Walsall is a market town in the West Midlands that’s just nine miles from central Birmingham.
Walsall is very well connected, which is why it’s so popular with commuters. It’s close to the M6, with three nearby junctions, which means locals can drive to Birmingham centre in just 20 minutes. It also connects to the M1 going out towards London, and the M74 heading up to Glasgow. Walsall has a train station in the town centre providing four services an hour to Birmingham with the journey time taking between 20-30 minutes. Once you’ve reached Birmingham there are international train services as well as nationwide services, including trains to London that take only 1hr30mins. The local bus services are plentiful, with Walsall’s bus station housing two smaller stations within it, and when venturing abroad by plane, Birmingham Airport is just 30 minutes away.
Families enjoy Walsall because it has a great selection of education providers for children and young people of all ages. There are many primary and secondary schools within the town, including comprehensives, private schools and academies. Further education is provided for locally by Walsall College, and the University of Wolverhampton has a Sports and Art Campus here.
Walsall has good shopping facilities with several shopping centres available within the town centre, including Saddlers Shopping Centre, The Park Place Shopping Centre and Old Square Shopping Centre. These places provide a good collection of high street names (like Clarks, Boots, Claire’s and Primark) as well as places to eat and drink (like Costa and Greggs). The Victorian Arcade has a lovely collection of independent stores, such as Arcade Florist, Eclipse Records and Life of Dad Boutique, all providing something unique to the town. There are many supermarkets to choose from for the weekly shop, including Morrisons, Lidl, Asda and Sainsbury’s.
There are some fantastic local cafes here, and many people enjoy Chuckery Café, Gardenia and The Table for good food and excellent service. When going out for a meal here there are plenty of choices available. Five Rivers A La Carte provides gourmet Indian cuisine, or you could feast on quality steak at Kabel’s Steakhouse or a variety of delicious dishes at The Littleton. Walsall also has well-known chain restaurants such as TGI Fridays and Bella Italia. When looking for somewhere to go for a drink, you’ll enjoy traditional pubs such as The Fountain Inn and The Black Country Arms, or go for cocktails at places like Memoirs Bar.
Healthcare is well provided for here with several GP services and medical centres, as well as Walsall Manor Hospital, which has an A&E department.
There’s plenty to do locally, and many people appreciate all that Walsall Arboretum has to offer, which includes a play area, skate park, splash pad (in the school holidays), pedalos, a café, fishing and a cricket pavilion, amongst much more. The site was originally opened in 1874 and it covers 170 acres of country park, with Hatherton lake, gardens, sports areas and more.
The town has several cinemas to visit, as well as The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall Leather Museum and Walsall Gala Baths. Being just 20 minutes from Birmingham, there’s also everything a big city has to offer within easy reach too.
