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Parks & Gardens in Birmingham
Adderley Park, Aston Park, Babbs Mill Nature Reserve, Balaams Wood, Balsall Heath Park, Bartley Reservoir, Billesley Common, Birmingham Eco Park, Blakesley Hall Recreation Ground, Bourn Brook Walkway, Bournville Park, Brookvale Park, Burbury Brickworks River Walkway
Calthorpe Park, Cannon Hill Park, Civic Centre Gardens, Cofton Common, Cofton Park, Cotteridge Park, Daffodil Park, Dell, Digby Park, Dingles Recreation Ground, Edgbaston Reservoir, Farm Park, Fields Millennium Green, Fox Hollies Park
Gannow Manor POS, Georges Park, Gilbertstone Recreation Ground, Greet Mill Meadow, Grove Park, Handsworth Park, Harborne Nature Reserve, Harborne Walkway, Hawkesley Hall POS, Highbury Park, Highgate Park, Hill Hook Nature Reserve, Hodge Hill Common
John Morris Jones Walkway, Joys Wood, Kents Moat Recreation Ground, Kingfisher Country Park, Kings Heath Park, Kingstanding Beacon, Kings Norton Park, Lickey Hills Country Park, Manor Farm Park, Moonlit and Sunset Parks, Moseley Hall Park, Moseley Bog
Muntz Park, New Hall Valley Country Park, Norman Chamberlain Playing Fields, Perry Beeches Nature Reserve, Perry Common Recreation Ground, Perry Park, Perry Hall Park, Phillips Street Recreation Ground, Pitts Wood, Plantsbrook Nature Reserve
Pype Hayes Park, Queens Park, Queslett Nature Reserve, Quinton Meadows, Rectory Park, Rookery Park, Sarehole Recreation Ground, Selcroft/West Boulevard POS, Sorrell Park, St Georges Park, Salford Park, Sara Park, Scribers Lane, Selly Oak Park
Senneleys Park, Sheldon Country Park, Shire Country Park, Short Heath Park, Small Heath Park, Spark Green Park, Sparkhill Park, Stechford Hall Park, Summerfield Park, Sutton Park, Swanshurst Park, Tile Cross Park, Trittiford Mill Park, Turves Green POS
Victoria Common, Ward End Park, Waverhill Park, Weoley Castle Park, Witton Lakes Park, Woodgate Valley Country Park, Woodlands Park, Yardley Old Park
Adderley Park is a ten acre urban park in Saltley that was laid out in 1855 as the first public park in Birmingham by local landowner Charles Bowyer Adderley. It contains cricket nets, play areas, hard courts, meadows, landscaped walkways and tree clusters.
Adderley Park B8 1DU
Aston Park is a 63 acre urban park in the Aston area of north Birmingham that was originally part of the grounds of Aston Hall, an early Jacobean mansion built by Sir Thomas Holte in 1618-38.
The hall stands on a rise near the centre of the park, next to the formal gardens laid out by the Birmingham Civic Society in the 1920's.
The gardens, whose centrepiece is a fountain with a statue of Pan by William Bloye, follow the natural contours of the park, gently sloping downwards through a series of terraces flanked by lawns, towards Bevington Road on the western boundary.
The gradient is steeper on the northern boundary where the ground rapidly falls away towards Villa Park whilst the eastern boundary is flanked by the concrete stilts of the elevated Aston Expressway.
The park contains several grass pitches, children's play areas, toilets, a floodlit multi-purpose artificial pitch and a sports pavilion with kitchen, community room and changing rooms.
Both the park and hall form part of the Aston Conservation Area which also includes the Church of Saints Peter and Paul on Witton Lane.
Aston Park B6 6JD Aston Conservation Area
Babbs Mill Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
Babbs Mill Nature Reserve is a 9 acre green space at Tile Cross in the Cole Valley.
It contains a grade-two-listed timber-framed water mill (circa 1650), keepers cottage (circa 1750), mill pool and leats.
The surrounding landscape includes wetlands, meadows and woodlands.
Babb's Mill forms part of the Kingfisher Country Park that straddles the Cole Valley for seven miles between Small Heath and Chelmsley Wood.
Gressel Lane B33 9UJ Map
Balaams
Wood
(Top Menu)
Balaams Wood is a 7
acre semi-ancient woodland at New Frankley in the Rea Valley; it adjoins
the flood-balancing reservoir by Rubery Great Park.
Balsall Heath Park is a nine acre urban park that was created in 1900 by filling in a lake known as the Lady Pool.
The park contains a meadow, hard court, playground and landscaped pathways; most of its trees were destroyed by a freak tornado in July 2005.
Balsall Heath Park B12 8DQ
Bartley Reservoir is a drinking-water reservoir created in 1925-31 by damming a narrow river valley whose sides were levelled to form an embankment.
The resulting lake has a surface area of 125 acres and a sloping floor that is 5 feet deep at its east end and 60 feet deep at its west end.
The reservoir receives water via a covered aqueduct from the Elan Valley in central Wales. Gravel and concrete slabbing prevent water discolouration by red marl bedrock.
The reservoir is popular with birdwatchers and watersports enthusiasts.
Bartley Sailing Club is based there.
Billesley Commons is a 70 acre open space that contains a sports village consisting of the Billesley Tennis Centre, Moseley Rugby Club and a community sports centre at Swanshurst School.
The facilities include grass pitches, all-weather pitches, tennis courts and a fledgling rugby union stadium with a clubhouse and grandstand.
The southern tip of the park consists of scrub and natural heathland.
Birmingham Eco Park (Top Menu)
Birmingham Eco Park is a 3 acre allotment off Hob Moor Road in Small Heath that has been transformed into an educational wildlife garden.
It features ponds, woodlands, wildflower meadows, wheelchair-friendly pathways, wind, solar and water recycling systems. The park is operated by the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country and largely maintained by volunteers.
258a Hob Moor Road B10 9HH
Blakesley Hall Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Blakesley Hall Recreation Ground is a 4 acre playing field adjoining the Tudor half-timbered Blakesley Hall in Yardley.
The hall is screened from the recreation ground by a rear courtyard and wooded embankment.
