If you’re planning ahead and thinking of going to something a little more livelier than a spot of shopping, why don’t you check out the LG Arena? You may even find that you’re actually spending the week in Solihull or Birmingham City and you find the time to grab some last minute tickets! The LG arena is only around ten minutes from Solihull, so their won’t be any wallet burning when it comes to you getting there.

The LG Arena is the Midlands’ outstanding entertainment experience for artists and visitors alike. They have the world’s best comedians, sportspeople, singers, songwriters, dancers, daredevils and everything in between come through our doors. Whether it’s 15,700 screaming fans or an intimate, atmospheric once-in-a-lifetime experience, you’ll find it at the LG Arena. One of the country’s largest arenas sits here in the Midlands, and when they say they have some of the best, they really do. The likes of Beyonce, Snow Patrol, Tom Jones, Green Day and Coldplay do appear here and regularly do live events, followed by our beloved Ed Sheeran. This LG Arena in particular is also flexible enough to host major sporting events like the annual Horse of the Year Show – even if you’re unable to attend throughout your visit, it’s definitely something you wouldn’t want to miss out on.

The National Exhibition Center (NEC)

The National Exhibition Centre has been welcoming the world for over 30 years to some of the world’s most popular exhibitions, conventions and live events.

More than 140 events are held at The NEC every year and over 2 million people a year pass through its’ 20 halls visiting major consumer events like Clothes Show Live, Crufts and BBC Gardeners World or global trade fairs like IFSEC and Spring Fair.

The NEC is only ten kilometers from Birmingham city centre and is adjacent with Birmingham Airport.

The NEC is located within minutes of the M6 and M42 as well as mainline rail services to London and most major UK cities as well as key regional destinations from Birmingham International rail station. From Birmingham Airport terminal, there is a free and rapid monorail link to Birmingham International rail station, just a few minutes’ walk from the NEC complex.

Brueton Park

Many of Solihull’s rural villages sit alongside the Stratford upon Avon canal which winds its way through the borough. There are plenty of picturesque pubs on the tow path to watch narrow boats passing by from. Beautiful Brueton Park is a great place to unwind. Only a couple of minutes from the center of the town and there’s a lake, cafe, nature center and children’s adventure playground to enjoy.

Solihull Arts Center

For entertainment, Solihull town centre boasts a nine-screen cinema complex, ice rink and Arts Centre, complete with theatre showcasing a mix of professional touring shows and musicals.
A multi-purpose arts venue in the heart of Solihull town centre. Solihull Arts Complex comprises a 336 seat raked theatre fully equipped technically with stage flying system, sound and lighting. A smaller multi-use Studio seating up to 130 is equipped for small scale theatrical presentations, music events, workshops, walk-in conferences and day sales etc. There are two first floor galleries; G1 and G2 exhibtiion space– both are available for hire. There is also a small exhibition space in the Cafe Bar. Contact us to hire an exhibition space.

The busy venue hosts a varied mix of professional and amateur events including music, drama, comedy and dance. Most areas are available to hire and successful events are held almost every night from local drama groups to national commercial promoters who find the Arts Complex a thriving, successful venue with loyal and supportive audiences. See hire pages for details of how to hire.

The venues’ Cafe Bar serves hot and cold snacks and drinks plus full catering for functions and events. Solihull’s Tourist Information & Booking Office which is also our Box Office is just across the main foyer of our modern, accessible building which is shared with Solihull Central Library and Solihull Connect the one-stop-shop facility for Solihull Council.

The National Motorcycle Museum

The National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull is recognised as the finest and largest motorcycle museum in the world, where older generations can once again view the machines they rode in days gone by, and younger generations can study the development of motorcycle’s from earlier days to the golden years of the 1930s-60s.

It is a place where ‘Legends Live On’ and it is a tribute to and a living record of this once great British industry that dominated world markets for some sixty years.
Solihull also hosts regular events including A Taste of Solihull in October, a Jazz and Blues Festival in June, a major Dance Festival and a brand new comedy and literature festival.

