Knowle Park in the spring of 2019

My second visit to Dorridge, and the walk up to Knowle in Solihull was during March 2019. While in Knowle, I popped into Knowle Park. While in the park it was nice and sunny, but after I left for the walk back to Dorridge Station, it started hailing! Also in this park is Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve and Purnells Brook.

Knowle Park

My visit to the historic Knowle Village and Knowle Park was during March 2019. Having caught a train to Dorridge again, I wanted to walk further than 2 years before and get to Knowle. Like Dorridge Park, Knowle Park is a Green Flag Park. Home to Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve and Purnells Brook. They are reminders of the historical Forest of Arden from Knowle's past.

Jobs Close gets it's name from Jobs Close House which looks over the park. Built in 1904 as a private residence, before being bought by Solihull Council in the 1940's and used as Cedarhurst Primary School. In 1957 it was sold to a charitable trust, and used to this day as a retirement home.

There is a pond near Longdon Road. Which was formerly a series of three marl pits. The pond is reguarly visited by ducks, herons and moorhens. The park is home to a variety of tree species.

Purnells Brook that runs through the park from the north west corner. It was the boundary in Saxon times between Knowle and Longdon Manors. In the Nature Reserve you can see woodland flowers such as bluebells (when they are in flower).

The park also has an outdoor gym and a playground. There is a local community group here called the Friends of Knowle Park.

Onto my visit from the middle of March 2019. Entering from Longdon Road in Knowle. Saw this Solihull M.B.C. sign for Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve.

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So first up is Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve. Steps near the pond.

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A green fence around the pond.

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View of the pond towards the car park.

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Next I went up these steps.

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Woodland walk in Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve.

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Bit of a drop near the trees from here.

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Now into Knowle Park proper. A pair of paths splitting in a Y shape.

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March is daffodil season. These daffodils were quite white with yellow on the inside.

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A close up look at the Knowle Park daffodils.

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A map of Knowle Park welcomes you, it also has information of the park (which I've mentioned at the top of this post).

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Dark clouds in front of the sun. Perhaps a sign of the coming hail storm I would be caught in on the way back to Dorridge Station at the time.

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A footbridge back into Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve. Crossing Purnells Brook.

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A look at Purnells Brook from the footbridge.

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A stone in the middle of the nature reserve and a sign. Paths in a triangular shape. Information about the grassland and scrub. Also the tree lined brook.

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Close up look at the artwork on the Jobs Close Local Nature Reserve stone.

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Back into Knowle Park again and the clouds didn't look too bad at this point.

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Another Knowle Park map and sign (same as the other one).

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Those houses are Jobs Close, which is now a retirement home. But once a private home. It was used as Cedarhurst Primary School in the 1940s.

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More daffodils, theses ones are the more traditional yellow ones.

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Heading out of the park towards Lodge Road.

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After this the walk back to Dorridge Station. But was a hail storm. Again instead of getting the train back to Acocks Green, I got the first one out to Solihull with Chiltern Railways. West Midlands Railway services terminate at Dorridge. But didn't want to wait in the waiting room for too long.

Coming soon will be other Solihull park posts for Olton Jubilee Park, Langley Hall Park and Mill Lodge Park. (Click these links to view the projects and view the photo galleries).

Click here for my Dorridge Park post.

Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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