Bourn Brook Walkway (Top Menu)
The Bourn Brook Walkway a 4 acre linear green space in Harborne that straddles the Bourn Brook for roughly three quarters of a mile as it drains eastwards into Selly Oak.
The walkway is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation and a Key Wildlife Corridor.
Bournville Park is an eight acre urban park that forms part of the Bournville Village Conservation Area. It was laid out by George Cadbury in the early 1900's.
The park contains copses, meadows, playgrounds, lawns and tennis courts. The Bourn Brook, a tributary of the River Rea, meanders through the meadows.
Bournville Park B30
Brookvale Park is a narrow belt of grassland and woodland adjoining a disused Victorian drinking water reservoir (circa 1890) in the Stockland Green area of Erdington.
The reservoir was created by damming two tributaries of the River Tame in order to flood a hollow on the west side of Gravelly Hill.
The reservoir, which possesses a small wooded island, was abandoned in the early 1900's after industrial pollution contaminated the local water supply; it subsequently became an open-air lido and is now a leisure amenity, popular with watersport enthusiasts.
A circular path runs round the lake and there are tennis courts, a bowling green and play area. The Brookvale and Sparkhill Sailing Club is based there.
A dead body was found in Brookvale Park on Tuesday 5th February 2010 (News Archive 05/02/10).
Park Road B23 0121 464 8728
Burbury Brickworks River Walkway (Top Menu)
The Burbury Brickworks River Walkway is a 12 acre linear green space at Sparkhill in the Cole Valley.
The walkway was once a clay quarry and brickworks but is now natural marshland populated by young oaks. It forms part of the Shire Country Park that straddles the Cole Valley for 3.75 miles from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Formans Road B11 3AX
Calthorpe Park is a 23 acre urban park in Balsall Heath that contains landscaped pathways, formal gardens, tree clusters, meadows, hard courts and play areas. A tapered extension at the north end straddles the banks of the River Rea which flows through the park.
A man was robbed of his Staffordshire Bull Terrier at knifepoint in Calthorpe Park on 28/08/09 (News Archive 28/02/10).
Cannon Hill Park is a linear green space that straddles the River Rea for 1.5 miles as it drains northwards from Selly Park through Moseley and the Calthorpe area of Edgbaston towards Digbeth.
The park is located on a flood plain and the river, which is canalised, spills over into two lakes and several smaller pools. The west bank is in Edgbaston and the east bank is in Moseley.
The eastern (Moseley) half of the park contains bowling greens, putting greens, tennis courts, the Sons of Rest Social Club, a Georgian stucco mansion called Cannon Hill House and a reassembled Tudor inn that once stood in Digbeth called the Golden Lion.
The western (Edgbaston) side of the park features the Midland Arts Centre, two playgrounds, a bowling pavilion, boathouse, toilets and car park.
The Birmingham Nature Centre is at the southern end of the park; beyond there, the east bank, which rises towards Cannon Hill, features playing fields, woodlands and meadows.
The Cannon Hill Park Ranger Service is based in the information centre at 2 Russell Road B13 8RD.
There is a small car park on Russell Road and a large car park on Edgbaston Road, opposite the Warwickshire Cricket Ground.
Guide Moseley Guide Calthorpe Map
Centre Park is a six acre urban park in Castle Vale that contains dedicated conservation areas, formal gardens, playgrounds, a multi-games area, an events space and meadow.
The park was created as part of the regeneration of the Castle Vale housing estate. It occupies the former site of the Core Eight residential tower blocks which were demolished in 2003.
Yatesbury Avenue B35 0121 464 8728
Civic Centre Gardens (Top Menu)
The Civic Centre Gardens are a 12 acre park located between Centenary Square and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the Westside area of central Birmingham.
The park provides a backdrop to four residential towers that overlook the Cambrian Wharf.
Cofton Common is a four acre remnant of ancient grazing land off Grovelly Lane in Longbridge.
Cofton Park comprises 75 acres of grass pitches, meadow, heath and woodland in Longbridge.
Cotteridge Park is a 22 acre green space with copses, hard courts, playgrounds, tennis courts, a community orchard, events space and skateboard park.
The CoCoMad music festival is held there in July.
Friends of Cotteridge Park Website
Daffodil Park is a 10 acre meadow on a flood plain in the Rea Valley in Northfield. It was donated for public use by the Birmingham Civic Society in 1920.
The Dell is a 5 acre woodland in the Sarehole area of Hall Green in the Cole Valley.
It forms part of the Shire Country Park that straddles the River Cole for 3.75 miles from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Digby Park is a four acre urban park in Small Heath that features lawns, meadows, landscaped paths, playgrounds and a tree-lined perimeter.
Dingles Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
The Dingles is a 6 acre recreation ground in the Cole Valley at Hall Green.
It forms part of a 3.75 mile linear green space, known as the Shire Country Park, that runs from Yardley Wood through Hall Green to Small Heath.
Edgbaston Reservoir (Top Menu)
Edgbaston Reservoir is a 90 acre open space in Ladywood that consists of a canal-feeder reservoir encircled by woodland, grassland and a gravel path.
The reservoir was created by Thomas Telford in 1824-29; he enlarged and deepened a pre-existing fish pond which he then filled by damming a small stream with a 330-metre earth embankment that has a maximum height of around 10 metres.
The resulting reservoir has a surface area of 80 acres and a maximum depth of 12 metres.
Water is released into the Icknield Port Loop of the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal by a winding gear which controls a sluice on the dam.
A second sluice releases water into the Engine Arm Branch of the same canal from where it can be pumped to the Smethwick Summit at the higher Wolverhampton Level.
The Birmingham Rowing Club, the Midland Sailing Club and a sea cadet centre are all based at the reservoir which contains a marked course for sailing and windsurfing events.
Farm Park is a 21 acre urban park in Sparkbrook that was formerly the grounds of a listed Georgian mansion (circa 1750) once owned by the Lloyd banking family.
The park, which occupies the former site of a mediaeval farm, contains tree clusters, landscaped pathways, meadows, hard courts and playgrounds.
Fields Millennium Green (Top Menu)
Fields Millennium Green is a seven acre public open space off Longdales Road in the Three Estates area of Kings Norton.