Important and famous machines are forever being added to our collection.

A fully licensed self-service restaurant and a bike museum gift shop is available throughout opening hours, but it is the motorcycles that most visitors will come to see, and we wish them a very happy time with us amidst the glittering paint, chrome and nickel of the past.

The National Motorcycle Museum is ideally located literally a few minutes away from the NEC and Birmingham International Airport at J6 of the M42. This means that we are within close driving distance of Coventry, Birmingham and Solihull, and we are easy to get to by air and rail. For more details about our location, visit our how to find us page

The post Solihull Activities, Birmingham appeared first on Living In Birmingham.

Herefordshire: a gloriously rural county, known as the land of milk and honey, with hidden treasures for visitors to explore.

In the cathedral city of Hereford is the beautiful Hereford Cathedral home to the Mappa Mundi. An outstanding treasure of the medieval world this map, created around AD 1290. With the River Wye meandering through stunning unspoilt countryside awash with artisans, beguiling black and white villages, historic market towns and a picturesque City centre, there is certainly something for everyone to enjoy.

This beautiful cathedral is the home of a community which has worshipped and worked together here continuously for well over 1200 years.

It is a place where the mission of the church to proclaim Christ’s love is central, and therefore the community has always warmly welcomed visitors.

Hereford Cathedral’s main role is as a centre of Christian mission and the seat of the Bishop. Each day, three acts of worship take place which ensure that the life of prayer which gives energy to Christian mission is carried on.

The Bishop of Hereford’s throne near the high altar gives the Cathedral church its name; the Latin word for throne is cathedra. The Bishop is chief pastor of a large diocese stretching from the Welsh borders in the west across to Worcester and

Gloucestershire in the east, and from just south of Shrewsbury in the north to Monmouth in the south.

The Bishop of Hereford’s throne near the high altar gives the Cathedral church its name; the Latin word for throne is cathedra. The Bishop is chief pastor of a large diocese stretching from the Welsh borders in the west across to Worcester and Gloucestershire in the east, and from just south of Shrewsbury in the north to Monmouth in the south.

A Cathedral dedicated to the martyred King Ethelbert has stood on this site since Saxon times and is home to a community which has worshipped and worked together here continuously for well over 1200 years. It is a place where the mission of the church to proclaim Christ’s love is central and visitors and pilgrims are especially welcome.

Today’s building contains some of the finest examples of architectural excellence from Norman times up to the present day including the Romanesque Nave, the beautifully restored Shrine of St Thomas of Hereford in the North Transept, the ancient South Transept and the award-winning twentieth-century New Library Building.

New commissions also include the gilded and painted shrine of St Ethelbert and four stunning stained glass windows dedicated to the life and writings of 17th century cleric and poet Thomas Traherne.

The award-winning Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition is open all year round and is famous for housing both the spectacular medieval map of the world and the cathedral’s unique Chained Library. Here the stories of these national treasures are told through models, original artefacts and special exhibitions. Click here for exhibition admission charges.

Many other activities include concerts, Exhibitions, Organ Recitals and even a working Stonemasons Yard, where our skilled craftsmen are still using traditional methods to restore this ancient and beautiful cathedral.

Parts of the building may be restricted due to special services, funerals or events that take place throughout the year. If you have a particular request or reason for your visit they strongly recommend you contact them and check opening times before your visit.

Getting Here:
Hereford Cathedral,
5 College Cloisters,
Cathedral Close, Hereford,
HR1 2NG
Phone: 01432 374200
Email: office@herefordcathedral.org

Mappi Mundi – Home of the Hereford Cathedral

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is unique in Britain’s heritage; an outstanding treasure of the medieval world, it records how thirteenth-century scholars interpreted the world in spiritual as well as geographical terms.

The map bears the name of its author ‘Richard of Haldingham or Lafford’ (Holdingham and Sleaford in Lincolnshire). Recent research suggests a date of about 1300 for the creation of the map.

