Discover Dudley
Dudley is the “beating” heart of the Black Country.
With a story of rich industrial heritage, our borough has wonderful green spaces, canals and amazing geological treasures for you to explore too.
Just 30 minutes west of Birmingham our borough includes the towns of Dudley, Sedgley, Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and Halesowen. With a wide range of events and activities across our famous visitor attractions, historic buildings, beautiful nature reserves and parks, there is something for everyone.
Our history is one littered with innovation, drive and determination, there’s plenty to see and do!
Beautiful countryside
Our main site, Russells Hall Hospital is surrounded by two beautiful nature reserves: Barrow Hill, Buckpool and Pens Pool. We organise regular wellbeing and nature walks, and many staff go out for walks or even runs during their lunch breaks or after work.
We also have beautiful countryside surrounding Dudley, with incredible views, walks and towns to visit; as well as numerous national Trust and English Heritage locations to visit such as Himley Hall.
Find out more about our borough’s green spaces here.
A UNESCO global Geopark
The Black Country became a UNESCO Global Geopark on Friday 10 July 2020 in recognition of the international importance of its natural and cultural heritage.
The geology here is very rich in industrial minerals. Limestone, ironstone, fireclay, coal and other industrial minerals provided the ingredients to make iron and paved the way for an intense and very early part of the so-called Industrial Revolution to begin here.
Abraham Darby, the so-called ‘father of the industrial revolution’, was born at Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve. Through rich mineral wealth, the ingenuity of people like Abraham Darby and the freedom to experiment allowed the Black Country to become the world’s first large industrial area (sometimes referred to as the ‘Workshop of the World’). Intense industry covered the land, churned it over and covered it with noise and thick choking smoke and soot and turned it into a country ‘black by day and red by night’.
Discover more here.