It is a surviving remnant of Lilycroft Farm which was developed for housing in the 1960's.
The area, which has been partially landscaped, contains wetlands, woodlands, wildflower meadows and an events field whose centrepiece is the Millennium Flower Sculpture.
Fox Hollies Park is a 40 acre green space in the Fox Hollies area of Acocks Green.
It was once the grounds of Fox Hollies Hall, a mid-Victorian Italianate mansion built by Zaccheus Walker III which was demolished in 1937.
The park contains meadows, wetlands, tree clusters, landscaped pathways, playgrounds, a fish pond and a section of the Westley Brook which meanders through the park.
Gannow Manor Public Open Space (Top Menu)
Gannow Manor Park in the New Frankley area of south-west Birmingham is the former site of a mediaeval moated manor that was once owned by Thomas Boleyn.
Little remains of the manor apart from the remnants of a grassed dry moat.
Georges Park is a 6 acre urban park in Lozells that was blighted by vandalism until restored by community volunteers in 2004. It contains a tree-lined meadow, sometimes used as a cricket pitch.
Gilbertstone Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Gilbertstone Recreation Ground is a 35 acre urban park in Yardley; it contains tennis courts, playing fields, playgrounds, tree clusters and the remnants of a medieval moat.
Greet Mill Meadow is five acre open space at Hall Green in the Cole Valley. It is roughly three quarters of a mile upstream from the former location of Greet Mill.
The meadow forms part of the linear Shire Country Park that straddles the River Cole for 3.75 miles from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Grove Park is a twelve acre open space that screens the Harborne Old Village Conservation Area.
It was once the grounds of the now-demolished Grove House: the former home of Thomas Attwood who became one of the first two MP's to represent Birmingham in 1832.
The park contains copses, meadows, a lake and an historic oak tree.
Harborne Old Village Conservation Area
Handsworth Park is a 63 acre urban park divided into two halves by the Handsworth Linking Line.
The western half, formerly the grounds of Grove House, was landscaped by Richard Hartland Vertegans in the 1880's and is characterised by tree-lined boulevards with broad vistas that hug the contours of grassy slopes.
This half contains sports pitches, an events arena, cricket pavilion, pond, bandstand and a formal sunken garden designed by the Birmingham Civic Society in the 1920's.
The eastern half, landscaped by Edwin Kenworthy in the 1890's, contains a boating lake and adjoins Saint Mary's churchyard.
The Park Ranger Service is based at Handsworth Leisure Centre on Holly Road.
Handsworth Park is the venue of the annual Sikh Vaisakhi festival.
Holly Road B20 2BY 0121 523 9624
Harborne Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
The Harborne Nature Reserve consists of 9 acres of disused allotments off Pereira Road in Harborne that are managed by the West Midland Bird Club.
The reserve is on the route of the Harborne Walkway.
West Midland Bird Club Website
The Harborne Walkway is a linear green space that follows the former route of the disused Harborne Railway for 1.5 miles from Summerfield Park to Moorpool.
Hawkesley Hall Public Open Space (Top Menu)
Hawkesley Hall Public Open Space is a ten acre wildlife habitat and designated archaeological site in the Three Estates area of Kings Norton.
It is the former site of Hawkesley Hall, a mediaeval moated long hall that was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops during the English Civil War and razed to the ground by Prince Rupert in 1645.
Highbury Park is an 80 acre urban park in the Moor Green/Kings Heath areas of Birmingham.
It was carved out of the Uffculme Estate, owned by the Cadbury family, and the neighbouring Highbury Estate, owned by the Chamberlain family.
The natural contours of the park slope southwards, from Highbury Hall on Yew Tree Road and the Uffculme Centre on Queensbridge Road, towards the Camp Hill Freight Railway which runs along its south-eastern boundary.
The park mainly consists of grassland populated by mature oaks and hawthorn hedges interspersed with scrub and imported tree clusters.
Woodland plants, such as dog's mercury, bluebell and pignut, ensure a colourful display during the spring.
The park features three pools and several exotic gardens including an Italianate shrubbery and Dutch Meadow.
The pools, which are inhabited by Mallard, Moorhen & Canadian Geese, attract breeding frogs and thriving insect populations with snails, flatworms, leeches & water boatmen found amidst the yellow flag, wood melick and water starwort.
The wooded areas are populated by jays and nuthatches; songbirds are often seen in the scrub and crows & magpies in the grassland.
Guide Moor Green Guide Kings Heath Map
Friends of Highbury Park Website
Highgate Park is an eight acre urban park that contains copses, lawns, formal gardens, an asphalt playground and vandalised statues of Edward VII and Thomas Attwood.
Historically, it was grazing land leased for the benefit of paupers under the terms of the Elizabeth Hollier Will Trust (1790). The land was purchased by Birmingham Corporation in 1875.
Hill Hook Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
Hill Hook Nature Reserve is a 17 acre green space in the Hill Hook area of Four Oaks.
The reserve contains meadows, woodlands, wetlands and a millpond (circa 1750) that was created by damming a stream in order to power a corn mill which was demolished in 1976.
Hill Hook Nature Reserve Website
Hodge Hill Common is a 20 acre remnant of common grazing land that was left as a public open space when Hodge Hill was developed as a residential suburb in the 1930's.
Burial mounds, earthworks and standing stones were recorded on Hodge Hill Common in the 19th century, but little of archaeological interest has survived.
John Morris Jones Walkway (Top Menu)
The John Morris Jones Walkway is a riverside path at Hall Green in the Cole Valley.
The walkway, which is named after a local schoolteacher and historian, passes through several historic sites on the River Cole including Sarehole Mill.
It forms part of the Shire Country Park which straddles the Cole Valley for 3.75 miles from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Joys Wood is a nine acre woodland at Springfield in the Cole Valley.
The wood, which is named after Joy Fifer who campaigned for its preservation, adjoins the Moseley Bog, a drained millpond that was once a secondary source of power for Sarehole Mill.
The wood was declared a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation in 1992.
It forms part of the Shire Country Park; a linear green space that runs for 3.75 miles through the Cole Valley from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Kents Moat Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Kents Moat Recreation Ground is a 10 acre open space off the Meadway in the Lea Hall area of Kitts Green.
