Rowold two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Walked this route southwards from Oldbury today as the 2nd part of a four-route circular walk starting and ending in West Brom, and taking in Smethwick on the return. This 2.4 mile route was easy enough, and had a section of off road walking to break up the suburban feel.

After leaving Oldbury, you may marvel for a short while at the 'Oldbury Ring' made by Doug Cocker and commissioned by McDonalds in 1993. After tearing yourself away from this first highlight, your challenge is to then safely cross the Oldbury Ringway by playing chicken to get to the other side via a welcome refuge in the middle reservation.

Half way down Portway Road, your next highlight appears as you leave the pavement via a bicycle calming barrier to climb a small embankment by a sub station. The embankment does offer a good vantage point to take in the local landscape and provide some orientation.

After leaving the embankment and crossing the A4123 Wolverhampton Rd, you quickly leave the road behind and reach the next highlight of a pylon. It seems a shame to leave it behind, but once you do, you quickly reach some playing fields which, if you're lucky, may have a game of football on you can watch.

After leaving the playing fields, you then reach the intriguingly named 'The Chilterns', which eventually leads you to the rather busy and dull Oldbury Road. There is a vintage retro Sandwell council bin on the corner of Mincing Lane, which adds an architectural wonder to the walk, even if it does look a bit worse for wear.

Sadly, you eventually have to leave Oldbury Road by turning left onto Boundary Avenue. Here you may encounter another wonderful phenomenon of consecutively numbered properties along the street as opposed to the usual odds on one side and evens on the other side (why do they do that?). Anyway, the route will then take a right turn down a pathway between nos. 26 + 27, through to the visually stunning Blackheath Park, and eventually to the end of the route at Rowley Regis station.

There's a corner shop and a chippy along Oldbury Road if you need some refreshments, although do look out for brick walls falling over. Thankfully someone had put some miniature road cones around a fallen wall we found (see photo). As well as assuring passers-by that the relevant authority had already been made aware, the cones also surely protected us from certain peril. Apart from that minor hazard, the walk was pretty safe and I can recommend.

Walked from Oldbury to Rowley Regis. A good easy direct route, that does its best to find what greener spaces are available in such a suburban area.

Leaving Oldbury, we go south along Halesowen Street past two roundabouts and a canal bridge and turn right along Portway Road. Beyond the industrial space a path leads to a high embankment - there are steps up to the top at the south end of this corner and it is worth climbing for the views. A path develops and we follow it round, descending to the A4123 through a gap in the industrial buildings. There is no assisted crossing here, but there are central refuges either side of the direct line across to the path opposite, so it is not unsafe. We follow this unsurfaced path and bear left into playing fields, taking a diagonal line across it avoiding the football pitches if games are in progress. We emerge in the south corner and follow The Chilterns, a residential street. Where it ends we take a paved path between houses straight on and turn left down Blakedown Way to reach the busy Birchfield Lane, where we turn right and cross at the next junction using pelican crossings. We continue along the south side for a while, passing shops and more traffic lights on Penncricket Lane, turning left onto Boundary Avenue, and following a paved alleyway through to Rowley Regis station and the meeting point.

I had linked five Slows Ways to walk Walsall to Halesowen filling a gap in my waylist. All routes already had a good review so I concur that they are good or adequate plots. There is a serious lack of signs at the end of twitchells (urban cut throughs). The surface is generally roadside pavement and crossings of major roads are mostly good. This is urban walking no stiles or cattle but some steps. Plenty of shops along the way but no loos noted however the routes are short if used individually. The review guidance asks "would you walk it again", my answer has to be, not by choice only necessity but I did enjoy the one off exploring and found plenty of interest along the wa.

I walked Oldbury to Rowley Regis along Rowold-2. Rowold-1 looks an interesting tour but that's not the purpose of Slow Ways. This route is a mix of pavements and some almost countryside paths, grass and potentially some mud so suitable footwear is advised. I spot Haleswoen Road, must be heading in the correct direction.

Leaving Oldbury I found it safer to use the zebra crossing before the ring road then head left a short way to a light controlled crossing and another controlled crossing before turning right off the main road. All a bit counterintuitive but safe.

The approach to the footpath is unsigned but clear along a raised bank around an impressive electricity distribution complex. Keep an eye on the plot to drop down to a gate and the road. There is no controlled crossing here and the direct route has a gap in the narrow central reservation which perhaps explains the kink in the plot.

The way ahead is another unsigned footpath but then it's follow the overhead power lines across the sports field, no games in progress on this Saturday morning, to a surfaced path, also unrecorded, to an estate road.

A section of main road then into Boundary Avenue, which appears to be only a name as the change to Dudley is some way off. A footpath, hidden between houses offers a strip of green which leads to the meeting point at Rowley Regis rail station. Here I sat on a platform bench for lunch and was surprised by the high frequency of trains which would have been even better had there not been cancellations due to staff shortages.

A very functional 50min might be a good way to summarise this walk. I started from Oldbury, the route crosses the A457 via a pedestrian island and some care is needed. The pavement beside the busy A4034 is wide but you don't follow it for long as you turn right and then go offroad along a footpath adjacent to a massive electricity substation. The path is on a slope at times and it might suit some walkers and wheelers to follow the pavement of the main road instead. The exit to this electric greenspace leads to a crossing point of A4123, another road requiring care to cross. On the other side is the entrance to a set of football fields, this is probably the most enjoyable section of the walk. There is a short section of residential side streets beyond, before you join the pavement of the A4034. This next section has a pub and some shops but is next to a very busy road. After some distance you cross into a side street and then take a series of quiet, rather pleasant paths through to Rowley Regis Railway Station, where the meeting place is. Having designed this route myself, four months ago, as part of the exercise to make routes more direct, I'm fairly definite there was no greener alternative that did not involve a major detour. Saying that, there might be a nicer route out there. Direct, safe, some variety, easy to follow, just a bit difficult to love.

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