This walk takes in the historic Moor Pool Estate, the Harborne Walkway and ends at the Red Café alongside Edgbaston Reservoir. This is a leisurely 4 mile mainly flat walk with some steps. There will be photo stops and a rest/coffee and cake break at the café at the end of the walk.
Starting outside Harborne Pool & Fitness Centre, we first visit the Moor Pool Estate, a meticulously designed Garden suburb which was the vision of John Sutton Nettlefold, of around 500 houses designed in the Arts and Crafts style between 1907 and 1912 in response to overcrowded urban dwellings, and to provide residents with extensive green space, fresh air as well as community and sporting facilities. The estate boasts two community halls (Grade II listed) with a ‘hidden’ Edwardian Skittle Alley, a snooker and billiards hall, two tennis clubs, a bowling green, fishing pond and allotments all designed to improve the physical and social wellbeing of the residents and encourage a sense of community. We walk around the estate and to the middle, “The circle”, and visit the pocket garden. From there, we join the traffic-free Harborne Walkway to Edgbaston Reservoir finishing at the Red Shed café. The Red Shed Community café is part of the Birmingham Settlement Nature & Wellbeing Centre, an eco-site demonstrating what can be done at local level in the fight against climate change. Situated inside a unique eco-friendly building alongside the reservoir it makes an ideal end to our walk to enjoy a cup of tea/coffee whilst supporting a local initiative.
The finishing time for the walk very much depends on the pace and interests of the group but will be around 3pm. From the cafe it’s a short walk to catch a bus back into town. Please meet outside Harborne Leisure Centre ready to start at 10.30am. Please note that since the walk is organised under the auspices of the Ramblers, we are unable to accommodate dogs on the walk. There are no toilets during the walk, but they are available at the Leisure Centre at the start of the walk and at the café at the end.
How to get there
Bus Nos. 23 or 24 are every few minutes from Colmore Row Bus stop SH3, alighting at Lordswood Road/War Lane stop which is 30m from the Harborne Pool & Fitness Centre. The bus takes about 30 minutes. Bus No. 11 outer circle, alight at Lordswood Road/War Lane stop.
Organised by
City of Birmingham Ramblers