It contains playgrounds, hard courts, grass meadows, and two residential tower blocks, the sole survivors of a seven-block cluster, five of which have been demolished.
The two remaining towers, Donnington House and Kents House, have been scheduled for demolition.
The recreation ground is named after a moated mediaeval manor house granted to the Earl of Kent by Henry VII in 1489.
The manor has completely disappeared and there are few remaining traces of the moat.
Kingfisher Country Park (Top Menu)
The Kingfisher Country Park is a seven mile chain of open spaces in the Cole Valley that creates a green corridor between the A45 Coventry Road in Small Heath and the M6 in Chelmsley Wood.
The landscape mainly consists of scrub, ponds, wetland, coarse grassland and ancient woodland; it includes Shard End Lake, Babbs Mill Nature Reserve, Yorks Wood, and the Cole Hall Recreation Ground.
The park is named after the kingfishers that feed on the Cole. Herons, water voles, mink and otter are also seen on the river.
Ponds have been dug in wetland at Shard End to provide habitats for toads, frogs, newts, dragonflies & water boatmen. Skylarks breed in the surrounding grassland and teals & widgeons are winter visitors.
The River Cole crosses the city boundary at Kingshurst and so only part of the park is located in Birmingham.
The Park Ranger Service is based at the Sports Pavilion on Kenrick Avenue in Shard End.
Kenrick Avenue B34 7SA 0121 748 3798
Kings Heath Park is a 35 acre urban park flanked to the south by King Edward Camp Hill School, to the west by the Camp Hill Freight Railway and to the north by Avenue Road. The main entrance is on Vicarage Road on the eastern boundary.
The park was formerly the grounds of a mansion once owned by John Cartland, a wealthy industrialist and grandfather of romantic novelist Dame Barbara Cartland.
This mansion now contains a horticultural training school and Victorian-style tearoom.
The park features formal & demonstration gardens, a bowling green, a lake, a multi-use games area, tennis courts, children's & toddlers playgrounds and public toilets.
There are car parks at both the Vicarage Road & Avenue Road entrances.
The demonstration gardens include a TV Garden where the BBC has filmed Gardener's World since 1996. The National Rose Trials are also held there.
In April 2010, vandals painted swastikas on trees and signposts in Kings Heath Park (News Archive 27/04/10).
Vicarage Road B14 7TQ 0121 444 2848
Kingstanding Beacon (Top Menu)
Kingstanding Beacon is a 5 acre open space off Hever Avenue in Kingstanding.
It is located on high ground with panoramic views of Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield and features pathways, lawns and wooded areas.
Kings Norton Park is a 25 acre green space carved out of open countryside by the Birmingham Civic Society in the 1920's and landscaped to provide a backdrop to St Nicholas' Church.
The park contains meadows, tree clusters, landscaped pathways, formal gardens, hard courts and children's playgrounds.
Lickey Hills Country Park (Top Menu)
The Lickey Hills Country Park is a 524 acre green space on the fringes of Rednal in south-west Birmingham.
It includes Beacon Hill, Rose Hill, Rednal Hill, Bilberry Hill, Cofton Hill, Lickey Warren and Pinfield Wood.
The park was created by the Birmingham Society for the Preservation of Open Spaces whose members included a local landowner, the Earl of Plymouth, and George Cadbury who donated Rose Hill.
The park contains woodlands, wetlands, meadows, a pond, sculpture trail, golf course, bowling green, putting green, tennis courts and an obelisk folly off Monument Lane dedicated to the 6th Earl of Plymouth.
The trees are mainly spruce and pine with a deciduous patchwork on the lower slopes. They provide a habitat for woodland insects, wood pigeons, adders, lizards and grey squirrels.
Rabbits are abundant on the hills and coot, moorhen, swans, mallard and Canadian geese populate the open water.
The park contains over 400 species of flowering plants, 30 types of mosses and 17 fern varieties. It is visited by numerous bird species including blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, fieldfare, redwing, robins, willow warblers and tree pipits.
The hills command spectacular views of Birmingham and the surrounding countryside. There is a viewing platform and toposcope on the summit of Beacon Hill.
The main entrance, car park and visitor centre are on Warren Lane.
There is a second car park at Monument Lane on Beacon Hill and a third on Rose Hill, next to the golf course, bowling green and the Old Rose and Crown.
Warren Lane B45 8ER 0121 447 7106
Manor Farm Park is a 50 acre green space in Northfield that was formerly the grounds of a listed Georgian mansion owned by the Cadbury family.
The park contains meadows, woodlands, wetlands, nature trails, play areas, a wildlife corridor, a lake created by damming Griffins Brook, and a wooden barn that was built in 1894 as a picnic area for visiting schoolchildren.
The park was bequeathed to the city of Birmingham by Dame Elizabeth Cadbury in 1951.
Moonlit and Sunset Park (Top Menu)
The Moonlit and Sunset Parks are a pair of green spaces on the former Lee Bank housing estate, now known as Park Central, in the Attwood Green Quarter of central Birmingham.
The parks, which cover a total area of 8 acres, were created to reduce housing density and form the centrepiece of the regenerated estate.
Moonlit Park features a playground and wildflower meadow. Sunset contains an events amphitheatre, stone terraced seating and a sculptural display entitled Sky Mirror.
Moseley Hall Park was formerly the grounds of Moseley Hall, a mediaeval manor rebuilt by button manufacturer John Taylor in 1796.
He employed Humphrey Repton to landscape the grounds whose natural contours slope north-westwards from Moseley Hall towards the River Rea and Cannon Hill Park.
After Richard Cadbury purchased the hall in 1884, it was donated to the city as a children's hospital and the grounds were developed for superior residential housing.
However, after Salisbury Road was laid out in 1897, the remaining grounds on the northern side of the road, which contain an 18th century ice house and 3.5-acre pool, were purchased by a consortium and transferred to a trust company as a private park.
The park is still privately owned and its gates are kept locked. However, a key can be obtained on payment of a deposit and an annual membership fee of around £35.
The Moseley Bog is a three acre drained millpond at Springfield in the Cole Valley. It once provided a secondary power source for Sarehole Mill, but is now a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
The Coldbath Brook drains through the bog as an open stream but is culverted on either side.
