Rosliston

Sutton Park National Nature Reserve

Little Aston · 15 miles

Spanning more than 2,200 acres of heath, wetland and ancient woodland, Sutton Park National Nature Reserve lies on the edge of Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, close to the Little Aston area of the West Midlands. Managed by Birmingham City Council since its designation as a nature reserve in 1997, the site offers unrestricted public entry and permits dogs throughout the grounds. Visitors can wander among seven lakes, explore a network of trails suitable for dog walking, pony trekking, mountain biking and kite-flying, or try the designated zones for model aeroplanes and helicopters. A visitor centre, several cafés, a municipal golf course to the south and a private 18-hole course on the western fringe complement the playgrounds, while a former donkey sanctuary now stands closed. Parking arrangements are currently under review, but no admission fee is required. The landscape bears evidence of continuous human use from the Iron Age onward, including burnt mounds, a prehistoric well and a preserved stretch of the Roman Icknield Street, still walkable near the Royal Oak Gate. Royal connections date back to the ninth-century Mercian forest, later becoming a Norman deer park and, in 1528, a royal grant to Sutton Coldfield by Henry VIII. Features such as Wyndley Pool, possibly of twelfth-century origin, and other historic pools created for watermills illustrate the park’s long-standing water management. A railway line cut through the area in 1879, with a now-defunct station closed in 1964, and the site has hosted wartime camps, the 1957 World Scout Jamboree and a 1992 BBC Radio 1 roadshow. Regular events include a free 5 km parkrun each Saturday at 09:00 from Boldmere Gate, alongside numerous organised runs throughout the year.

New Hall Valley Country Park

Thimble End · 16 miles

The area between Walmley, Wylde Green and Pype Hayes in north Birmingham now hosts a sizeable green space that was the first country park created in the United Kingdom after a ten-year gap. Opened on 29 August 2005, the site was laid out by Birmingham City Council after the New Hall Manor Estate development released the necessary land. Spanning more than 160 acres of designated green-belt, the park incorporates ancient woodland, historic wet-land grazing meadows, former farmland and a stretch of Plants Brook. Adjacent to privately owned listed structures, the 17th-century Grade II listed New Hall Mill – a working water mill – has been restored and can be visited on selected days or by prior arrangement. A network of cycle routes and footpaths weaves through the landscape, linking a plant nursery, a nature-conservation area and two children’s play zones. Visitors can reach the park on foot from several points: the bottom of Reddicap Hill Road off Coleshill Road, under the railway bridges on Ebrook Road and East View Road, from Fledburgh Drive on the New Hall Estate, and via the cycle path from the New Hall Manor Estate. A car park on Wylde Green Road beside Bishop Walsh Catholic School provides additional access, as does a route from the northern end of Pype Hayes Park along Plants Brook, and a crossing from Plants Brook Local Nature Reserve via Eachelhurst Road towards Penns Lane. Admission is unrestricted, and the park’s facilities are open throughout the year.

Wryley & Essington Canal Local Nature Reserve

Wallington Heath · 18 miles

The waterway that runs through the countryside near Wallington Heath carries the dual identity of a historic canal and a protected green space. Known locally as “the Curly Wyrley”, the stretch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was formally designated a Local Nature Reserve on 7 May 2008 and is managed by South Staffordshire Council. Its status as a reserve adds a wildlife-focused dimension to a route originally cut to move coal, limestone and other mineral products across the English Midlands. Construction of the canal began after the Birmingham Canal Navigation Act received royal assent on 30 April 1792, authorising a link from the Birmingham Canal near Wolverhampton to Wyrley Bank. The appointed engineer was William Pitt, and the level section to Sneyd Junction opened in November 1794. Subsequent legislation in 1794 extended the line past Lichfield to Huddlesford Junction and added branches to the Hay Head Limeworks and various coal pits. While the original main line reached Ogley Junction near Brownhills, parts of the network are now derelict and the navigable section terminates at that point. The canal’s historic role in supplying cheap coal to Lichfield and supporting local collieries and ironworks remains evident in the landscape that now supports the nature reserve. Visitors can locate the reserve using Wallington Heath as a reference point; the council’s stewardship began with the 2008 designation. No admission charge or visitor facilities are recorded in the supplied material, so access is governed by the general rights of way that apply to the canal corridor.

Princess Alice Park

New Oscott · 16 miles

Booth's Farm farmhouse

Perry Beeches · 18 miles

Bretby Castle

Bretby · 5 miles

Site of a fortified manor house. Dated in use c.1300-c.1610.