Woodgate Valley Country Park is a Country Park

Country park

A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...

 within the Bartley Green

Bartley Green

Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward to the south west of Birmingham city centre, England. The ward is part of the Edgbaston constituency which has been under Labour rule for almost ten years. It is located in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands and was in the...

 and Quinton

Quinton, Birmingham

Quinton is a suburb on the western edge of Birmingham, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward within the Edgbaston formal district, and forms a part of the Birmingham Edgbaston parliamentary constituency.The area is served by .-Geography:...

 districts of Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. Other Birmingham Country Parks are, Sutton Park

Sutton Park

Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London....

 and Lickey Hills Country Park

Lickey Hills Country Park

Lickey Hills Country Park is a country park in England. It is 10.3 miles south west of Birmingham and 24 miles north east of Worcester. The 524 acre park is situated just south of Rednal and close to Barnt Green. It is half a mile east of Cofton Hackett...

. The park is maintained as a Wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 but also has farm animals.

History

The Country Park was set up in 1984 having previously been rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 land with smallholding

Smallholding

A smallholding is a farm of small size.In third world countries, smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture of cash crops and subsistence farming. As a country becomes more affluent and farming practices become more efficient, smallholdings may persist as a legacy of...

s and larger farms. It comprises some 450 acres (182.1 ha) and is on land previously threatened by urban development.

Wild life

The park is maintained with varied wild life habitats. There are hedgerows, meadow

Meadow

A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...

s and woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

, plus Bourn Brook. More than 80 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of bird, including Marsh Harrier

Marsh harrier

The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds...

, Long-eared Owl

Long-eared Owl

The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...

 and Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

; and 250 species of plants including Common Bluebell

Common Bluebell

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...

s, Foxgloves and Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...

, have been recorded, as have butterflies

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 including Red Admiral

Red Admiral

The Red Admiral is a well-known colourful butterfly, found in temperate Europe, Asia and North America. The Red Admiral has a wing span. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring, and sometimes again in autumn.This large butterfly is identified by its striking...

 and Small Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell

The Small Tortoiseshell is a well-known colourful butterfly.-Range:It is found in temperate Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Siberia, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. There are a few records from New York City which, however, are believed to have arrived human-assisted.-Subspecies:*A. u. urticae...

. Many plants grow in the damp meadows. In 2008 Muntjac

Muntjac

Muntjac, also known as Barking Deer and Mastreani Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15–35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France, Germany and Poland....

 deer were sighted by local residents.

Leisure facility

It is a place where visitors to go for a leisurely walk, observe wildlife, walk the dog or ride horses. Visitors can also get away from the noise, traffic and buildings of the city.

Woodgate Valley Urban Farm and Hole Farm

Volunteers run the Urban Farm, a very small site that educates people, especially children, about animals.

Completely separate but adjacent is Hole Farm Trekking Centre that caters for horse riding

Trail riding

Trail riding sometimes called horse or pony trekking is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles...

over a range of ages and abilities. Buses from Bromsgrove, Halesowen - but mostly from Birmingham city centre.

Visitor Centre

Rangers based in the Visitor Centre provide recreational activities and also educational activities like a wild food walk and school activities. The Visitor Centre has a café and displays about the park. A play area for children and a picnic area are just outside.