Asda Café

Galton Valley Canal Museum

Smethwick · 0.6 miles

Visitors to Smethwick can explore the development of the Galton Valley canals at a modest museum set beside the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line, on the town’s border with Birmingham. The exhibition explains how the canals were designed, constructed and operated, and it is run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Admission is free, although the venue does not provide wheelchair access. The museum is listed by Historic England and forms part of the heritage centre that occupies the former New Smethwick Pumping Station. The pumping station itself opened in 1892 to lift water from the lower Birmingham New Main Line to the higher Old Main Line, a function that ceased in the mid-1920s as canal traffic fell. After a brief wartime use and a period of vacancy, the building was restored in the late 1980s and later incorporated into the Galton Valley Canal Heritage Centre. In 2011 the museum moved from its earlier Brasshouse Lane location to this historic site, where it is opened occasionally by the Sandwell Museum Service and the Friends of Galton Valley. Because of limited space, many objects were transferred to the Smethwick Heritage Centre in Victoria Park. The site also references James Watt’s original Smethwick Engine, now displayed at Birmingham’s Think Tank Museum, with tours of the original location arranged through the Galton Valley museum. The attraction earned a Silver award for Best Small Visitor Attraction at the 2009 Black Country Tourism Awards.

Edgbaston Reservoir Local Nature Reserve

Ladywood · 1.2 miles

70 acre site, less than two miles from the City centre is a site of historic importance, designed and built by Thomas Telford in 1827 to supply his new Main Line Canal. Friends of the Reservoir came together in 1990 to protect and promote the site.

Chamberlain Memorial Fountain

Chinese Quarter · 2.5 miles

The Chamberlain Memorial, also known as the Chamberlain Memorial Fountain, is a monument in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England, erected in 1880 to commemorate the public service of Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914), Birmingham businessman, councillor, mayor, Member of Parliament, and statesman. An inauguration ceremony was held on 20 October 1880, when Chamberlain himself was present.

The Oak House Museum

Ireland Green · 2.5 miles

A timber-framed manor from the early sixteenth century provides a rare example of West Bromwich’s historic domestic architecture. Built around 1620, the house stands close to the settlement of Ireland Green and is recorded as a historic feature by Historic England. The structure originally belonged to an unknown owner, but the Turton family occupied it by 1634 and added brick extensions to the rear in the 1650s. In 1768 the property passed to William Whyley, who arranged for many of the surrounding oak trees to be felled and used in the construction of lock-gates for the Birmingham Canal. The house later hosted two sermons by John Wesley in the late eighteenth century while under Whyley’s ownership. After a series of owners, Alderman Reuben Farley acquired the building, restored it with the assistance of the architects Wood and Kendrick, and presented it to the town as a museum. The museum opened on 25 July 1898, accompanied by the layout of gardens and a bowling green. A half-century later, in 1951, the interior was refitted as a period house with antique furnishings. The Oak House is listed as a Grade I building since 27 September 2024, having previously held Grade II* status from 1949. It operates as a history museum under the management of SMBC and is recognised by Historic England as a heritage asset. Visitors can view the restored timber frame, the 1650s brick rear additions and the period furnishings arranged to illustrate domestic life of the era. Access is via the surrounding streets of West Bromwich, with the nearest town centre being Ireland Green. No admission charges, opening hours or on-site facilities are detailed in the available sources.

Back To Backs

Chinese Quarter · 3.1 miles

The city’s only surviving court of back-to-back houses offers a rare glimpse of the cramped, courtyard-based terraces that once housed thousands of industrial workers. Set on 50–54 Inge Street and 55–63 Hurst Street, the court lies adjacent to Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter and is run as a historic house museum by the National Trust, with an admission charge required. Inside, four separate dwellings have been restored and furnished to represent distinct periods – the 1840s, 1870s, 1930s and 1970s – illustrating how living conditions and interiors evolved over a century and a half. The original occupants were skilled artisans such as button makers, glassworkers, jewellers and tailors, many of whom worked from home; records show over 500 families lived in Court 15. By the early 20th century the ground floors had been converted into shops, later including a tailor’s premises once owned by George Saunders, whose voice now narrates his story in a recorded exhibit. The court received Grade II listed status in 1988, was surveyed by the City of Hereford Archaeological Unit in 1995, and was restored by the Birmingham Conservation Trust before opening to visitors on 21 July 2004. Visitors reach the site on foot from the Chinese Quarter; the museum is operated by the National Trust and charges an entry fee. No additional facilities are detailed in the source material.

Lapworth Museum of Geology

Metchley · 3.1 miles

The Lapworth Museum of Geology is a geological museum run by the University of Birmingham and located on the university's campus in Edgbaston, south Birmingham, England. The museum is named after the geologist Charles Lapworth, its origins dating back to 1880. It reopened in 2016 following a £2.7 million redevelopment project that created new galleries and displays, as well as modern visitor and educational facilities.