The site contains prehistoric burnt mounds and is flanked by a 9 acre remnant of ancient woodland known as Joys Wood. It forms part of the linear Shire Country Park that straddles the Cole Valley from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Muntz Park is a 5 acre urban park in Selly Oak that contains formal gardens, landscaped pathways, copses, meadows and a playground.
The park is named after Frederic Muntz, a Lithuanian immigrant who financed the production of the first perforated stamps, invented a metal alloy that reinforced wooden ship hulls, and was elected as an MP for Birmingham in 1840.
His grandson donated the land, then open countryside, for use as a public park in 1905.
New Hall Valley Country Park (Top Menu)
New Hall Valley Country Park is a 198 acre belt of meadow, wetland and former arable land that straddles Plants Brook for one mile as it drains southwards from Ebrook Road in Sutton Coldfield Town towards Penns Hall and Walmley Golf Club.
The park contains two playgrounds, a picnic area, a network of cycle and walking paths and a working 18th century water mill. It forms part of a green corridor that runs almost continuously from Streetly to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal in Castle Vale.
Many areas of the park, which is rich in plant and wildlife, are listed as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation. Plants Brook, for example, contains trout and water voles; kingfishers and grey herons are often seen on its banks.
Birds of prey, including buzzards & sparrow hawks, visit the valley and the meadows & wetlands feature wildflowers such as Black Knapweed, Ragged Robin & Yellow Rattle.
The main entrance and car park are on Wylde Green Road.
Wylde Green Road B76 1QT
New Hall Valley Country Park Website Map
Norman Chamberlain Playing Fields (Top Menu)
The Norman Chamberlain Playing Fields are a 40 acre recreation ground in Shard End with pitches, playgrounds, heathland and a flooded gravel pit known as Shard End Lake.
The fields form part of the linear Kingfisher Country Park that straddles the Cole Valley for roughly 7 miles between Small Heath and Chelmsley Wood.
A woman in her early thirties was punched and sexually assaulted on these fields at approximately 10pm on Wednesday 6th January 2010 (News Archive 08/01/10).
Perry Beeches Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
Perry Beeches Nature Reserve is a four acre area woodland flanked by the M6 and the Sandy Lane Driving Range that has been designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
Perry Common Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Perry Common Recreation Ground , also known as Dovedale Park, is a 35 acre open space in Wyrley Birch. It contains playing fields, multi-games areas and sports pitches.
Perry Hall Park is an 80 acre green space that was once the grounds of Perry Hall, a former ancestral home of the Gough family; the hall has been demolished but its moat has survived.
The River Tame, which meanders through the park, provides wildlife habitats; the park also contains a heronry and 13 playing fields.
Perry Park is a 90 acre green space bounded by the M6 to the east, Perry Barr Crematorium to the west and the Tame Valley Canal to the north.
The park contains the Alexander Stadium, the High Performance Sports Centre, the Holford Playing Fields, the Aston Manor Cricket Ground and the canal-feeder Perry Reservoir.
Major events such as the Birmingham International Carnival and the Radio One Big Weekend are held there.
Phillips Street Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Phillips Street Recreation Ground is a 12 acre urban park in Newtown that contains mature and semi-mature trees and a children's playground.
Pitts Wood is a two acre area of ancient deciduous woodland off Overdale Road in Quinton. It is owned by Woodhouse Primary School and managed by the Education Authority.
Plantsbrook Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
Plantsbrook Nature Reserves is a 26 acre belt of woodland, wetland, meadow and open water in Walmley.
It forms part of a fragmented green corridor that straddles Plants Brook as it drains southwards from Reddicap Heath through Walmley towards Pype Hayes.
The reserve contains a car park and visitor centre off Eachelhurst Road, opposite Pype Hayes Park.
The area is rich in plant and wildlife; there is a network of paths and boardwalks; the Ranger Service organises walks and other activities.
Eachelhurst Road B24 0NX 0121 351 7007
Pype Hayes Park is a 110 acre green space with formal gardens, playgrounds, playing fields, meadows, copses, tree clusters, hard courts, tennis courts, landscaped walkways, a bowling green and fishpond.
The park was formerly the grounds of Pype Hayes Hall, a Georgian mansion with Victorian additions.
The hall, which has survived as council offices, was once the ancestral home of the Bagot family who sold the Pype Hayes estate to Birmingham City Council in 1920.
Queens Park is a 6 acre urban park off Court Oak Road in Harborne.
The park contains formal flower beds, mature wooded areas, a bowling green and tennis courts; it is flanked by a 1.5 mile tree-lined perimeter walkway.
Queslett Nature Reserve (Top Menu)
Queslett Nature Reserve is a 70 acre green space that was formerly a quarry and landfill site.
The main entrance is on high ground off the Queslett Road from where the ground slopes steeply towards a four acre lake.
The reserve attracts herons, buzzards and other rare bird species despite being blighted by litter and vandalism.
Friends of Queslett Nature Reserve
Quinton Meadows is an 8 acre local nature reserve flanked by the M5 to the west and the Quinton Expressway (A456) to the east.
Part of the meadow has been sold by the council and is now a trading estate.
Rectory Park is a 70 acre green space in Sutton Coldfield Town that contains copses, meadows, sports pitches and a playground.
The park was formerly the grounds of a rectory that was demolished in 1936. Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club has been based there since 1847.
Guide Sutton Coldfield Town Map
Rookery Park is a 10 acre urban park off the Kingsbury Road in Erdington.
It was formerly the grounds of Rookery House (circa 1727), a grade II listed mansion built for Abraham Spooner, a local ironmaster, whose granddaughter married William Wilberforce.
The house served as Erdington Town Hall between 1894 and 1911.
The park contains a formal sunken Italian garden, sports pitches, dressing rooms, tennis courts, mature woodland, grassland and play areas.
Sarehole Recreation Ground (Top Menu)
Sarehole Recreation Ground is a 6 acre tree-lined meadow in Hall Green that adjoins Sarehole Mill on Cole Bank Road.
It forms part of the linear Shire Country Park that straddles the Cole Valley for 3.75 miles between Yardley Wood and Small Heath.
