Car-free adventures aroundStourbridgeWest Midlands
Glass-making, canalside cafes, a base for beautiful walks in the Black Country: the area around Stourbridge, thirteen miles west of Birmingham, has a lot to offer visitors. Chiltern railways run direct trains from London Marylebone and they take just over two hours. Whether you’re interested in exploring the Rock Houses, carved from the rust-red sandstone under Kinver Edge, or taking a trip to Dudley Zoo to meet the meerkats, this guide will help you get there by public transport: by bus and train, on foot or even by boat.
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1. The Red House Glass Cone
This 90-meter brick cone beside the canal at Wordsley, now used as a museum and coffee shop, is the best preserved of the UK’s four similar glassworks. Local coal for the super-hot furnaces and a supply of fireclay to line them made the Stourbridge area a natural location for Britain’s 19th-century glassmakers. At the craft centre in the Red House Cone, you can still see glass-blowers in action (weekend afternoons or every day in the school holidays); have a waterside cuppa and learn more about this interesting industry.
- Arriving from out of town, the adventure starts with a ride along Europe’s shortest branch line. The mile from Stourbridge junction to Stourbridge Town is covered every ten minutes by an entertaining bus-on-rails shuttle.
- From the interchange outside Stourbridge Town station, you can catch buses to castle-topped Dudley, panoramic Kinver or canalside Wordsley.
- The old village of Wordsley, now a suburb of Stourbridge, has some impressive reminders of its glass-making glory days as well as a selection of scenic rambles through the neighbouring countryside.
- How to get to the Red House Glass Cone: Hop on bus 16 or 17a from Stourbridge interchange for the two-mile trip to Wordsley. When you see the unmistakable Red Cone out of the right hand window, get off at the next stop – Brierley Hill Rd – and walk back. The cone is free and open every day until 3pm (or 4pm at weekends). You can also walk there along the canal (see 4 below).
- The museum of glass opened across the road .
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2. Get the bus to Dudley Zoo
Meerkats, orangutangs, giraffes, a wood full of free-running lemurs, brightly-coloured lorikeets that will land on your arm, a prowling snow leopard, graceful diving penguins, a Norman motte and bailey castle, iconic 1930s architecture… Dudley Zoo is one of those attractions with something for everyone.
- For car-free travellers this fabulous zoo-and-castle combo has a bonus attraction – it’s just a couple of minutes walk from Dudley bus station.
- How to get to Dudley Zoo car-free: From Stourbridge interchange, buses 25, 7 and 17 leave frequently and takes less than half an hour to arrive in Dudley. Head for stand D at Dudley bus station and you’ll see a little sign with an elephant showing you the way. Walk in this direction, turn right at the mosque, and you’ll see the zoo across the road.
- The entrance, with its waveform roof is one of the zoo’s twelve structures designed by the Tecton architectural group, led by Berthold Lubetkin. Look out for elegant kiosks, penguin and sea lion pools, and tiger pens dating from the modernist 1930s.
- The Black Country Living Museum is also nearby and offers 2 tickets for the price of 1 for visitors arriving by rail. Catch bus 11 from Dudley bus station – it runs every ten minutes and stops outside. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
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3. Explore the Rock Houses at Kinver
250 million years ago the prehistoric winds whipped the red dune and desert sands into layers of soft, sunset-coloured rock. Iron age settlers built a fort on top of the cliff, with commanding views across the nearby countryside, but seventeenth century workers carved homes into the rock itself and made comfortable houses inside these naturally summer-cool and winter-cosy sandstone walls. In 1861, eleven families – nearly 50 people – lived in the caves at Holy Austin Rock, just above Kinver.
- The National Trust has restored the Rock Houses, complete with orchard and allotments, and tea room for visitors. They’re open daily.
- How to get to Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses: Bus 242 from Stourbridge runs to Kinver regularly and takes 30 minutes to get there. The village is packed with pubs and tea rooms so you’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to refreshments.
- Get off at either of the stops on the High Street and walk up Stone Lane and Compton Road (about ten minutes) following signs for the Rock Houses.
- A more interesting and quieter route, taking you up through the woods, starts similarly along Stone Lane. Turn left at the letterbox onto Fairfield Drive.
- Keep going on a path past Foley Infant School and follow it onto the lane beyond. Turn right on The Compa and immediately left up Comber Road. Turn right into Astles Rock Walk and keep going on the tarmac path (don’t worry – it is public!) to the left of last house. Follow path ahead, keeping right up to the viewpoint and then follow signs back down to Rock Houses for a well-earned cup of tea and more spectacular views.
- You could also walk to Kinver from Stourbridge (see 4 below) and can even get to the village by boat on bank holidays.
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4. Follow the canal to Kinver Edge
The canalside towpaths around Stourbridge make a great network for walkers and cyclists. You can also walk part of the epic long distance path, the Monarch’s Way. It traces the supposed route that Charles II took after losing the Battle of Worcester, looping through the Midlands, heading south through the Cotswolds and Mendips and finally over the downs to the coast at Brighton – more than 600 miles! This six mile taster from Stourbridge is delightful. OS map 219 (Wolverhampton and Dudley) will be very useful.
- Follow signs from Stourbridge Town station to the centre of town and walk along the cheerful high street, with Georgian inns like the Talbot Hotel and lots of independent shops.
- Go on past the clock outside Stourbridge town hall and follow the underpass below the ring road towards the River Stour and the canal. Join the towpath near the old ‘Bonded Warehouse’ (boat trips leave from here). Follow the Stourbridge canal, turning left after a couple of miles at the junction. An aqueduct takes you over the River Stour.
- Eventually, at Stourton Junction, turn left (leaving the Monarch’s Way) to reach the main road near Stewponey Bridge. Cross over and turn right along the road to find a path on your left, leading diagonally left across fields. Follow this path through the woods ahead and keep straight past the Hyde and a miniature railway into Kinver village.
- Follow the directions in 3. (above) to reach panoramic Kinver Edge with areas of sandy heathland, wild ferny woods and views towards the distant Malvern Hills.
- On Kinver Edge, walkers meet another long distance path. The Staffordshire Way ends here after nearly 100 miles from the county’s northern border with Cheshire.
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5. Trains to Birmingham and beyond...
Birmingham’s Snow Hill station is less than half an hour’s train journey from Stourbridge Junction. Snow Hill is right next to the cathedral and a very short walk from the city’s main sights.
- Turn right to find the cathedral and right again to reach Victoria Square with the city’s wonderful Museum and Art Gallery nearby (a must for fans of pre-Raphaelite painting).
- Stroll down to Broad Street for a huge selection of frequent buses heading west to the Botanical Gardens. Visitors to Birmingham by train get 2 for 1 entry.
- Train travellers are also rewarded with 30% off entry at sumptuous Cadbury World, which is not far away. Birmingham’s revamped New Street station is close by and trains to nearby Bournville run every ten minutes. Chocolate heaven!
