Suburban river valley and parks
Countryside management area
West Midlands
An 11km/7-mile stretch of the valley of the river Cole to the southeast of Birmingham city centre is managed by Project Kingfisher to improve it for both people and wildlife. The area includes formal parks, scrub, ponds, ancient woodland and old gravel quarries that are now lakes, and the river supports a rich wildlife. There are numerous good walks along the valley, and along a tributary, Kingshurst Brook.
The project is supported by Birmingham and Solihull councils, English Nature, the Environment Agency and the Wildlife Trusts.
The main sites include:
- Shard End. Numerous lakes and ponds.
- Sheldon Country Park.120ha/300 acres of open grassland, wetlands, old hedgerows, woodland and a working farm on the edge of the city of Birmingham along Kingshurst Brook, in the shadow of the airport.
- The Shire Country Park. Riverside, woodlands, ponds, a local nature reserve, Bronze Age mounds, recreation grouns and an old mill near Hall Green. The park was originally called the Millstream but the name has been changed to mark the area's association with Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien.
- Yorks Wood LNR. Ancient woodland at Kingshurst.
Accessibility
Some accessible paths and facilities. Broad paths and a hard-surfaced nature trail give easy access to Sheldon Country Park. Contact the offices below for more details.
Public transport
Hall Green station, with good local trains, is convenient for the valley and the Shire Country Park. Regular, frequent buses connect most parts of the valley with the city centre. All the sites fall within the Centro area: see Birmingham and the Black Country.
Paths and routes
Contacts
- Kingfisher Project Shard End Community Centre, Packington Avenue, Birmingham B34 7RD, tel 0121 464 3131
www.birmingham.gov.uk/kingfisher - Sheldon Country Park Old Rectory Farm, Ragley Drive, Church Road, Birmingham B26 3TU, tel 0121 742 0226
- The Shire Rangers Office Sarehole Mill Museum, Cole Bank Road, Birmingham B14 0BD, tel 0121 702 2739
Regions
Local authorities
Visitor information
Accommodation