Selcroft/West Boulevard POS (Top Menu)
Selcroft/West Boulevard Public Open Space is a 4 acre park with a play area in Harborne; it provides a setting for 4 residential towers: Netley House, Stonleigh House, Tintern House, and St Albans House.
Sorrell Park is a 6 acre urban park in the Pype Hayes area of Erdington that contains landscaped walkways, playing fields and a children's playground.
The park is overlooked by Sorrell House, the only residential tower still standing in Pype Hayes.
Saint Georges Park is a 10 acre urban park in Newtown with tree-lined walkways, copses, a wildflower meadow and playground; it provides a setting for four residential towers.
Salford Park is an 18 acre urban park with tennis courts, 5-a-side football pitches, wetlands and a disused drinking-water reservoir (circa 1890).
A velodrome with a running tack, known as Salford Stadium, was built there in 1951 and demolished in the year 2000. The park provides a backdrop to Spaghetti Junction.
Sara Park is a 5 acre urban park in Small Heath that contains meadows, tree clusters, hard courts, playgrounds and landscaped pathways.
It provides a backdrop to the 57 metre Pritchett Tower (1971) which forms part of the Saint Andrews housing estate.
Scribers Lane is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation; it consists of broad-leaved woodland, a wetland scrape and disused millrace next to the Trittiford Mill Pool at Yardley Wood in the Cole Valley.
The site forms part of the linear Shire Country Park that straddles the River Cole from Yardley Wood to Small Heath.
Senneleys Park is a 65 acre open space in Bartley Green that contains copses, meadows, scrubland, pitches, playgrounds, landscaped walkways, formal gardens and an ornamental pond.
Selly Oak Park is a 25 acre urban park that features meadows, tree clusters, wetlands, playgrounds, the drained channel of the Lapal Canal, and a tree stump that is supposedly the original Selly oak.
Sheldon Country Park (Top Menu)
Sheldon Country Park is a 300 acre belt of mature and newly-planted woodland, wetland and meadow that runs for roughly 1.2 miles from Saint Giles Church on its south-west boundary to Birmingham Airport and the West Coast Mainline on its north-east boundary.
The Westley Brook, which has been fenced & canalised, runs through the park which is flanked to the south by the Hatchford Brook Golf Club.
The terrain is relatively flat and wide pathways have been created, including one hard-surfaced wheelchair-friendly track. A new woodland was created for the millennium and includes five memorial ash trees planted by the Council of Sikh Gurdwara.
A 2km walking route and the East Birmingham Cycle Route run through the park which also contains a demonstration farm, the Old Rectory, that specialises in traditional agricultural methods.
Guided tours, rambles and craft displays are organised by the Park Rangers who are based at the visitor centre on Ragley Drive, next to the main car park.
Ragley Drive B26 3TU 0121 742 0226
The Shire Country Park is a collection of open spaces in the Cole Valley which collectively form a green corridor that runs for 3.75 miles from the confluence of the Cole and Chinn Brook in Yardley Wood to the A45 at Small Heath.
The landscape mainly consists of woodland, wetland, heathland and meadows and includes Joys Wood, the Moseley Bog, Sarehole Mill, the Trittiford Mill Pond, the John Morris Jones Walkway, the Dingles, the Burbury Brickworks, the Chinn Brook Recreation Ground and Scribers Lane.
Kingfishers, sparrow hawks and woodpeckers are often seen in the Cole Valley whilst warblers visit in summer and redwings & fieldfares in winter. Foxes, bats and water voles are also a common sight.
The park is named after the "Shire", the fictional home of the Hobbits in "Lord of the Rings" whose author J.R.Tolkien lived on Wake Green Road in Moseley as a child.
Short Heath Park is an 8 acre urban park with meadows, landscaped pathways and playing fields; it is bordered by a perimeter of mature trees.
Small Heath Park is a 70 acre urban park that contains copses, meadows, pitches, playgrounds, a boating lake and fish pond.
Five teenagers were struck by lightening at the park in June 2009; one subsequently died of his injuries.
Spark Green Park is a 5 acre urban park in Sparkbrook; it is the sole surviving remnant of Spark Green Common and contains landscaped pathways, meadows, tree clusters, hard courts and a playground.
Sparkhill Park is a 40 acre green space with grass pitches, hard courts, play areas, leafy avenues and tree clusters. Many paths are unlit and the park is blighted by vandalism.
Stechford Hall Park (Top Menu)
Stechford Hall Park is a 40 acre urban park that was once the grounds of Stechford Hall, a long-demolished mid-Victorian mansion.
The park contains tree clusters, play areas and grassy meadows.
Summerfield Park is a 40 acre open space in the Rotton Park area of Edgbaston with landscaped paths, tree clusters, meadows, formal gardens, tennis courts, pitches, playgrounds, a disused railway, a drinking fountain and an Edwardian bandstand. The Summerfield Festival is held there in August.
The park, which opened in 1876, was once the grounds of Summerfield House, a Georgian mansion owned by glass manufacturer Lucas Chance that was demolished in 1889.
Sutton Park, the largest open space in Birmingham, is a former royal deer park that was gifted to the people of Sutton Coldfield by Henry VIII in 1528.
It is now a national nature reserve consisting of 3.5 square miles of woodland, wetland, marsh, meadow and heathland.
The park contains six lakes, two golf courses, two playgrounds, two pub/restaurants, a donkey sanctuary, a visitors centre, a funfair, free gazing cattle & ponies, the remains of a Roman Road, and the Sutton Park Freight Railway.
This website contains a separate page dedicated to Sutton Park
Swanshurst Park was common grazing land until the 1950's when the surrounding area was developed. It contains wooded areas, two pools and a playground. The north side has reverted to heathland.
Tile Cross Park is a 30 acre suburban park with heathland, meadows, copses, formal gardens and landscaped pathways.
Trittiford Mill Park (Top Menu)
Trittiford Mill Park in Yardley Wood is a Victorian park with ornamental gardens, wetlands and a long narrow mill pool that measures roughly 500 metres by 30 metres.
The pool was created through the excavation of a natural hollow into which water was channelled via leats cut from the Chinn Brook and River Cole.
The pool, which powered a corn mill that has long since disappeared, provides a habitat for coots, swans and great-crested grebes; bats are often seen there in the summer.
