Welcome to the Walsall Ramblers group. We seek to bring the pleasures of walking to as many people as possible in the Walsall Metropolitan Area. We feel that being in a predominantly urban environment is no reason not to be involved in walking with the group. We have excellent motorway and road links from the town and hence we can be in many completely different areas of the West Midlands region within an hour of setting off.
Our primary Walks Programme provides two different types of walking experiences. We have a weekly Saturday Walks Programme throughout the year with walks up to 6 miles for those who either are new to walking or have perhaps not walked for a while. These are designed to gently encourage potential new members to try us out in a safe and friendly atmosphere. These walks are generally held within about 10 miles of Walsall itself, occasionally up to 20 miles. These distances are straight-line distances. Walkers will usually have to make their own way to the start of the walk. The Saturday walks are intended for people who are new to walking or are out of practice.
We also have Sunday Walks which are generally in the region of 7.5 to 10 miles. These are run on a joint programme with Sandwell and Wolverhampton groups. Sandwell supplies leaders on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month, Walsall supplies a leader on the second Sunday and Wolverhampton supplies a leader on the fourth Sunday. These last from early morning to mid-afternoon and walkers will need a packed lunch. The Group operates a car-sharing scheme for travel to these walks.
The terrain can be anything from the flatness of the Trent Valley to the hills of South Shropshire and the Peak District. However, there are few major hills within the Saturday walks area. Walks average about 2 mph including a mid-morning refreshment break on all walks and a lunch break on the Sunday walks. New walkers are always welcome and can contact the walk leader for details of each individual walk.
Joining the Walsall group gives you the opportunity to make new friends, improve your fitness, and explore the countryside of Walsall and the wider West Midlands, though some walks do keep to the built-up areas.
Alongside the walks, the Group has a programme of occasional social activities.
Chapel Lane between Barr Beacon and the A34 Birmingham Road near M6 junction 7 will be closed from June 30th to October 10th.
Most Saturday walks are accessible by public transport though there may be a walk from the bus or tram stop or rail station to the start of the walk. Details appear on the walk tab. Sunday walks often are not. Walks meeting at Daw End Lane can be reached by bus 997 if the leaving time is 9:00am or later. Walks meeting at Oak Park can be reached by bus 10 from Brownhills (not from Walsall) if the leaving time is 9:15am or later.
The Walsall group has a programme of walks aimed at members with dogs. They will be reasonably local to Walsall. Dogs other than assistance dogs will continue not to be permitted on weekend walks. The Stourbridge, East Staffordshire and Telford groups also hold occasional walks on which dogs are permitted by prior arrangement with the leader.
The Walsall group currently requires leaders for the following date(s) in the next two months:
Saturday 04 October
Saturday 11 October
Saturday 18 October
Any group member interested in leading please contact Peter (for Sunday walks) or Tracey (for Saturday walks), and also ask Bryan to set them up with a volunteer role of Walks Leader. Anyone who has not led before should give plenty of notice as Central Office has laid down mandatory training for new leaders. This entails reading a 16-page online booklet and watching two videos which together last about 2.5 hours.
Walsall Council is proposing a major reduction of the Great Barr Conservation Area to cover approximately only Merrions Wood and the area south of Chapel Lane / Pinfold Lane. A map of the affected area can be seen at https://go.walsall.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-09/Great_Barr_CAAMP_Poster_2024.pdf. A link to a substantial document supporting the proposals can be seen at https://go.walsall.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/consultation-great-barr-conservation-area-appraisal. We would like to thank the BBC for bringing this proposal to public attention.
What we do
Search 50,000 Ramblers group walks, guided by a walk leader. Enter a location or postcode to find nearby Ramblers group walks.
Walking is a simple pleasure that should be open to everyone, so we campaign to remove barriers to walking and we protect the places we love to wander.
