Sandwell Valley Country Park — Attraction in Sandwell

Sandwell Valley is a lovely location and again a treasure within the West Bromwich area. It has acres and acres of land, giving keen walkers a choice of going off a paved path and onto the fields and woodland area; making you feel as though you are in a completely different location. However, if you are after a simple walk - the grounds accommodate this to; with a large lake area covered with ducks and swans. Yes, big beautiful swans! Surrounded hugely by fields, hills and greenery, with plenty of spaces to sit and have a picnic or lunch there. There is a very extensive play area for children, which includes climbing frames, a trampoline and gym equipment catered to children (I won't lie, I tried out the trampoline and loved it) & much more. I choose not to take photos of this area due to how populated it was with children at the time. However, I will include photos of an adult outdoor gym area they have which is brilliant. As it is free to use, you only have to pay for parking which is 80 pence for 2 hours (cheaper option available for up to 1 hour). I've added a few pictures from earlier in the year when it was snowing, but photos truly do not do justice, therefore I haven't taken many. You need to experience the park for yourself! In addition to the already stated, they also have, tennis courts, miniature golf and the grounds lead into Dartmouth golf club. Also having Dartmouth park on the other side of the grounds. Again beautiful grounds, and the best part is - none if it is restricted, so you could walk for hours and still remain within the grounds of Sandwell Valley and park farm. Certain times of the year, they will have a fun fair on and farm animals out on the patch directly opposite the main car parks. Great place, definitely worth a visit on a sunny day but equally as beautiful in the snow! I always go to Sandwell Valley with friends for a walk because it's a lovely way to get outdoors, enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and simply forget about all your troubles. Even if it is only for a short amount of time. Go check it out with anyone, be it family, children, pets or friends. I garuntee you will feel more relaxed after...

I've been visiting this park with my children for a few years now the last time in October last year. We travel 40 minutes to get here because it has so much all in one place and it's fun for the whole family. Unfortunately this time 2/6/18 I got the impression Sandwell council don't have the money to keep this beautiful area at it's best at the moment. It had hints of neglect all around the park. Children's play areas had broken equipment in both play areas which were fenced off, swings were missing and the water play was also padlocked shut. Even the grass verges hadnt seemed to have been mowed recently. Being half term I hoped it would all be fully functioning. The aerial climb area was also closed, this seemed to be due to vandalism as half the activity was black and charred as if it had been on fire. There was an abundance of private activities and food vans on site like the small childrens fair, swan boats and peddleos but the prices I feel were too high for a lot of families. Tokens at the childrens fair are 80p each. The rides/inflatables are charged at 2-4 tokens per child, per ride and you get 5 minutes maximum. Only the very small baby carousels were 1 token. The ice cream vans were charging an average of £2 per ice cream/lolly and candy floss in the fair was £3. If your thinking of eating in the park I would definantly take a picnic there is plenty of space for one. Please don't get me wrong it's still a big, green, lovely area and my 3 children (5, 7 and 13) had a great time. It just lacked TLC this visit but I'm sure the park keepers are doing what they can on a limited budget. There is still plenty to do without the private activities, we spent 4 hours there in total and only the last hour was in the fair. We will visit again in the Autumn as we like the park, I just hope it has it's sparkle back that we...

The playground was fairly well maintained. With a variety of play equipment for age 2 upwards. However, there were very few swings for the number of children attracted to this part of the play area. It became quite dangerous where the 2 bigger swings were sited due to where the children were queuing up. They stood very close to the swings because otherwise they missed there turn. There was a bank infront which was probably to stop children running past the front of the swings but this created a game, children were running off the bank, going between the swings while they waited for their turn. I had to stop a younger child who was following older siblings, as they nearly got hit by a swing. I didn't take any photos as I was too concerned about the children's safety. The climbing area was suitable for different age ranges if parents were observing their children to encourage their risk taking in safety. We enjoyed the ride on the land train, though it was quite a short journey compared to others we have been on for the same price. There is plenty of space for a picnic and for children to run around freely. Overall an enjoyable visit but would make the special journey to go back again. There are better play parks that are safer and...