The pool is bridged by Scribers Lane, next to a Site of Interest for Nature Conservation that consists of broad-leaved woodland, a wetland scrape and disused millrace.
Watervoles, water rail and even the odd otter have been seen in the vicinity.
The park and pool form part of the Shire Country Park: a six kilometre green corridor that straddles the River Cole as it drains north-eastwards from Yardley Wood towards Small Heath.
Turves Green Public Open Space (Top Menu)
Turves Green Public Open Space comprises 7 acres of parkland that provides a setting for five residential towers and an estate of detached and semi-detached houses.
Victoria Common is a 20 urban park off the Bristol Road South in Northfield. It features landscaped pathways, meadows, formal gardens, play areas, sports pitches and tennis courts.
Ward End Park is a 50 acre urban park that was formerly the grounds of Ward End House (circa 1759) which has been preserved as a community centre.
The park is bisected by the Stechford Freight Railway; it contains copses, meadows, pitches, playgrounds, landscaped walkways, formal gardens, a multi-games area and lake.
Waverhill Park is a two acre landscaped garden with Arabic street furniture off the Soho Road in Handsworth.
Weoley Castle Park is a two acre field that contains the ruins of a mediaeval moated manor.
The Witton Lakes are a pair of disused Victorian drinking-water reservoirs in Stockland Green that were created by damming two tributaries of the River Tame that drain southwards from Bleak Hill and Kingstanding towards Witton.
The lakes are now a leisure facility encircled by a network of paths and divided from each other by a mound with a bridge across a connecting channel.
The lower lake is a nature reserve whilst the upper is used by model boat enthusiasts.
The surrounding parkland, which mainly consists of tree-lined grassy slopes, is bisected by the north Birmingham cycle route.
There are reeds and aquatic plants on the banks and plenty of geese, ducks & gulls. Herons sometimes visit the lakes which contain bream and carp. However, fishing is no longer permitted.
The main entrance is via Gypsy Lane where there is a free car park.
Woodgate Valley Country Park (Top Menu)
Woodgate Valley Country Park is a 482 acre belt of meadow and wooded slopes that serves as a green lung between the urban areas of Quinton to the north and Bartley Green to the south.
The park contains over 50 species of plants, 80 bird species and numerous types of butterfly. The meadows feature colourful wildflowers in the spring and summer.
There is a visitor centre on Clapgate Lane on the south-east side of the park with a cafe, toilets, school facilities and sports changing rooms. The centre adjoins a demonstration wildflower meadow, an insect garden, play and picnic areas.
There is also an urban farm on Clapgate Lane and a pony trekking centre at Hole Farm on Watery Lane.
The Bourn Brook drains through the park from the Quinton Expressway towards Harborne.
Clapgate Lane B32 3DS 0121 421 7575
Woodlands is a landscaped six acre park in Bournville with scrub, copses, meadows, tree-lined pathways and a children's playground.
Yardley Old Park is a 30 acre green space with hard courts, playgrounds, playing fields, copses, meadows and landscaped walkways.
The park provides a backdrop to Saint Edburgha's Church in Yardley Old Village.
Yardley Old Village Conservation Area
Botanical Gardens in Birmingham
The following two botanical gardens are located in Birmingham:
Birmingham Botanical Gardens (Top Menu)
Birmingham Botanical Gardens are on Westbourne Road in the Chad Valley area of Edgbaston.
The 15 acre gardens, which are owned by a registered charity, were designed by John Loudon in the 1830's.
The site is entered through a pavilion leading to the south-facing Loudon Terrace which rises above a bowl-shaped lawn that serves as a performance space and from which the various gardens & glasshouses radiate.
These include a Tropical House, a Subtropical House, a Mediterranean House, an Arid House, a Cottage Garden, a Rock Pool & Garden, an Aviary, Rose Garden and Growing Schools Garden.
The pavilion contains three banqueting suites and an art gallery.
12A Westbourne Road B15 3TR 0121 454 1860
Birmingham Botanical Gardens Website
Winterbourne Botanic Garden (Top Menu)
Winterbourne Botanic Garden is located off Edgbaston Park Road in the University Quarter of Edgbaston.
The six acre garden forms part of the grounds of Winterbourne House, an Arts and Crafts mansion built for the industrialist John Nettlefold in 1903.
The grounds contain a north walled garden and south-facing terraced lawns and geographic beds. The beds adjoin an arboretum which leads onto a Rock Garden and Stream Lawn connected to Edgbaston Pool by a Japanese bridge.
Both the house and garden were bequeathed to the University of Birmingham in 1944.
58 Edgbaston Park Road B15 2RT 0121 414 3003 Map
Guide University Qtr Winterbourne Botanic Garden Website
The following ten cemeteries are located in Birmingham:
Brandwood End, Key Hill, Handsworth, Kings Norton, Lodge Hill, Sutton New Hall, Sutton Coldfield, Warstone Lane, Witton, Yardley.
In February 2010, Birmingham City Council anticipated that the annual revenue derived from its 10 cemeteries and 3 crematoria would fall by £1.7 million due to the declining death rate.
Lost revenue could be replaced by increasing burial charges or by providing new services such as grave maintenance (News Archive 04/02/10).
Brandwood End Cemetery (Top Menu)
Brandwood End Cemetery is on Woodthorpe Road in the Brandwood area of Kings Heath.
The cemetery, which opened in 1899, is dominated by twin mortuary chapels built in red brick and terracotta to a design by J Brewin Holmes in the Gothic Revival Style.
The chapels, which stand on a tree-lined central driveway at the highest point of the cemetery, are linked by a carriageway arch which is topped by a landmark tower and spire.
The chapels are identical in design; each contains a chancel, coffin chamber, vestry and underground heating chamber. The east chapel was built for non-Conformists and the west, for Anglicans.
The cemetery also contains a red brick and terracotta superintendent's lodge with offices and living quarters.
The 53 acre site is laid out on a Victorian grid system and planted with evergreen and deciduous trees.
Scots Pine, Cypress and Wellingtonia flank the avenues that run off the central driveway.
