Stourbridge and its surrounding areas

If you have never visited Stourbridge, or have preconceived ideas about it, here's the surprise. It really does not fit into a neat category that you can tuck away in your head. It is industrial, rural, busy and quiet, all at the same time. The view of Wychbury Hill above is little more than a mile away from the town, a picture of peace that you could walk to in 20 minutes from the town. A little further away are the Clent Hills and the villages of Kinver, Churchill and Belbroughton, to name a few.

Twelve miles to the East brings you to the UK's second city, Birmingham, with a huge surrounding area of industry and commerce who's products must have touched every nation on the planet at some point or other in the past. Towns in this area include Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. The whole area is a mixture, wealthy suburbs, deprived areas, high tech and traditional industries.

A few miles further to the west of the town brings you to the River Severn (which the town's River Stour flows into). This region features magnificent scenery in the Wyre Forest region and beautiful historic towns such as Bewdley and Bridgnorth. The Severn Valley Railway, a restored steam line runs alongside the Severn and is regularly used as a set for major film productions. Further west the countryside becomes more and more dramatic as it reaches the Welsh borders. Ludlow, voted a few years ago as the most beautiful town in the whole of England, is 45 minutes drive from Stourbridge and a tour of this region makes a great day out.

Cycle to the Wyre Forest and back!

3D Panoramas: Hagley Hall | Wychbury Hill | Wollescote Park | Redhouse Cone | Stourton Canal Junction | Kinver Edge