Mappa Mundi is drawn on a single sheet of vellum (calf skin) measuring 64″ by 52″ (1.58 x 1.33 metres), tapering towards the top with a rounded apex. The geographical material of the map is contained within a circle measuring 52″ in diameter and reflects the thinking of the medieval church with Jerusalem at the centre of the world.

Superimposed on to the continents are drawings of the history of humankind and the marvels of the natural world. These 500 or so drawings include of around 420 cities and towns, 15 Biblical events, 33 plants, animals, birds and strange creatures, 32 images of the peoples of the world and 8 pictures from classical mythology.

Christopher de Hamel, a leading authority on medieval manuscripts, has said of the Mappa Mundi, ‘… it is without parallel the most important and most celebrated medieval map in any form, the most remarkable illustrated English manuscript of any kind, and certainly the greatest extant thirteenth-century pictorial manuscript.’

Getting Here:
Hereford Cathedral,
5 College Cloisters,
Cathedral Close, Hereford,
HR1 2NG
Phone: 01432 374200
Email: office@herefordcathedral.org

Violette Szabo Museum

If you’re planning on seeing something really fascinating and worthwhile, make sure you don’t miss the museum dedicated to Herefordshire’s greatest heroine, Violette Szabo, a spy working behind enemy lines in occupied France during World War II. Maybe you’re just looking for a typical art gallery, Hereford have a Museum and Art Gallery, showcasing aspects of Herefordshire history and life. Both make a great combination for a real time machine throughout Herefordshire.

How the museum got started
The Violette Szabo Museum opened its doors in June 2000 and was the brain child of Rosemary Rigby MBE who was Violette’s aunt. Many years of fundraising and collecting artefacts from people who knew Violette or served with her during the war came to fruition on that day in June.

What can we see at the museum
The story and life of Violette Szabo is much in evidence at the museum along with life stories of the many resistance workers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Visitors can learn about Ravensbruck the concentration Camp that Violette and many of her compatriots were sent to following their capture.

Carve HerName with Pride – The Story
Violette Bushell was the daughter of an English father and French mother who was born in France but moved to live in England when she was twelve years of age. Following their honeymoon Etienne resumed his station in the army and eventually became involved in the fighting at the Battle of El Alamein in North Africa where he was killed when leading his men in a charge from the front. Violette had only just given birth to their daughter when Etienne was killed therefore he never got to see his child.

More WW2 Museums in Britain
If Violette’s amazing story inspires you as much as it has done us you may wish to visit one of the other great World War 2 Museums in Britain. There are many museums spanning the breadth of the UK so whether you live in the north or south of the country you will be able to find out more about the Britain’s role in World War 2 and the brave men and women who played their parts in the war.

Getting Here:
Violette Szabo GC Museum
Cartref
Tump Lane
Wormelow
Herefordshire
HR2 8HN
Phone: 01981 540 477

Estanor Castle

Eastnor Castle in Ledbury is a fairytale Georgian castle in the dramatic setting of the Malvern Hills and surrounded by a beautiful deer park, arboretum and lake.

It’s the home of the Hervey-Bathurst family, situated in a 5,000 private estate nr Ledbury, Herefordshire. The castle and grounds are steeped in history and is a perfect venue for hosting weddings, private parties, corporate events, filming or simply a good value family day out.

History – The 1st Earl Somers
The Cocks family, ancestors of the present owner, moved to Eastnor at the end of the 16th century. They bought the Manor of Castleditch, an engraving of which is in the Great Hall, and over the following 200 years gradually accumulated further land in this area.

The Cocks married into the Worcestershire-based Somers family; the aggregation of their estates with the valuable inheritance passed down by the Lord Chancellor Somers in the early 18th century, the banking wealth of the Cocks Biddulph bank (now incorporated into Barclays), and the sale of his father’s estate at Dumbleton, near Evesham, gave the 1st Earl Somers the means to start building the castle in 1812. The family, distinguished in law, politics and the army, needed a new residence more in keeping with its status.

