Getting to the Lickey Hills Country Park is hard when you don't drive. You get the bus as far as you can and walk to Beacon Hill. Then there is a long walk to the part of the Lickey Hills that you are trying to get to. Technically, the Lickey Hills is within Bromsgrove District, Worcestershire. I went in May 2013 and last time back in January 2018. The walk from Cofton Hackett.

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Beacon Hill at the Lickey Hills Country Park


Beacon Hill at the Lickey Hills Country Park


Getting to the Lickey Hills Country Park is hard when you don't drive. You get the bus as far as you can and walk to Beacon Hill. Then there is a long walk to the part of the Lickey Hills that you are trying to get to. Technically, the Lickey Hills is within Bromsgrove District, Worcestershire. I went in May 2013 and last time back in January 2018. The walk from Cofton Hackett.


I think I will have to do several Lickey Hills Country Park posts.

This one will be about my visits to Beacon Hill in the past. In another post I will detail the walk from Barnt Green Station towards the Lickey Hills Visitor Centre (was very steep going up the hill).

Some history (from the Wikipedia page, link above). The Lickey Hills is 10 miles south west of Birmingham and 24 miles north east of Worcester. Close to the south of Rednal and near Barnt Green. It is half a mile from Cofton Hackett. It is one of the oldest parks managed by Birmingham City Council.

The park exists as it is now due to the Birmingham Society for the Preservation of Open Spaces in the early 20th century, which inlcuded members of the Cadbury family. The society gave the park to the people of Birmingham in 1888, and more land added in 1933. There used to be a tram service that terminated at Rednal. The park is a Green Flag recognised park.

May 2013

In May 2013, I made a second attempt to get to Beacon Hill (which was successful this time). In April 2013, I did go up Rose Hill, but the paths up to the Lickey Hills Visitor Centre were closed, and I probably turned back (and ended up in Cofton Park instead). I returned a few weeks later, getting off the bus at the bottom of Lickey Road on Leach Green Lane and walked towards Beacon Hill. The route up to the hill via the trees was quite steep, but once up there, the views were amazing.

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Walking up I could see the sand pits in the Lickey Hills Golf Course.

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Shadows from the trees, on this dirt path.

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Trees down the hill.

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Near the top of Beacon Hill where the grass is.

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Welcome to Beacon Hill at the Lickey Hills Country Park. Finally made it!

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Panoramic of the trees near the path I had just came up (which would be on the right of this picture).

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View of the Birmingham Skyline. Just before there is the likes of Longbridge.

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And you can also see Bournville College which is at Longbridge Town Centre (built where the old MG Rover / Austin Factory was).

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This view towards Rubery. Over to the left is the Waseley Hills Country Park, can see those three paths in a triangular shape from here.

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This is the Beacon Hill Toposcope.

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It was originally built in 1907 as a Gift to the City of Birmingham by Edward, George Jnr, and Henry Cadbury.

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It was restored in 1987-88 by Manpower Services Commission and Birmingham City Council Department of Recreation and Community Services. It looks like a small castle. In the middle of the Topscope was this stone cylinder with a map all around this area. It shows places that can be seen from here. Places that can be seen are in capital letters i.e. DUDLEY. Those that can't be seen in lower case such as Rugby.

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From this end, there are as good views of the skyline than as from the area of Beacon Hill with the benches.

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A little bit down the hill and a final look at the Toposcope.

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Time to leave Beacon Hill. Heading towards Beacon Hill Car Park. Saw this City Council map of the Lickey Hills Country Park.

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Beacon Hill Car Park is on Monument Lane in Lickey.

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A large sandy car park, I wonder if the old tram network ever had a tram stop up here in the olden days?

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I left via Monument Lane, walking down to Lickey. This lead to Rose Hill. A route that I would remember when I would come back 5 years later.

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Walking from Monument Lane, up Rose Hill, then up Lickey Road, stopping at the bus stop back into Birmingham. The 98 used to go around here, but that route no longer exists (but did in early 2018). Usually takes me about half an hour to walk back to the City Limits from Beacon Hill.

January 2018

I returned in January 2018 to see the changes of the Birmingham Skyline from Beacon Hill. This time doing the walk down Lickey Road in Cofton Hackett, then along Rose Hill and up Monument Lane, getting onto Beacon Hill from the car park after a long hard walk.

This time heading up Monument Lane and going into Beacon Hill Car Park. Much easier than my 2013 route, but still a long walk there and back (I don't drive and I go on my own).

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I saw this man being filmed on this camera. Not sure who they were, or what they were filming at the time.

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A lot of bright sunlight to the back of Beacon Hill. The grass was a bit wet and soggy.

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Tower blocks in Rubery. You can sit on the bench and watch, as the wind blows and relax.

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View towards the Birmingham City Centre Skyline in the distance.

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Rubery to the left and the City of Birmingham to the right.

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With a better bridge camera, on this visit I was able to zoom right in to Birmingham City Centre. With the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the left. Of course the BT Tower is still the tallest building in Birmingham. The Medical School was also visible next to the QEHB from here.

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I got this view of the Beacon Hill Toposcope with the skyline of Birmingham City Centre. I don't think you can do this with real castles such as Dudley or Warwick (don't think you can see our skyline from those castles).

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My other major Lickey Hills visit was from getting a train to Barnt Green and walking up the hill to the Visitor Centre in April 2017. I will cover that visit in a future post, so watch this space (that was long and hard walk up the hill that I ended up walking back to Barnt Green Station via Barnt Green Road). I initially saw that entrance in April 2015 when I first got a train to Barnt Green.

 

Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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Birmingham We Are People with Passion award winner 2020