Portway Hill facts for kids

Portway Hill is a special place in the Rowley Hills, close to Rowley Regis in the West Midlands, England. It's a nature reserve, which means it's a protected area where plants and animals can live safely. The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country looks after this amazing spot.

Discover Portway Hill

Portway Hill is a beautiful area of grassland. It became a nature reserve thanks to the Wildlife Trust. They wanted to protect the unique plants and animals found here. This area is an important part of the wider Rowley Hills.

Amazing Plants and Animals

The grasslands at Portway Hill are home to many interesting plants. You can find rare wild flowers like the bee orchid. This flower looks just like a bee! Another special plant is the hare's-foot clover.

The reserve is also a great place for butterflies. It has one of the few groups of marbled white butterflies in the whole West Midlands. These beautiful butterflies have a unique black and white pattern.

Many birds also love the grassland habitat. You might spot birds of prey flying overhead. Look out for kestrels and even peregrine falcons. Peregrine falcons are some of the fastest birds in the world!

The Story of the Rocks

At Portway Hill, you can see special rocks called Rowley Rag. This is a very hard volcanic rock. In the past, people used to dig it out of the ground here. Seeing these rocks helps us understand the ancient history of the area. It shows that volcanoes were once active in this region.