History – The construction of the Castle
Eastnor was built by the 2nd Baron (Lord) Somers, later 1st Earl, between 1810 and 1824. The combination of inherited wealth, his judicious marriage to the daughter of the eminent and rich Worcestershire historian, Rev. Treadway Russell Nash, and his great ambition prompted the 1st Earl to commission a castle to impress his contemporaries and raise his family into the higher ranks of the ruling class. Then, as now, the size and splendour of a country house evidenced the standing and fortune of any family.

His architect, the young Robert Smirke, who was later well known for his design for the British Museum, proposed a Norman Revival style. From a distance, Eastnor tried to create the impression of an Edward 1st-style medieval fortress guarding the Welsh Borders. It was a symbolic and defiant assertion of power by an aristocrat in a period of fear and uncertainty following the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic Wars.

The symmetry of the design emphasized authority, distinguishing Eastnor from the more rambling, picturesque, castellated mansions of a slightly earlier period at Downton Castle (Shropshire) and Smirke’s 1805 creation for the Earl of Lonsdale at Lowther Castle (Cumbria).

By most standards, the castle is massive, and the construction team and materials used were on a similar scale. 250 men working day and night were employed over the first six years of building, and in the first 18 months 4,000 tons of building stone, 16,000 tons of mortar and 600 tons of wood were used.

History – Castle Interior

Smirke’s interiors were simple and in keeping with the external medieval style: architectural details remain in the Red Hall, Dining Room and Staircase Hall. In 1849, the 2nd Earl commissioned A W N Pugin, well known for designing the Gothic interiors of the Palace of Westminster after the fire of 1834, to redecorate his Drawing Room in the more elaborate Gothic Revival style, before Charles, 3rd Earl Somers, undertook further decorating work in the 1860s and 1870s, so Eastnor, possibly in a unique way, epitomises three successive phases of 19th century domestic taste, Regency Baronial, Catholic Gothic and aesthetic Italian.

It is possible to trace the evolution of taste through the Victorian period, ending in the Long Library and the State Bedroom, when the fashion had reverted to the Renaissance period. But as the Gothic Drawing Room represented the latest style in its time, it confirms that Charles, who was instrumental in his father’s decision to commission Pugin, was at the forefront of contemporary taste even before he inherited the estate.

Getting Here:
Eastnor Castle
Ledbury
Herefordshire
HR8 1RL
Phone: +44 (0)1531 633160
e-mail: enquiries@eastnorcastle.com

Old King Street Farm

Llama Trekking and Holiday Cottages in the Black Mountains of Herefordshire at Old King Street Farm

Enjoy a break in the glorious Herefordshire and Welsh border countryside whilst staying in a beautiful Four Star and Five Star self catering Herefordshire barn conversion holiday cottage.

Take a llama trek in Herefordshire or the Black Mountains of Wales

Visit the book town of Hay-on-Wye, the Cathedral city of Hereford which houses the largest chained library in the world and the Mappa Mundi, the market towns of Abergavenny, Ross, Monmouth, Ludlow and Chepstow

Walk on a long distance footpath – Offa’s Dyke Path, the Marches Way or the Herefordshire Trail, and take a trip to a Marcher Castle – Skenfrith, Grosmont or the White Castle

Visit the National Trust properties of Croft Castle, the Brockhampton Estate, Berrington Hall and the Weir Garden

Pomona Cottage and The Cider House are absolutely delightful holiday cottages, and make a superb base for your holiday stay in Herefordshire

Broadband wireless WIFI connection to both cottages

Getting Here:
Amanda Huntley and Robert Dewar
Golden Valley Llamas
Old King Street Llama Farm
Ewyas Harold
Hereford
HR2 0HB
Phone: 01981 240 208
Email: info@oldkingstreetfarm.co.uk

Cider Route

Take a journey along the Cider Route. There are over 800 orchards in the Wye Valley, which make a significant contribution to the beautiful countryside you will pass on the route.

