Lickey Hills Country Park

Lickey Hills Country Park is a country park in Worcestershire, England. The park was given to Birmingham by George Cadbury, a 19th century philanthropist, and is managed by Birmingham City Council.

Geography and amenities

The park's area is 525 acres (2 km²) and includes a golf course which was the first municipal one in the country. The park is situated in the Lickey Hills, part of the Clent and Lickey ridge. The hills, which separate the Longbridge end of Birmingham from Barnt Green and Lickey in rural Worcestershire, are eleven miles south of central Birmingham. The visitor centre, opened on Easter Sunday 1990, has a small but well stocked cafe as well as a gift shop, plenty of information on the park and toilets. There are three car parks, one by the visitor centre, one by the club house of the golf club and one on the top of Beacon Hill. Also by the visitor centre are a children's play area and paths for disabled visitors, although due to the relief of the park these paths are limited. Between the Billberry, Beacon and Rednal Hills is found "The Rose & Crown" pub which serves excellent sunday lunches and is also a hotel.

Flora and fauna

There are some deer which live in the country park, as well as Badgers. In Spring, there are notable displays of bluebells. The area is very popular with walkers, families, birdwatchers, other nature lovers and the general public.

Obelisk and toposcope

On the road from Lickey to Lickey Beacon there is an obelisk commemorating Other Archer Windsor, 6th Earl of Plymouth, who created the Worcestershire Yeomanry volunteer regiment of cavalry, which fought in the Napoleonic Wars. The obelisk, which is well hidden from the road, was meant to commemorate his financial support, but he dedicated it to his horse, who had died in Spain. Just a kilometre north of the monument, on top of Beacon Hill, is the toposcope made in the early twenieth century by Cadbury. A small castle like structure was built to house it in 1988 to celebrate the centenary of the park. It is 297 metres above sea level and provides the best views of the city that the park provides.

ee also

*Lickey Incline

References

*Margaret Mabey, "A Little History of the Lickey Hills", The Lickey Hills Society, 1993, ISBN 0-9519839-1-1

External links

* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=2895&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=1749&EXPAND=13260 Country park website]
* [http://www.leisure.birmingham.gov.uk/sites/Golf/lickeyhills.htm Golf club]