A Walk in the Park: Mill Pool, Trittiford Mill Park
ONE of the things I’m trying to do with this column is to cover as many parks and open spaces as I can.
Some have been obvious choices, plenty haven’t.
But it’s also interesting to return to some previously featured parks at different times when you just know you’ll catch them at their absolute optimum.
Because of its pleasant walk, a lake that’s likely to freeze and the presence of copious geese, I made a beeline for Trittiford Mill Park during one of the recent heavy falls of snow.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
The Mill Pool can look a little understated during normal conditions, with the amount of bread that some people leave for the birds failing to add to the ambience.
But, give this park a coating of the white stuff and, hey presto, it suddenly looks world class. One of the problems of getting to some parks during inclement weather is that you can get stuck on the side roads.
But this one is next to the main Birmingham to Stratford railway station at Yardley Wood, so it’s just a case of hopping on to a train at either Snow Hill or Moor Street if you fancy a journey there from the city centre.
Lots of people were walking their dogs round the lake on the morning I visited and all were under control.
The snow was top quality, adding to the magical feel of being in a winter wonderland – since we might have to wait years to get anything similar, I’m glad I made the most of it while I could.
Forecasters and commentators who describe snowfalls with the adjective ‘worst’ really ought to mend their ways and use alternatives like ‘heavenly’.
A gift from nature to be enjoyed, it’s always interesting to see how snow makes it much more likely that strangers will acknowledge you when they are out walking.
Perhaps we should pretend it’s there all the time.
A former mill site, Trittiford Mill Park is now part of the Shire Country Park which includes the Dingles Recreation Ground alongside (River) Cole Valley Road and Sarehole Mill Recreation Ground.
Just yards from where Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien grew up, it was lovely to see families enjoying the snowy open space where the surviving mill and museum formed a truly magnificent backdrop.
