Quite often when I have some free time on my hands (which isn’t often) and when the weather is fine (which isn’t often), I’ll go off and explore parts of Birmingham and the surrounding areas, if only for a good walk and to get out the house for a few hours. Oh, and to check out nature and beautiful scenery!
Previously, I’ve been to Sheldon Country Park, Lickey Hills Country Park, The Shire Country Park, and Elmdon Park. Yesterday, I decided to visit Birmingham’s largest park, Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, which I hadn’t been to since a family day out when I was a child.
As usual, it was a case of ‘have bus pass, will travel’! Even on a Sunday, it only took about an hour to get there, and a bus on the motorway (the Sutton express buses travel along the Aston Expressway!) is a novel experience! From Sutton Coldfield town centre, the park’s Town Gate is a short ten minute walk away, and then it’s off into nature!
Sutton Park is big. And I mean BIG! I must have walked around for nearly three hours, and didn’t cover all of it. The beauty is that its all open, from large grassy fields, to hidden tracks through woodlands, so naturally I strayed off the beaten track on more than one occasion.
When no-one else is around, it’s like being on another planet. Not much in the way of wildlife, save the odd crow, magpie or squirrel, but there were a few cows wandering freely around, munching contentedly on the grass, and a handful of ducks and coots swimming around on Blackroot Pool and Bracebridge Pool.
Luckily I had my phone with me, with its GPS tracking, otherwise I may have got seriously lost! And in parts, the tracks were very muddy, and I wish I’d worn appropriate footwear instead of trainers! But it was all fun, even though I was by myself, I imagined myself on a fantastic adventure of exploration!
And that to me was all that mattered, I knew no-one else there, I was alone, though a few friendly people did smile and say hello. Everyone else, from the joggers and cyclists, the old couples having an afternoon walk, the teenagers hiding in tents by the pool, and the men relaxing by the pool listening to reggae music, were all having their own adventures.
By the time I got back into Sutton Coldfield, I was exhausted, but felt all the better for it, and slept soundly that night!
Find out more: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/suttonpark
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