Throughout Herefordshire there is a strong tradition of farm cider-making. Farmers produced cider to be drunk by the farm labour force during the following year, especially the busy times of hay-making and harvest. Farmers used to sell cider to local pubs and cider merchants for re-sale in towns.

For 350 years cider production in Herefordshire has been on a rollercoaster, periodically rising to become an industry of great reputation. Throughout this time Herefordshire has been the major player in cidermaking in Britain and Herefordshire people have led the way. There is no better place to find out about cider.

The world’s biggest cider mill, Bulmers(now owned by Heineken UK), is located close to the city centre of Hereford where it was built in 1887 by local vicar’s son, Percy Bulmer. Sadly, visitor tours of the mill are no longer possible, but every pub and country inn in Herefordshire – as well as the rest of the UK – will stock a selection of Bulmers brands, Strongbow, Woodpecker, Scrumpy Jack or the cask conditioned, Bulmers Traditional.

Each year, in long term partnership with local farming families, Bulmers grow around 100,000 tonnes of bittersweet apples for our ciders. We have over 800 orchards in the Wye Valley, which make a significant contribution to the beautiful countryside you will pass on the cider route.

Getting Here:
The Discover Herefordshire Centre
1 King Street
Hereford
HR4 9BW
Tel: +44 01432 268430
Email: email: liz.hill@visitherefordshire.co.uk
Website: http://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk

The post Herefordshire Activities appeared first on Living In Birmingham.

Heroic, surprising, ingenious – just a few minutes west of Birmingham is the beautiful Black Country, cradle of the Industrial Revolution and home to many talented artists and craftsmen.

Including towns such as Wolverhampton, Dudley, Smethwick and Walsall as well as the surrounding countryside and villages, The Black Country might have earned its name from its history as the original home of British heavy industry and manufacturing, but it is a surprisingly beautiful breath of fresh air to visit.

Dudley Arts Gallery

Dudley Museum and Art Gallery provides a glimpse into Dudley’s varied history and heritage, which also includes work by J.M.W. Turner, to historic houses with William Morris interiors to creative industry venues packed with the world’s best crystal and glassware.  Local heroes like football legend Duncan Edwards can be seen alongside the Museum’s geological collection, which includes over 15,000 fossil, rock and mineral specimens.

There is a multitude of things to do in the Black Country, if you are looking for a day out during your visit to Birmingham. If you’re into your history and sight-seeing, then you’ll be pleased to hear that a  number of stunning historic buildings are waiting to be explored in the Black Country.

There is something for everyone at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery.

For teachers they have fun, interactive school visits

For art lovers they have frequently changing art exhibitions

For budding geologists, they have a huge collection of fossils

For families they have Juniors At Museums

Admission is Free for everybody.

Geology Collection

The most important collection at Dudley Museum is Geology.

There are currently two galleries displaying some of the collection, telling the very important part that Dudley occupies in the story of the discovery of the science of Geology in the United Kingdom.

The Museum houses an interesting collection of 19th and 20th century oil paintings, drawings and watercolours, including collections of work by Percy Shakespeare; whilst also providing an important platform for new artists, community groups and societies to exhibit work.

The New Art Gallery Walsall

The New Art Gallery Walsall is an exciting and architecturally outstanding multimillion-pound landmark building. It is home to the prestigious Garman Ryan collection as well as works by artists as diverse as William Blake, Van Gogh and Picasso. With the largest collection of contemporary Pop Art outside London, Wolverhampton Art Gallery is a must to visit.

Wolverhampton Race Course

If sport’s is your thing, visit Wolverhampton Racecourse – Britain’s first floodlit horse racing track bringing you the thrills of racing, day and night or check whether Wolverhampton Wanderers, one of the region’s best known football teams is playing at home.

