Warren's Hall Country Park (also known as Warren's Hall Local Nature Reserve) is a local nature reserve situated in

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

of England. It lies next to

Bumble Hole Local Nature Reserve Bumble Hole Local Nature Reserve is situated in the Netherton, West Midlands, Netherton area of Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. This former industrial area now features canals, ponds, gr ...

. It includes ponds, canals, grassland, small wooded areas and the entrance to Netherton Canal Tunnel.

History

The area comprising the Warren's Hall Local Nature Reserve—like that of its immediate neighbour, the Bumble Hole Local Nature Reserve—was once was a scene of industry, including coal mining. The reserve is laid out partly on farmland and partly on the sites of Windmill Hill and Warren's Hall collieries. The most obvious remains from this period include

Cobb's Engine House Cobb's Engine House (properly known as Windmill End Pumping Station) in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, England, is a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade II listed building built around 1831. It housed a stationary steam pump used to pump water ...

and the Dudley No. 2 Canal, including the entrance to

Netherton Tunnel Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal, in the West Midlands county, England, is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, (BCN). It was constructed at a 453–foot elevation, the Wednesbury or Birmingham level; it has no locks. The total length of the b ...

. The area was declared a local nature reserve in 1996.

Location

The reserve is to the east of Netherton, about 1.5 miles south of Dudley, on the border with

Dudley Metropolitan Borough The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourb ...

. Main access by car is via Dudley Road.

Landscape

The area contains grassland, ponds, canals and small wooded areas. The reserve contains the Blow Cold Bank Colliery Spoil Heap, which is now grassed over.

Facilities

A visitor centre located by the Dudley No. 2 Canal provides information on both the Warren's Park and Bumble Hole Nature Reserves. The centre is sited on the Bumble Hole side. Fishing is allowed on two of the small pools in the reserve on payment of a fee and under certain conditions.

References

{{coord, 52.494, -2.067, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Local Nature Reserves in the West Midlands (county) Rowley Regis