Shire Oak Park Local Nature Reserve
Shire Oak Park Local Nature Reserve is a wonderful area of Countryside, about 1.5km (1 mile) from Brownhills town centre . This 26 hectares (65 acres) site was once a sand and gravel quarry, but is now a haven for wildlife. It has woodland, heathland, meadows, ponds and a good network of footpaths.
History
Shire Oak gets its name from an ancient oak tree sited on the old Shenstone/Walsall Wood parish boundary. (Shire would probably have come from the Saxon word ‘scyre’ meaning divide). The oak finally came down in the 1890’s. There is a small remnant of it at Shire Oak Community School .
From the 13 th century, Shire Oak was part of the Royal Forest of Cannock, a mixture of arable, pasture woodland and heathland, in which the King's deer were protected. During the 18 th century the area was enclosed into agricultural fields and thus it remained for the next 200 years. Quarrying for sand and gravel started here in the early 1930’s, but during World War II the government took over the area for tank testing. After the war, quarrying continued in earnest to supply materials for rebuilding Birmingham . The quarry finally closed in 1978 although Birch Hollow, at the south end, has not been quarried since the 1940’s.
How to find Shire Oak Park Local Nature Reserve
By car
Parking available off Andrews Road ,
Shire Ridge, from A461 Lichfield Road .
By bus
Walsall to Shire Oak 381
Further details on Centro Hotline 0121 200 2700