Woverhampton Art Gallery

A Brief History of Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Funded and built by local contractor Philip Horsman from designs by Birmingham architect Julius Chatwin, Wolverhampton Art Gallery opened in May 1884.

A Grade II* Listed building, the sculptural frieze on the outside features 16 characters each representing an element of arts and crafts, from painting and pottery to architecture and metalworking. Science is also represented. The School Of Art, built to the rear of the new building, was opened at the same time and has since been incorporated into the gallery.

From early donations of art by several leading local figures, including industrialist Sidney Cartwright and Horsman, whose contributions to Wolverhampton are marked by a fountain next to the gallery, in St Peter’s gardens, the collection quickly grew in size and reputation. A new extension in 2007 included a dedicated Pop Art gallery and additional space for special exhibitions, while the Victorian Gallery was refurbished in 2009.

Regularly changing exhibitions and displays reveal trends and themes, with contributions from major UK and international artists, both historic and contemporary. Work included ranges from painting, printing, drawing, photography and sculpture, to digital and installation art.

Travel Directions

Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the City Archives – Both the Art Gallery and the City Archives are situated in the centre of Wolverhampton.

Just 5 (the Art Gallery) or 10 (the City Archives) minutes walk from the bus, train and tram stations.

Wolverhampton is well served with bus, train and tram links to Birmingham and other towns in the West Midlands.

If you are coming by car, follow the signs for Wolverhampton from the M5, M6 and M54, Wolverhampton Art Gallery is signposted off the city ring road. There are several car parks nearby. The Civic Centre car park is the closest for the Art Gallery.  the City Archives has a small number of car parking spaces on site, to gain entry to the car park use the Whitmore Hill entrance.

Bantock House is located approximately one mile from Wolverhampton city centre.

Buses 3 and 4 from Wolverhampton stop close to Bantock Park and run regularly throughout the day. The journey time from Wolverhampton city centre is about 7 minutes.

If you are coming by car, follow the signs for Wolverhampton from the M5, M6 and M54, Bantock House is signposted off the city ring road. There is ample free parking at Bantock House and Park, including two coach spaces and six disabled spaces.

Bilston Craft Gallery is located 3 miles outside of Wolverhampton and 5 minutes walk from Bilston town centre.

We have disabled and limited parking spaces at the front of the building. There is free parking within 200 yards.

Bilston Central tram stop is 5 minutes walk from the gallery and trams run between Wolverhampton St Georges and Birmingham Snow Hill every 8 minutes. Journey time from Wolverhampton is approximately 10 minutes and 30 minutes from Birmingham Snow Hill.

Buses 79 Wolverhampton to West Bromwich and 39 Wolverhampton to Walsall both go from Wolverhampton Bus Station and stop on the Wellington Road in Bilston close to the Craft Gallery.

The Black Country Living Museum

There is an abundance of nature and countryside throughout the Black Country. Despite its abundant industrial heritage the Black Country is surprisingly a peaceful haven for walkers and much of the countryside can be seen from the canals.

No visit to the Black Country would be complete without a visit to the Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley, where costumed demonstrators and working craftsmen bring Britain’s industrial heyday back to life with their local knowledge, practical skills and unique Black Country humour.

Discover a fascinating world when you visit this urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle at the heart of the Black Country.

Historic buildings from all around the Black Country have been moved and authentically rebuilt at the Museum to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain

It’s a rare opportunity to step right back in time. Historic buildings from all around the Black Country have been moved and authentically rebuilt at the Museum, to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain.

Zoological Gardens – Dudley

Dudley Zoological Gardens has long been home to some of the world’s biggest rarest and most exotic animals. Apart from all the animals there are lots of other events throughout the years so please check out www.dudleyzoo.org.uk to see what’s going on throughout the year and come see us soon.

