We went to Sandwell valley country park the other day, I have been here before but that was a few years ago, so thought we would go again. Entrance price is very good at £1.50 for adults, £1 for children or a family ticket which is 2 adults and upto 3 children was only £5.00. The entrance price gives to access to the farm and gardens the centre opens daily from 10am to 4:30pm.
As you come through the entrance there is a small gift shop and as you walk through there are 2 main exhibits inside, one is of old Victorian street with shop fronts and period characters, there are a few information boards telling you about the Sandwell valley estate etc. The other exhibit covers different themes that race the history of the site from middle stone age display and then about the monks as there used to be a monastery on the site. The Sandwell estate was the farm of the Earl of Dartmouth., the farm was originally built in the 18th century, but is now set out like it would have been in the 19th century.
You are then in the main courtyard of the farm, there are rare breeds of pigs, cattle, poultry, sheep and shire horses which is the type of breads that would have been available to farmers of the 19th century. There is then the walled farm garden, with greenhouses that have exotic fruits including oranges, pineapples, bananas etc. All the varieties of vegetables and fruits are ones that would have been used up until 1901. It is a very nice walk around the Victorian kitchen gardens with so many varieties growing. There is also a small gift shop selling little gifts also garden flowers and plants, by the gift shop is also reconstructions of a blacksmiths and wheelwright shops.
The Kids loved seeing all the different animals from the chickens to the peacocks, we was amazed at the size of some of the pigs that were there, went we went this time one of the pigs had about 6 little piglets, which were so cute. You could spend a few hours here especially if you see them feeding the different animals that are there. It is a great few hours out and I would recommend a visit as the whole family will enjoy the experience.
As you come into the main entrance of the country park there are two different play areas for the kids, we went to one that had all different wooden climbing frames, swings etc, the kids did love this, there was also a very large wooden construction for kids to climb, abseil etc, though this does cost, though im not sure of the cost for this one. There is parking by these parks or if you have parked at the farm there is an vintage bus that goes from the farm to the pay parks, this is at a cost of £1 per person.
The last time we went we did on a walk that takes you on a bridge over the motorway and around a large lake, I cant remember how far the walk around the lake was, but if you do have the time it is a very nice relaxing walk around, unfortunately this time we went we didn’t have time to do this. The Sandwell valley park is a very nice place to go even if you don’t want to visit the farm and Victorian garden, so if you are in the area and it is a nice day it is well worth a visit.
See some of the photos that I had taken on the day we just went and some from my previous visit.
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