Category Archives: Events

This weekend – Viewpoints of the Rowley Hills guided walk

Join us and the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country this Saturday 26th February for our final Awards For All Lottery-funded event, a guided walk taking in some of the Rowley Hills’ great views across the Black Country. The walk will start from St Brades Close at 10:00am (see our Events page for a map) and will begin by heading over to the viewpoint above the Wildlife Trust’s Portway Hill nature reserve. From there we will go on to several other great locations high up in the hills, where you can enjoy fantastic views over the cityscapes of Birmingham & the Black Country. Walking boots or other sturdy footwear are a must for this walk, as the terrain is uneven and may be slippery in places. Wrap up warm and bring a flask with a warm drink if you like – the walk should last just over three hours and covers about 5 miles; we will be stopping at one of the viewpoints for a rest about halfway. This a family friendly event; dogs are allowed, however they must be on a lead at all times. The event is free but donations are always welcome to support the work of the Wildlife Trust. We hope to see you there!

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Photos from Netherton Tunnel, Pepper Pots and Bumble Hole walk

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Our group of fifteen had a fantastic time on last Saturday’s Lottery-funded Awards for All event walking over and under the Netherton Tunnel. Six of the seven remaining pepperpots on the Rowley Hills were visited and when we arrived at Bumble Hole Visitor Centre for tea and coffee, as proof of the achievement of walking through the tunnel, all of the participants received a certificate kindly provided by Bumble Hole Volunteers Group. Here are a few photos from the walk!

This weekend – Netherton Tunnel, Pepper Pots and Bumble Hole Healthy Walk

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This Saturday we have another exciting Lottery-funded event for you – something we’ve been wanting to do for a while, a guided walk through the Netherton Tunnel and Bumble Hole Nature Reserve. It’s the perfect way to make a healthy start to your new year! The walk will start from Regent Road Co-op car park and will take in the Netherton Tunnel, its ventilation system (the pepper pots) and Bumble Hole nature reserve. The tunnel is very dark with wet footpaths so bring a torch and sturdy footwear. The walk should last just over three hours and covers about 5 miles; we will stop at the Bumble Hole visitor centre for a tea or coffee at the halfway point. This a family friendly event; dogs are allowed, however they must be on a lead at all times. This event is free but donations are always welcome. You will also receive a certificate at the end of the walk to prove that you’ve walked through the Netherton Tunnel! For more information, please visit the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country website.

We also have a couple of conservation volunteering days coming up too, on the 6th and 21st January. Check out our Events page for further information.

Netherton Tunnel entrance (image © Brian Clift via Creative Commons)

Happy New Year from the Friends of Rowley Hills

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The Friends of Rowley Hills wish you a Happy New Year! 2016 was a good one for us; thanks to our funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All project we were able to deliver many exciting events for the benefit and enjoyment of the local community and carry out more vital conservation work on the Rowley Hills than ever before. We look forward in 2017 to continuing with our work to conserve and enhance the hills for the benefit of wildlife and the local community.

Here are a few photos from one of our recent Lottery-funded events – the Christmas crafts morning at Oakham Library which was well-attended and enjoyed by all!

Photos from Halloween event

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Our Lottery-funded Halloween event on Saturday was a great success! Surrounded by autumn colour, staff from the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country and volunteers from Friends of Rowley Hills helped kids to make some very spooky Halloween-themed crafts, including creepy clay models and scary skeletons! Below are a few photos from the event. Thanks to everyone who came!

Visitors seeing what’s on offer.

Plenty of info and activities on offer!

Trick or treaters welcome!

How to make your own spooky skeleton!

A very ghoulish clay hand!

A spooky skeleton!

Laura & Jayne embracing the Halloween spirit!

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Upcoming events

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We’ve just added plenty more Lottery-funded new events to our website, including volunteering days for the winter season – we will be continuing to work with the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country on improving Portway Hill’s access, habitats and key features.

The next event in the diary though is this Saturday when there will a free Halloween-themed family fun day at Bury Hill Park, with lots of activities including clay art, creepy crawlies and scary drawings! Come along any time between 11:00am and 3:00pm, and in the meantime check out our Events page to see what else we have planned for the coming months.

Upcoming events

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We have been busy arranging lots more exciting Lottery-funded events for the coming months. See below, and keep checking our Events page as we’ll be adding further details!

Litter pick, Thursday 25th August, midday – 3:00pm. Join the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country at Portway Hill for a fun day out meeting new people, helping the environment and learning new skills. Meet on St Brades Close, opposite to the entrance to Bury Hill Park. No need to book, just turn up!

