Birmingham’s open spaces are both big and small. You may think that if you want to go and enjoy a park you have to go to one of the big ones, like Canon Hill, Sutton Park or Lickey Hills, but there are more than enough places to go around: Sutton Park is Birmingham’s largest park, and one of the biggest urban parks in Europe, covering 2,400 acres of wood and heath land. There is also a great place to fly your kite on top of the hill. A few hours here and you will have long forgotten the busy city life. Lickey Hills is also a great place to fly your kite. In fact, on a windy day you will see loads of kite flyers on top of the hill. You can see the whole of Birmingham from here, the perfect place to spend a long summer evening. Some of Birmingham’s oldest parks were preserved as green spaces in Victorian times to give the people of the city spaces to enjoy. Canon Hill Park is a prestigious Victorian Park and focus for Civic pride through its picturesque parkland and as the centre for civic events. The park has been awarded the coveted Green Flag Award for excellent environmental and management standards. Kings Heath Park is located in the Moseley and Kings Heath Ward. As well as being a lovely example of a Victorian Park, Kings Heath Park is also the home of the Horticultural Training Centre run by Birmingham City Council and the BBC Television Garden, created by the Gardener's World team. Handsworth Park is a prime example of a Victorian Park in the West Midlands. Highly valued by the local community there are ambitious plans underway to restore many of its original features to their former glory as well as providing facilities that address the needs of the local community. |
