Sandwell Valley Country Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sandwell Valley Country Park |
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Swan Pool
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| Location | near West Bromwich, West Midlands |
| Operated by | Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council |
| Website | Sandwell Valley |
Sandwell Valley Country Park is a fantastic place to visit in the West Midlands, England. It's a huge country park managed by the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. You'll find it right in the middle of the busy area between Birmingham and West Bromwich, next to the River Tame. It's a perfect spot to enjoy nature and have fun!
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Discover Sandwell Valley Country Park
This amazing park stretches from West Bromwich all the way to the edge of Walsall. You can enter the park from a few main spots. Two popular entrances are at Sandwell Park Farm and Forge Mill Farm. These farms are great starting points for your adventure.
What Can You Do There?
Sandwell Valley Country Park has lots of cool things to do! You can try out the pitch & putt golf course. If you love cycling, there's a special Millennium Cycle Route. For more adventurous riders, there's even a Mountain Bike Trail. You can also play tennis or just relax in the wide-open spaces.
The park also has a lovely place called Swan Pool. This pool is also known as Wasson or Warstone. It's a popular spot for sailing. The park is so well-kept and beautiful that it has even won a special award called the Green Flag Award.
Nature's Special Spots
Inside the park, there are two very important nature areas. These are called local nature reserves (LNRs). They are Priory Woods and Forge Mill Lake. Both have been protected as LNRs since 1991.
Priory Woods Nature Reserve
Priory Woods LNR covers about 21 hectares (that's like 52 acres!). It's a beautiful woodland area with many different types of trees. Some trees are native to England, and others have been planted there. You'll also find peaceful pools where wildfowl (like ducks and geese) love to swim.
This area also holds the old ruins of Sandwell Priory. Footpaths in Priory Woods connect you to other parts of the country park. You can park your car for this reserve at Sandwell Park Farm.
Forge Mill Lake Nature Reserve
Forge Mill Lake LNR is much bigger, covering about 63 hectares (that's about 156 acres!). The lake sits right next to the River Tame. There's a nice footpath that goes all the way around the lake, perfect for a walk or run. You can park your car for this reserve close to Forge Mill Farm.
Part of Forge Mill Lake is managed by the Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve. The RSPB is a group that helps protect birds. They look after one of the two islands in the lake. There's a special bird hide where you can quietly watch birds without disturbing them. They also have a visitor centre. This reserve is super important for birds that breed there, like oystercatchers and lapwings. There's a car park right next to the visitor centre.
Fun on the Farm
The park has two working farm visitor centres that are great for families.
- Sandwell Park Farm: This farm has been restored to look like a Victorian farm. It even has a walled kitchen garden where plants used to be grown for food. You can see rare breeds of animals here, like Hereford cattle and Berkshire pigs.
- Forge Mill Farm: This farm has a farm shop where you can buy local produce. There's also a farm trail you can follow to learn more about the farm animals and how they live.
A Look Back in Time
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Sandwell Valley Country Park has a long and interesting history! A very old building called Sandwell Priory once stood here. It was a Benedictine monastery built in the 12th century. Even before that, there was a small religious retreat called a hermitage on the same spot.
The monastery was closed down in 1525. Later, by 1705, a grand house called Sandwell Hall was built for the Earl of Dartmouth.
In the late 1800s, the Hall was used as a hospital for people with mental health issues. Then, in 1907, it became a home for boys called "Sandwell Hall Industrial School for Mentally Defective Boys." Sadly, Sandwell Hall had to be pulled down in 1928. This was because the ground was sinking due to mining from a nearby coal mine called Sandwell Park (Jubilee) Colliery. Over 600 miners worked there! A special track for coal carts ran from the mine through the park to the canal.
By the 1960s, the area was turned into the beautiful Country Park we know today. About 660 acres (267 hectares) were set aside for all the fun activities and nature areas.