Hedgerow management day, Wednesday 31st August, 10:00am – 3:00pm. Join the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country at Portway Hill for a fun day out meeting new people, helping the environment and learning new skills. Meet on St Brades Close, opposite to the entrance to Bury Hill Park; be sure to wear sturdy footwear and suitable work clothes. No need to book, just turn up!

Fun Day, Blackheath Library, Wednesday 31st August, 11:00am – 3:00pm. Free family fun for all including storytelling, crafts, games, raffles, stalls and a bread and butter pudding competition. The Friends of Rowley Hills hope to have a stall at this event. Click here for further information.

Bramble management day, Friday 2nd September, 10:00am – 3:00pm. Join the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country at Portway Hill for a fun day out meeting new people, helping the environment and learning new skills. Meet on St Brades Close, opposite to the entrance to Bury Hill Park; be sure to wear sturdy footwear and suitable work clothes. No need to book, just turn up!

Bird walk, Monday 5th September, 10:00am – 1:00pm. At a peak time for bird migration, we will be looking for some of the various species that pass through the Rowley Hills on their journey south. A great way to enjoy a healthy walk and appreciate nature at the same time! Meet at St Brades Close; no need to book.

Portway to Warrens Hall walk, Saturday 1st October, leaving at 10:00 from St Brades Close. Further information to follow.

Family fun day, Saturday 29th October, 11:00am – 3:00pm. Further information to follow.

Black Country Geological Society volunteer day, Portway Hill, Saturday 3rd December 2016, time TBC. The BCGS will be clearing vegetation from the rock face at the Wildlife Trust’s Portway Hill reserve. All welcome, no need to book. Click here for more information about the Black Country Geological Society.

Black Country Geological Society volunteer day, Portway Hill, Saturday 4th March 2017, time TBC. The BCGS will be clearing vegetation from the rock face at the Wildlife Trust’s Portway Hill reserve. All welcome, no need to book. Click here for more information about the Black Country Geological Society.

Wild Rowley Hills – free family fun day tomorrow!

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Tomorrow (30th July) the Friends of Rowley Hills and the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country are holding a free family fun day in Bury Hill Park; we hope to see some of you there! Have a go at our amazing treasure hunt – see if you can unravel the secret animal’s name to earn your treasure! You could also have a go at some of the fun crafts for all ages, from clay art to making wildlife headbands. Botanist Mike Poulton will be leading a free guided walk over the Rowley Hills starting at 11:30 am, highlighting some of the fantastic things on the way from butterflies through to mouse-ear wildflowers. You will also be able to meet staff from The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country and members of the Friends of the Rowley Hills to learn how we are working together to improve the hills for wildlife and the community. The Friends of Rowley Hills will have a stall selling cakes and plants too. Please note – the guided walk will not be suitable for buggies or wheelchairs as the walk will be over uneven ground and over the Portway Hill site. Please wear appropriate footwear for the guided walk as the ground is uneven and paths might be slippery if there has been recent rain.

Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) on bank (image © Mike Poulton)

Butterfly walk this Thursday!

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Just a quick reminder that we have an exciting event on this Thursday (23rd June), 11:00am – 1:00pm; in partnership with Butterfly Conservation, our Vice Chair Mike Poulton will be leading a guided butterfly walk around Portway Hill, following a route Mike wrote for the the recently published ‘Butterflies of the West Midlands‘ book. Copies of this excellent book will also be available to buy at the event. This is a peak time for butterfly activity and as long as the weather is good we should see significant numbers of different species. Walking boots are recommended and binoculars would also be useful. Meet on the roadside near the Total garage on Wolverhampton Road, just below the Brewers Fayre/KFC at the entrance to the Portway Hill site (see map below).

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Geoconservation on Portway Hill

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It’s exciting times here on the Rowley Hills at the moment. On Saturday the Black Country Geological Society held their Geoconservation Day on Portway Hill and were joined by representatives from the Wildlife Trust and Friends of Rowley Hills. The part of the old Blue Rock Quarry site now owned by the Wildlife Trust has superb examples of vertical columnar jointing and spheroidal weathering and the day was spent clearing Brambles and other vegetation from the basalt exposures and consolidating the Public Right of Way that runs through the site.

Later this summer as part of the process for the Black Country’s bid to become a UNESCO Global Geopark, assessors from China and Finland will be conducting an evaluation mission and visiting Portway Hill Quarry along with other Black Country geological sites such as Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve and Saltwell’s Nature Reserve.

A further Geoconservation day is to be arranged on the Portway Hill site prior to their visit. We’ll keep you posted when this is to take place.