Also in Dudley is the fantastic Dudley Zoological Gardens and Castle, which has been welcoming visitors since 1937 and is home to some of the world’s rarest and most exotic animals. The castle was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Canal Trust- Dudley

The Black Country and Birmingham Canals have a unique place in the history of the Industrial Revolution. The first successful Newcomen steam engine was used to pump water from coalmines near Dudley Castle in 1712 and John Wilkinson, another iron pioneer, introduced coke to his Bradley Furnace at Bilston in around 1758. However it was the emergence of the canal system, which made industrialisation develop extremely rapidly in the Black Country.

Dudley Canal TrustAt the Canal Trust you can experience over 420 million years of history in 45 minutes on a canal trip into Dudley’s limestone caverns. Marvel at the impressive limestone caverns carved by men to access raw material to power the industrial revolution.

You can actually run, cycle or walk from Birmingham to the Black Country along the canals, starting from Gas Street in the centre of the city and on to Dudley and Wolverhampton though Galton Valley.

The post The Black Country Activities, Birmingham appeared first on Living In Birmingham.

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

As the world bursts into bloom you might be forgiven for thinking that all is well with our wild flowers, but in our ancient meadows and pastures and along our road verges this is often not the case. Although woodland flowers currently dominate the scene later the focus is on grasslands, and there lie many problems.

Agricultural ‘improvement’, reseeding with a single grass species, and using silage rather than hay for winter fodder, have all helped to sound the death knell for the flowery fields of yesterday. This dramatic decline is highlighted in a briefing from the Wildlife Trusts entitled ‘Save Our Vanishing Grasslands‘. This also emphasises the importance of wildflower meadows for bees and other pollinators, butterflies, birds, flood prevention, pollution control, soil conservation and carbon storage.

Wildlife Trusts’ England Director Stephen Trotter, says:
“Wildlife-rich grasslands have been in trouble for decades, but our newly collated information shows that the remaining hay meadows and flower-rich pastures are still at risk. We’re seeing an insidious yet catastrophic decline. The pressures are enormous: from development and changes in agricultural practices, to neglect.”

The ancient meadows of the West Midlands have not escaped. For example in Worcestershire, a county renowned for its classic traditional lowland hay meadows, it is estimated that a quarter of the best 200 sites have been lost or damaged since 2005. And bear in mind that by 2005 there had been enormous losses in the previous eighty or so years.

The Wildlife Trusts and others are doing what they can. They are, for example, taking some ancient meadows into their care and using hay from them to spread on other sites to restore their beauty and value. Even in the heart of the Black Country work is going on on the Rowley Hills to protect and restore the grassland there.

These activities need to be backed up with the right policies and incentives for land owners and farmers. The Trusts are asking the Government to improve existing laws and policies, give legal protection to, and fully reward farmers for managing, the best grasslands, and restore more wildlife-and flower-rich grasslands.

Wonderful or Whimsical? A Black Country Garden City

Ahead of the game as always the Black Country had an innovative garden city proposal on the table before the much trumpeted Ebbsfleet idea. Led by urban design charity MADE, and supported by a host of partners in the public, private and third sectors, the proposal has been entered for a £250k prize for new garden city designs put up by the Wolfson Foundation.

As with the Nature Improvement Area in Birmingham and the Black Country the idea seems, at first sight, to be a contradiction, especially to those outside the West Midlands. People who live here know differently of course. The mines, factories and houses of the Industrial Revolution never completely obliterated the woods, wetlands, heaths and farms on and around which they were built. Whilst the increased population suffered much deprivation it never lacked spirit and creativity, and this continues today, boosted by the 20th century influx of other cultures.

We now have what were once villages and small towns interspersed with open spaces such as Saltwells Wood, Rowley Hills and Sandwell Valley, parks, waterways and nature reserves. The genius of the garden city proposal is to understand that such an entity does not have to be created from scratch, it can be developed on existing green infrastructure such as this. The idea has echoes of the ‘Black Country as Urban Park’ initiative a few years ago, also a response to a funding competition. Not that £250k will build the garden city, but it will pay for further work.