The site features many splendid monuments, particularly in the vicinity of the mortuary chapels where Italianate angels and Art Deco memorials proliferate. There is also a Cross of Sacrifice and War Memorial Garden.
The cemetery is recorded as a grade-two-listed site on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Woodthorpe Road B14 6EQ 0121 444 1328
Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery
Key Hill Cemetery on Icknield Street in the Jewellery Quarter is a non-denominational burial ground established by non-Conformist Christians in 1836.
The site, which no longer accepts burials, is the oldest cemetery (not also a churchyard) in Birmingham.
It contains many splendid tombs and monuments and is grade-two-listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Unfortunately, the Greed Doric Chapel (circa 1837) by Charles Edge has been demolished but the impressive entrance piers and railings, by the same architect, have survived on Icknield Street.
The cemetery contains the final resting place of many famous Brummies including former mayor Joseph Chamberlain (plot 610k), pen magnet Joseph Gillot (374-375 E) and the founder of Birds Custard, Alfred Bird (164 H).
Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries
Handsworth Cemetery (Top Menu)
Handsworth Cemetery on Oxhill Road opened in 1909.
It is a 68 acre site of which only 40 acres have so far been developed for burials.
The cemetery, which accepts new burials, contains consecrated, Free Church, Roman Catholic and Muslim sections.
It features a grade-one-listed mortuary chapel (circa 1909) that was built in red-brick with stone dressings to a design by W H Bidlake in the Arts and Crafts Style.
Oxhill Road B21 8JT 0121 554 0096
Kings Norton Cemetery (Top Menu)
Kings Norton Cemetery is on Longdales Road in the Three Estates area of Kings Norton. It is a new cemetery, carved out of farmland, that opened in 2005.
The six acre site has retained many natural landscape features including ancient hedgerows and ditches. It contains cremation sections and has graves available for adult and child burials.
The facilities include a toilet, office and car park.
Longdales Road B38 9BU 0121 458 5583
Lodge Hill Cemetery (Top Menu)
Lodge Hill Cemetery is located on Weoley Park Road in Selly Oak.
The 62 acre site stands in an orchard setting on high ground above the Bourn Brook. It opened in 1895 and has sections dedicated to Church of England, Roman Catholic and non-Conformist burials.
There is also a large Quaker section that includes members of the Cadbury chocolate and Lloyds banking families. Many of these graves have been transferred from the former Friends Meeting House on Bull Street in the city centre.
Another area, marked by a Cross of Sacrifice, is dedicated to soldiers of the First and Second World Wars who died of their wounds in local hospitals. Fourteen German POW's are also buried nearby.
The cemetery is closed for new burials but still offers plots for the internment of cremated remains.
The crematorium (circa 1937), which was the first in Birmingham, was designed in the Arts and Crafts Style by Holland W Hobbiss.
Weoley Park Road B29 5AA 0121 414 1726
Sutton New Hall Cemetery (Top Menu)
Sutton New Hall Cemetery is on Lindridge Road in the Whitehouse Common area of Sutton Coldfield. It is a new cemetery that was carved out of open countryside in 2002.
So far only a small section has been used for burials and the planned non-denominational chapel has yet to be built. Consequently, the cemetery has plots available for new burials and cremated remains.
All graves are free church and dedicated at the time of burial except for a small area that has been set aside for Orthodox burials.
The facilities include offices, toilets and a car park.
Lindridge Road B75 7HX 0121 378 2843
Sutton Coldfield Cemetery (Top Menu)
Sutton Coldfield Cemetery on Rectory Road opened in 1881 and was extended in 1934.
The current 17 acre site, which is criss-crossed by narrow tree-lined avenues, contains no land for new graves although some cremation plots and children's grave plots are still available.
The facilities include a crematorium and chapel.
Rectory Road B75 7RP 0121 378 2843
Guide Sutton Coldfield Town Map
Warstone Lane Cemetery (Top Menu)
Warstone Lane Cemetery is a Church of England burial ground in the Jewellery Quarter. The cemetery, which opened in 1847, does not accept new burials.
The cemetery chapel of St Michael was demolished in 1954 but the splendid blue brick cemetery lodge with Flemish dressings, that was designed in the Tudor Gothic Style by J R Hamilton of Gloucester, has survived as a grade-two-listed building on Warstone Lane.
The cemetery contains many impressive tombs and memorials, not least the two tiers of catacombs where coffins, sealed with lead to prevent unhealthy smells, were deposited.
The cemetery is grade-two-listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens; it is the final resting place of several famous Brummies including the atheist print magnate John Baskerville.
Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries
Witton Cemetery was the first municipal cemetery in Birmingham when it opened in 1863.
The 103 acre cemetery, which is the largest in the city, is surrounded by a two mile brick wall.
The cemetery occupies a slope overlooking the M6. It contains a wide variety of memorials and is landscaped as an open park with indigenous shrubs and trees.
The site originally contained separate chapels for Anglicans, Catholics and non-Conformists with two acres being set aside for Jewish burials.
However, only the neo-Gothic C of E Mortuary Chapel has survived.
The Cemetery was busiest during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1920 when it handled twenty burials daily; nowadays, it handles barely four each day.
Moor Lane B6 7AE 0121 356 5852
Yardley Cemetery, which opened in 1883, is a 62 acre burial ground with a chapel, crematorium, waiting room, vestry, toilets and Gardens of Remembrance.
The cemetery became full in 1962 and no longer accept new burials except in private family graves.
Yardley Road B25 8NA 0121 708 1831
This website contains open space plans that show the distribution of green spaces for each of the 40 administrative wards in Birmingham.
Acocks Green, Aston, Bartley Green, Billesley, Bordesley Green, Bournville, Brandwood, Edgbaston, Erdington, Hall Green, Handsworth Wood,
Harborne, Hodge Hill, Kings Norton, Kingstanding, Lozells & East Handsworth, Ladywood, Longbridge, Moseley & Kings Heath, Nechells,
Northfield, Oscott, Perry Barr, Quinton, Selly Oak, Sheldon, Shard End, Soho, South Yardley, Sparkbrook, Springfield, Stechford & Yardley North,
Stockland Green, Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton New Hall, Sutton Vesey, Sutton Trinity, Tyburn, Washwood Heath, Weoley
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