Living in an apartment often means your space doesn’t stop at your front door, it spreads out into the area around you. There’s a great range of outdoor spaces in the Jewellery Quarter that people use communally for lots of different things, meaning they are social spaces as well as places to relax, take a break and reconnect with nature.
Right outside many apartment buildings are oases of nature that have become part of daily routines. Great to get some fresh air, exercise the dog and meet up with friends for picnics and catch ups.
St Paul’s Square is a familiar one for many residents, somewhere to sit with a coffee, meet someone, or take a much needed break. It can be a great social space, or somewhere to enjoy being alone with a bit of people watching. With plenty of shady trees, picnic perfect grass and benches, it's a great go to when you need some outdoor time but you’re limited on how far you can travel for it.
Warstone Lane Cemetery has a distinctive feel, with its historic catacombs, benches surrounded by apple trees and easy pathways. Popular with dog walkers, it’s perfect for short breaks or a few quiet minutes away from the busier streets nearby.
Key Hill Cemetery feels more enclosed and with its carpets of bluebells in spring and year round blanket of ivy, it feels like the closest thing to woodland so close to the city. Because of its green canopy of trees, it’s great for shade on a hot day or a sheltered visit in the rain.
These historic spaces are well used by locals to take a break, get some fresh air, or enjoy a moment of peace. If you want to get to know them a bit better, both Cemeteries have great signage about their history, how they link to the story of the area and share information about the nature you might spot. There are also tours throughout the year around nature and history, including some that take you inside the catacombs.
If you’re looking to fit some exercise into your day, it's worth getting to know our local canal system a bit better. Many people use short sections for quick breaks, ten or fifteen minutes to clear your head or mark the end of work. You can turn around whenever it suits you, and different stretches have very different feels, from lively snapshots of city life to serene and nature filled.
If you head along the canal from different entry points in the Jewellery Quarter and head towards the city centre, you will reach the “old turn junction” near Brindley Place, where the canal separates. From there you can find areas that are bustling with life around Brindley Place and the Mailbox, and further along there arelots of areas that feel much quieter and closer to nature. Expect historic bridges and tunnels, plenty of greenery, herons and geese.
Birmingham and Worcester Canal:
Heading out past the bustling Gas Street Basin and the Mailbox towards the University, the towpath gradually shifts from busy city edges into something much quieter, with stretches of wildflowers softening the route in spring and summer. Further along, you pass through the long Edgbaston tunnel, where the sound and light change completely for a while, before emerging back out towards more open sections. If you choose to carry on further, you will pass the leafy vale, the University of Birmingham, and pass over the fantastic viaduct which "carries" the canal mid-air above a busy road in Selly Oak.
Birmingham Old Main Line:
Going the other way towards Smethwick has a different feel again, with a good mix of long shady corridors and more open stretches. It has overgrown edges and pockets of wildflowers along the banks, including purple lupins that come up in season. You’ll also pass several old toll islands, where boats were charged for passage along the canal and boats were "weighed," a small reminder of how the canal used to operate, tucked into what is now a much slower, everyday walking route.
Edgbaston Reservoir is popular for its open views and steady loop. It’s popular for walking, wheeling, jogging, or even just sitting by the water. There’s a community orchard and community gardens with opportunities to get involved outdoors and events, as well as a cafe at the Red Shed. If you want to visit from the Jewellery Quarter as part of a longer route, you can take the canal and get off at Lee Bridge, or get there directly via Spring Hill.
Sandwell Valley Country Park offers long paths, a nature reserve, wider views, woodland and a countryside feel while still being well within easy reach of home. You can catch the number 16 from Hall St and get off at Lingfield Court for a short walk to RSPB Sandwell Valley.
Handsworth Park A spacious Victorian park with lakes, wide paths and plenty of benches, somewhere that feels open and established, with an active community feel. You can catch the 101 from a number of stops in the Jewellery Quarter, or the number 16 from Hall St.
The more you explore, the more you’ll discover open spaces which overlap and lead into one another across Birmingham, like a green patchwork. Think of this as a starting point rather than the full picture.
Living in an apartment doesn’t mean nature is out of reach, it just means it’s more communal and social, but nature and peace are never too far away. Some days that might be a bench, a square, or a short canal stretch. Other days it might be a bigger park, or somewhere further afield. There’s plenty there to be discovered and revisited often, with each space having its own benefits and things to offer- city life doesn’t need to feel grey in Birmingham!
Meeting people and getting outside can feel like a tall order when you live near the city, but regular volunteering groups in the community make it easy. Find out more on our volunteering pages about opportunities, and our group pages for more information on groups like the JQ Green Fingers Group and JQ Litter Pickers.
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