# Sandwell Valley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandwell_Valley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandwell_Valley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwell_Valley > Source revision: 1345007161 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[File:A Lane at Hamstead, Staffordshire.tiff|thumb|''A Lane at Hamstead, Staffordshire'' by William Ellis (1747–1810), now in the [Garman Ryan Collection](/source/Garman_Ryan_Collection) at [The New Art Gallery Walsall](/source/The_New_Art_Gallery_Walsall), shows the area in more rural times ]] '''Sandwell Valley''' is an area of [green belt](/source/Green_belt_(UK)) in the county of [West Midlands](/source/West_Midlands_(county)), [England](/source/England), on the border of [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham) and [West Bromwich](/source/West_Bromwich), with [Walsall](/source/Walsall) at its northern end. It is a [valley](/source/valley) on the [River Tame](/source/River_Tame%2C_West_Midlands) of which {{convert|720|ha|acre}} are owned by [Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council](/source/Sandwell_Metropolitan_Borough_Council), with the [RSPB](/source/RSPB) leasing 25 acres as [Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve](/source/Sandwell_Valley_RSPB_reserve). Within this large area, is the {{convert|270|ha|acre}} [Sandwell Valley Country Park](/source/Sandwell_Valley_Country_Park), which contains two visitor centres, Forge Mill Farm and Sandwell Park Farm, the former using modern [farm](/source/farm)ing techniques, the latter with a [walled kitchen garden](/source/walled_kitchen_garden) and rare breeds of [farm animal](/source/livestock)s, one of 16 farm parks approved nationally by the [Rare Breeds Survival Trust](/source/Rare_Breeds_Survival_Trust). [Sot's Hole](/source/Sot's_Hole_Local_Nature_Reserve) is one of three Local Nature Reserves in the Country Park, and lies on the edge of the site on Dagger Lane/Church Vale, West Bromwich. In an effort to protect and restore the reserve, a group of local people joined in November 2005 and formed the Friends of Sot's Hole. The earliest evidence of people in Sandwell Valley is in the form of [flint tool](/source/flint_tool)s from the [Mesolithic period](/source/Mesolithic), but evidence of later periods is also present in the landscape, including the site of [Sandwell Hall](/source/Sandwell_Hall) (home of the [Earls of Dartmouth](/source/Earl_of_Dartmouth)) and [Sandwell Priory](/source/Sandwell_Priory) ruins (still evident today). Exhibitions at Sandwell Park Farm tell the story of the people who lived here. The [M5 motorway](/source/M5_motorway) bisects the Country Park, with the intersection between it and the [M6](/source/M6_motorway) (considered Junction 8 of the M6) at the northern end, and junction 1 of the M5 to the south. The latter junction surrounds a surviving [gatehouse](/source/gatehouse) from the hall. The [Birmingham-Walsall Line](/source/Chase_Line), part of the former [Grand Junction Railway](/source/Grand_Junction_Railway), opened in 1837, runs through the northern end of the valley, with [Hamstead railway station](/source/Hamstead_railway_station) being the nearest. The former [Newton Road railway station](/source/Newton_Road_railway_station) having closed some years ago. The highest point of Sandwell Valley is in Birmingham and is known as Hill Top, where the remains of a [World War II](/source/World_War_II) [gun emplacement](/source/Anti-aircraft_warfare) can still be found there. The Country Park's [fauna](/source/fauna_(animals)) and [flora](/source/flora_(plants)) are studied by the ''Sandwell Valley Naturalists' Club'' (''SandNats''). Every Saturday morning at 9.00am, the country park hosts a [parkrun](/source/parkrun), a free, weekly timed 5 km run.{{cite web | url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/sandwellvalley | title=Home | Sandwell Valley parkrun | Sandwell Valley parkrun }} Adjacent areas include [Great Barr](/source/Great_Barr), [Hamstead](/source/Hamstead%2C_West_Midlands) and [Handsworth Wood](/source/Handsworth_Wood). == Coordinates == {{geoGroup}} {{PoI start}} {{PoI|M5/M6 junction|52.548|-1.966|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Newton Road railway station|52.5400|-1.9641|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Railway crosses river|52.536045|-1.957101|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Forge Mill Farm|52.533180|-1.959515|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|RSPB Visitors' Centre|52.533114|-1.949998|GB-BIR|}} {{PoI|Hamstead railway station|52.530|-1.928|GB-BIR|}} {{PoI|Sot's Hole NR|52.529185|-1.983494|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Sandwell Park Farm|52.521183|-1.972786|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Gun emplacement|52.519591|-1.951500|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|M5 junction 1|52.512|-1.975|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Gatehouse|52.511601|-1.974109|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI|Sandwell Priory|52.5198|-1.9648|GB-SAW|}} {{PoI end}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/sandwellvalley/index.asp RSPB-Sandwell Valley] *[http://sandnats.org.uk/ SandNats] *[http://www.sotshole.co.uk Friends of Sots Hole] *[https://archive.today/20121223203311/http://www.laws.sandwell.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-culture/parks-countryside-and-allotments/sandwell-valley/ Sandwell Council's Sandwell Valley website] {{coord|52.521183|-1.972786|display=title|region:GB-SAW_dim:4000|name=Sandwell Valley - nominal location}} Category:Areas of the West Midlands (county) Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sandwell Valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwell_Valley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwell_Valley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.