Birmingham’s green spaces are worth celebrating anytime of year. They kept us sane during lockdowns, offering respite and escape during those stressful times. We gained a new appreciation for our green spaces, as we discovered many magical locations we’d never looked at twice beforehand. It quickly became unsurprising why JRR Tolkien took so much influence from the area for his pastoral, epic fantasy Lord of the Rings. And it appears many are inclined to agree with us.
A great number of West Midlands greens spaces have been nominated in the search for the UK’s Favourite Park 2022. Organised by Fields in Trust, who champion parks and green spaces by protecting them for people to enjoy, 16 parks have been nominated for the grand prize – which is voted for by the public. Many of these, including Shire Country Park (home to Moseley Bog) and Cannon Hill Park, are in Birmingham.
Sutton Park, the National Nature Reserve, which lives north of Birmingham and contains over 2000 acres of parkland to discover, is most notably up for nomination, however. It is considered to be one of the largest urban parks in Europe and has a rich diversity of landscape – including open heathland, woodlands, lakes, wetlands, and marshes – each with unique plant and wildlife.
“This is one of the most extraordinary parks in the UK. Phenomenal in any season and with so many beautiful walks to enjoy,” said Sutton Park’s nominator. “There is everything from accessible paths to woodland trails, beautiful open water and picnic spots to magical wildlife and parkruns.”
From the tip of Cornwall all the way to the Scottish Highlands, there’s lots of fierce competition this year. The public have nominated 364 parks across the country for the award. Voting ends at noon on August 18, with the results expected to be announced later in the month. To ensure your favourite West Midlands park wins click here, while also seeing the other parks up for consideration.
The list of West Midlands nominations includes:
Shire Country Park, Birmingham
Kings Heath Park, Birmingham
Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham
Perry Hall Park, Birmingham
Grove Park, Birmingham
Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield
Allesley Park, Coventry
War Memorial Park, Coventry
Bumble Hole Local Nature Reserve, Dudley
Lickey Hills Country Park, Rednal
Warley Woods, Sandwell
Haden Hill Park, Sandwell
Barn Lane Recreation Ground, Solihull
Walsall Arboretum, Walsall
Willenhall Memorial Park, Walsall
WEC, Wolverhampton