If the bid is successful I hope that some of that further work will be to strengthen the natural environment elements of the concept. There is, perhaps, less about this aspect of the idea than areas such as the economic and social benefits. Ecologists were though amongst those involved in making the bid.

The first phase of the garden city would be centred on Smethwick and Oldbury and will be called Albion. The Black Country is famous both for its solidarity and its tribalism – I hope that this does not alienate Wolverhampton!

Taming the Tame

I hope that when you read this the worst of the floods will be over. Bad as they were they could have been much worse. The much-maligned Environment Agency, local authorities, civil engineers and conservation bodies have had enormous success in alleviating flooding in many parts of the country. This seemed to be almost entirely overlooked in the waves of sympathy, anger and political mischief which flooded the country soon after the water. In summer 2007 well over 50,000 properties were flooded, in 2014, in the wettest winter for 250 years, that figure was down to about 6,500.

Although it is at a much smaller scale than the Thames and the Severn we have local evidence for this success. Thirty years of work on the river Tame, which drains much of the Black Country and north-east Birmingham, seems to have been successful. It is now Tame by name and tamer by nature. Once frequently inundated places now seem virtually free of floods. These include the centre of Walsall, once subject to flooding by the combined tributaries of the Tame, the Ford, Hol and Walsall Brooks, the road under the railway bridge by Sandwell and Dudley Station, the riverside meadows in the Sandwell Valley, and the streets of Witton and Aston.

What changed? The implementation of a long-term plan based on science and evidence, properly funded and expertly executed. The work included washlands set aside at Bescot, a new lake in the Sandwell Valley, reprofiling the river in Perry Hall Park, channel improvements, and flood defences in Hamstead. This process was driven by the Environment Agency, who really do know what they are doing, and the local authorities. The scheme was a combination of hard and soft works, dredging, and making space for water. No single answer but a strategic and integrated approach in both densely developed areas and open spaces.

The problems elsewhere were not caused by European regulations or apathy, but rather by financial constraints, and obstruction by those who think, mistakenly, that they know better. Even the now notorious ‘bird reserve’ in Somerset has a parallel here – the RSPB Reserve in the Sandwell Valley. Both places are incidental benefits of flood management work, examples of win-win situations amidst a sea (albeit temporary) of lose-lose misery.

Black Country Miners

South Staffordshire, including the Black Country, is famous for its coal and limestone, but insect miners have been at work here far longer than human ones. Mining bees in particular remind us of their presence throughout the spring months. They are responsible for those little volcano-like mounds of soil which suddenly appear in our gardens and greenspaces at this time of the year. They are especially noticeable on sandy paths and close-mown grass.

The bees are cousins to bumble and honey bees, but are all solitary, in that they do not live together and tend a hive, although several females will excavate clusters of mines in suitable places. They make burrows up to 60cm. deep in which they lay eggs and provision them with nectar and pollen. There can be up to five mini-mines branching off the main one. Sometimes two or three females will use the same entrance hole before making their own branch mines once underground.

There are scores of species of mining bees but they are not very distinctive, being mainly small (mostly a few millimetres long) dark, furry insects, often with orange or brown hairs on their abdomens, hence the name of one of the most common – the tawny mining bee. The insects spend about a year underground as larvae and pupae before emerging as adult bees to start the cycle over again. This is where they become important to us. Just like honey bees they are valuable pollinators, seeking out the spring flowers, being especially fond of visiting orchard and hedgerow blossoms.

Mining bees suffer the attention of another group of bees which act like cuckoos in their nests. These are smooth, wasp-like insects which lay their eggs in the mines. When the eggs hatch the larvae first eat the mining bee larva and then feast on the nectar and pollen provided.

As well as natural enemies mining bees are just as susceptible to the effects of insecticides and other chemicals as honey bees. This is a good reason to minimise your use of such concoctions if you or your neighbours have apple, plum and other fruit trees. Your autumn fruit crop may depend upon these spring bees.

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