Another section of the Shire Country Park on the Millstream Way is The Dingles in Yardley Wood. Entrances near Robin Hood Lane (from Coleside Avenue) or Trittiford Road or Highfield Road. The River Cole runs through and the Chinn Brook joins it. Suitable for walks, walking your dog, running and cycling. Runs alongside Cole Valley Road.

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The Dingles in the Shire Country Park


The Dingles in the Shire Country Park


Another section of the Shire Country Park on the Millstream Way is The Dingles in Yardley Wood. Entrances near Robin Hood Lane (from Coleside Avenue) or Trittiford Road or Highfield Road. The River Cole runs through and the Chinn Brook joins it. Suitable for walks, walking your dog, running and cycling. Runs alongside Cole Valley Road.


The Dingles in the Shire Country Park

The Dingles is part of the Shire Country Park runs alongside the River Cole from Robin Hood Lane (not far from Brook Lane) towards Trittiford Road and Highfield Road in Yardley Wood. There is at least three main ways to walk through it. The main path is now like a raised cycle path. There was also a rough path in the middle between the River Cole and the Chinn Brook. The final route was just an open field of grass that you can walk on. The parkland runs alongside Cole Valley Road. If entering from Robin Hood Lane, you have to walk down Coleside Avenue to enter. There is also a couple of bridges that cross over the River Cole or the Chinn Brook.

The Dingles is the halfway point between the John Morris Jones Walkway and the Trittiford Mill Pool.

 

Over on Bill Dargue's History of Birmingham place names from A to Z on Yardley Wood he has a lot of useful information about The Dingles which I will summarise here.

The Dingles is also called The Dingles Recreation Ground. There was formerly fords at both ends of the river here, but they were replaced with road bridges. The original bridge at Highfield Road was called the Titterford Bridge. The Four Arches Bridge in The Dingles is close to Coleside Avenue. It dates to at least 1822. The bridge was maintained by the Yardley Great Trust. The bridge was almost in ruins in 1956, but was restored in 1980, and is now pedestrianised.

2012

First visit was during March 2012. Starting at Robin Hood Lane in Yardley Wood. A look at the River Cole.

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View of the River Cole from the Four Arches Bridge.

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The open field in The Dingles you can walk through. No paths on here though.

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One of the bridges you can cross over in The Dingles.

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View of the footbridge further back.

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Trees bare of leaves near the River Cole.

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Another close up view of the River Cole.

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Contiuing on the walk up the grassy field.

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The gate that exits to Trittiford Road. There is also entrances on Highfield Road.

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More views of the River Cole.

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And another view of the River Cole. By the looks of it from the rough path between the River Cole and Chinn Brook.

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The gate at the exit to Highfield Road in Yardley Wood. The River Cole continues beyond here passing the Trittiford Mill Pool.

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2016

Back in The Dingles for another walk during May 2016. It was the May Day Bank Holiday walk that started from the Sarehole Mill car park. First up a look at the bridge on Robin Hood Lane, which replaced the ford that used to be here historically.

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Fingerpost in The Dingles pointing the way to the John Morris Jones Walkway (left) and the Trittiford Mill Pool (right). Near the historic Four Arches Bridge.

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A look at the Four Arches Bridge that crosses the River Cole in The Dingles.

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A tree had been cut down near the River Cole at this point.

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Another fingerpost in The Dingles. This one alongside the raised cycle path. The Chinn Brook Recreation Ground to the left (also called Chinn Brook Meadows). Sarehole Mill and Cole Bank Road to the right.

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Must have taken the walk between the River Cole and the Chinn Brook at the time.

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It looks like a bike crossing into the river at this point.

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Sign for the 7 Wonders Walk.

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After leaving The Dingles this time, saw a fire engine from Billesley Community Fire Station, before going into the John Morris Jones Walkway again.

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2017

Snow from December 2017. I didn't enter The Dingles at that time. Only popped into the Trittiford Mill Pool while it was snowing.

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White stuff (snow) everywhere.

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Even the River Cole from Highfield Road was surrounded by snow at the time.

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Not sure what it would have been like to walk through The Dingles covered in snow. But was best to stick to Highfield Road and walk back up to Hall Green.

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2020

The first lockdown walk through The Dingles was in March 2020. I took the grass route from the Highfield Road entrance. The man running ahead of me in the Trittiford Mill Pool ran far ahead of me in The Dingles.

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See the running man go way ahead of me, while I caught him with the River Cole.

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The grass was bit wet to walk on and would be no paths until I got to the bridge to cross over the River Cole.

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Saw a magpie on a branch.

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Trees were bare as I saw this River Cole view.

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Had a blue sky that day in March.

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The River Cole from the footbridge.

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Looking back at the footbridge I'd crossed over. Same one I used 8 years earlier.

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Now on the path towards Coleside Avenue, running alongside the River Cole.

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The exit to Coleside Avenue, which was also near the main path in The Dingles.

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In May 2020 had another walk through The Dingles. First up saw some ducks near the River Cole from the bridge on Robin Hood Lane. Had just come from the John Morris Jones Walkway.

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Another look at the Four Arches Bridge.

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Another view of the River Cole from the Four Arches Bridge.

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Grass near the main cycle path has been cut for social distancing walking.

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Was a lot of long grass apart from the grass mown for the 2 metre social distancing rule.

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Gate to Trittiford Road. Briefly exited here before going into another gate on Highfield Road.

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On the rough path between the Chinn Brook and River Cole, I found this stump of a tree with all these plastic toys! Some kind of memorial to a child or something?

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View of the toys from the top. I hope it was not classed as littering or flytipping.

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Still on the rough path between the Chinn Brook and River Cole, in the middle of The Dingles.

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View of the River Cole from an alternative route back towards Coleside Avenue and Robin Hood Lane.

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Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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