Smestow Valley - Wolverhampton’s Green corridor

Smestow Valley, Wolverhampton’s first local nature reserve, lies on the west side of Wolverhampton.

Smestow Valley forms part of the Black Country Urban Park bid for £50 million of Lottery to improve areas of the local canal network.

Together with the adjacent Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, it provides an oasis of tranquillity and beauty within the urban area. 

The spine of the reserve is the line of the former Great Western Railway’s, Kingswinford and Wolverhampton line.  It runs from Oxley, through Tettenhall, Compton and on to Castlecroft.  Meadows, woodland and grassland lie on either side of this spine and there are numerous links to the adjacent canal which runs through Fordhouses, Pendeford, Aldersley, Newbridge to Compton and beyond.

The project will improve accessibility to the reserve and the canal by providing a durable surface that is in keeping with this valuable natural resource.  Signage and interpretation will be used to educate and inform visitors about the history and wildlife of the corridor and its value to Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

Bridges, platforms and old railway buildings will be restored and a new field study centre will be created in the old station building at Tettenhall. 

Improvements will be made for those with mobility impairments; stiles will be replaced with wheelchair friendly gates, handrails added to steps, steep gradients will be removed, and a circular wheelchair friendly path will be created. 

Visitors with visual impairments will benefit from increased tactile surfacing and the provision of signage or literature with Braille and large text.

Further works to create and restore habitats for wildlife along the corridor will be carried out in conjunction with the accessibility improvements. Some works, such as the creation of otter holts, have already commenced along the canal and these will be supplemented by further works within the reserve.  Meadows will be restored for wildflowers and ground nesting birds and a new reed bed will be created for wetland birds.