If you catch the 11A or 11C buses as frequently as I do, then you would know that there is plenty of parks to visit around the Outer Circle. Here we will look at some of the parks along the route. Not all visited at the same time of course. There is parks in Kings Heath, Bournville, Selly Oak and other places along the route.

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Parks around the no 11 Outer Circle Bus Route: from Kings Heath Park to Swanshurst Park and beyond


Parks around the no 11 Outer Circle Bus Route: from Kings Heath Park to Swanshurst Park and beyond


If you catch the 11A or 11C buses as frequently as I do, then you would know that there is plenty of parks to visit around the Outer Circle. Here we will look at some of the parks along the route. Not all visited at the same time of course. There is parks in Kings Heath, Bournville, Selly Oak and other places along the route.


Swanshurst Park

This is the park I normally pass first heading up the 11C on Swanshurst Lane in Moseley. Would also normally pass it heading down in the 11A from Kings Heath. Swanshurst Park is the home of the Moseley New Pool. Where you would see many Canada geese, swans, ducks etc in the pool. They are also sometimes to be found on the grass bank near Swanshurst Lane. Photo from March 2011 when Zippos Circus was in town.

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Kings Heath Park

I normally get the 11C towards Kings Heath Park, and the 11A back from it. The park is on Vicarage Road a short walk from the Town Centre / High Street of Kings Heath. It's next door to King Edward VI Camp Hill Schools. Photo from February 2018, around a month after the Magical Lantern Festival had vacated the park, and the grass had to grow back (it moved back to the Botanical Gardens for Xmas 2018).

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Cotteridge Park

This park isn't visible from the roads that the 11A or 11C buses goes on, but if you get off on the Pershore Road or Watford Road in Cotteridge, this park is a short walk away. Seen below in early August 2018, I would get off the 11C on the Pershore Road, then walk up Breedon Road and cross the bridge over the Cross City Line into Cotteridge Park. You can exit / enter also on Franklin Road. Head left towards Bournville and Linden Road, or right towards Bournville Station and Mary Vale Park.

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Bournville Park

This small park in Bournville is near the Linden Road and is opposite the Cadbury Factory playing field. This view from August 2012 shows The Bourn that flows through the park. The park has a bowling green and a tennis court. The park ends at Selly Oak Road and Oak Tree Lane. You can continue your walk into the Valley Parkway along the Merritts Brook Greenway. Also suitable for cyclists.

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Selly Oak Park

You can get off the 11A or 11C buses on the Harborne Lane in Selly Oak to visit this park. It is also near Gibbins Road. My first visit (photo below) during June 2012. Selly Oak Park is close to the site of the Lapal Canal, and over the years a section in the park has been restored, but the canal is not yet ready to be completed to be reconnected to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Recently the new Selly Oak Shopping Park opened during autumn / winter 2018. If you continue beyond the park along Gibbins Road, you end up near Lodge Hill Cemetery.

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Grove Park, Harborne

I first went to Grove Park in Harborne during May 2012. You get off the bus on the Harborne Park Road. The park is also bordered by Mill Farm Road, Grove Lane and Old Church Road. In November 2018 I found the blue plaque of Alderman W. Byng Kenrick, which states that he gave the Grove Estate to the City. It was near the Kenrick Centre on Mill Farm Road. This park also has a pond.

dndimg alt="Grove Park, Harborne" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Grove Park Harborne 11 Outer Circle.JPG" style="width: 100%;" />

Lightwoods Park, Bearwood

This park is usually the furthest that I normally go on the 11C, getting off the bus on Lordswood Road. Bearwood is within Sandwell, and is part of Smethwick. Lightwoods Park was managed by Birmingham City Council hence the likes of the bandstand (pictured restored as of November 2017) having the coat of arms of Birmingham. Management of the park was handed over to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in 2010. In recent years Lightwoods House has been fully restored, as has the Shakespeare Garden nearby. The park is on the Hagley Road West, not far from Edgbaston and Harborne.

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Summerfield Park

I once ended up in Summerfield Park after completing my second half walk of the Harborne Walkway during February 2016. The path leads to the Dudley Road near Winson Green. The 11A / 11C do go past here, although I've never gotten those buses this far around. But I have been past on the 87 towards Smethwick and Dudley. The park is also close to the Edgbaston Reservoir and the Birmingham Canal Navigations Mainline (as well as the railway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton). Icknield Port Road runs down one side of the park. Near the top right corner is a derelict Police Station building. Was the former Summerfield Police Station before they moved to new building on Icknield Port Road.

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Rookery Park, Erdington

During my early January 2019 walk from Bromford Bridge up the Bromford Lane towards Wood End Road in Erdington, I went past Rookery Park on my way towards Erdington Town Centre. Didn't pop in, but took this shot on the way past. Don't usually get the 11A as far as Erdington, but around the December 2018 / January 2019 period, I decided to see how long it would take to get the bus on the Outer Circle to Erdington. It is faster though to get one of the Express buses back into the City Centre, or the train from either Chester Road or Erdington Station.

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Old Yardley Park

Another park not visible from the 11A or 11C bus routes, but you can get off the bus on Stoney Lane in Yardley near Blakesley Road to walk to this park. One way is to Blakesley Hall, and the other leads to Old Yardley Village via Church Road. This photo from my January 2017 visit to Old Yardley Park in a stones throw view of the spire of St Edburgha's Church. The park is bordered by Church Road and Queens Road in Yardley.

dndimg alt="Old Yardley Park" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Old Yardley Park 11 Outer Circle.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />

Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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