footbridge over the railway tracks. I went to have a look. Amazing!

One side (by Adeela Ahmad of King's Norton Girls)

The other side (by Oliver Blackburn of King's Norton Boys)

Pretty neat, huh? A brief history of King's Norton and the Cotteridge area in a highly eye-catching form. A few people walked across the bridge whilst I was taking these photos, and they just didn't seem to notice it - such a shame. I think it's brilliant!

More photos are up on Flickr. All pics taken by me, on July 17th. Click for bigger.

I highly suggest you all go and take a look! The bridge can be accessed from Station Road, either by The Camp pub on Camp Lane or from Middleton Hall Road, or from the railway station itself - the bridge is at the far end of the tracks, away from the ticket office. Cotteridge is easily accesible by buses - the 11A/C, 47, 45, 18 and the 49 all stop here. There are steps on either side of this bridge and no lift/ramp access.

A small write up can be read here.

L x

The Old Grammar School, King's Norton

The Old Grammar School in King’s Norton is another of those places that I knew about, and went to find, but never saw it (much like Ironbridge, but that’s a different story). I decided to go back and hunt it down, and have a proper look at it, instead of just reading about it.

What I found, tucked away behind Saint Nicolas Church in a corner of the graveyard, is a beautiful little building, two storeys high, brick built with stone detail around the doors and windows on the ground floor, and timber framework for the upstairs. According to this page on the University of Birmingham website, the brick part may have been underbuilt as it was tailored to fit the upstairs. It looks no bigger than a modern detached house, and it’s quite hard to imagine that this was once a school!

This delightful little building is part of Saint Nicolas Place on King’s Norton Green, and as a collective, this forms the “largest complex of medieval buildings in Birmingham”. The Saracen’s Head and the Old Grammar School date from the 15th century.

There is a notice board in front of the Grammar School, which doesn’t give much information but is better than nothing. I have of course over looked that this area won the BBC Restoration prize back in 2004.

The plaque above the door says, “Thomas Hall B.D. Schoolmaster, Preacher, Bibliophile taught here from 1629 to 1662. Birmingham Civic Society”.

I will write posts about the Saracen’s Head and King’s Norton Green separately and then add the links here.

This area is accessible to all. There are bins, and the Saracen's Head has a café and toilets. Parking is limited around the Green - but it is easily accessible by bus. More information can be read here. All pics were taken by me on June 9th 2012.

L x