Central to Everything

Walsall, Shropshire (Inc Birmingham), England Heart Of Inc Birmingham

Recommendation added: 26/06/2006 18:55
By: katygriff (YSUK rating +352)

katygriff has been thanked 0 times for this contribution

"Now Walsall is a town located in the heart of the West Midlands only a 15 minute drive away from Birmingham. If you ever want to get to Walsall you can get there on the train from surrounding stations or if you live further away then get a train to Birmingham and there you will find a train to Walsall which leaves every half an hour in the day and every hour in the evening.

Walsall has a lot of choice in shops and with the new Wharf shopping complex which houses a very good Asda Living store, parking has become a lot better.

1) The Leather Museum.
Walsall is famous for its leather and has even provided the royal family with products. The leather museum is actually very interesting and informative. The last time I visited the museum was about 2 years ago for a crafts fair that was there. I had to pay £1 to get in but I think that was just because of the fair where as I think the museum is free to enter all year round. Within the museum you have the chance to watch people creating products from leather and sometimes you can even have the chance to have a go which is popular with children.
The workshops have a great atmosphere and all of the staff are very friendly and enthusiastic about what they are talking about. They will stand there and answer your question all day basically which is really nice to see. As you walk around the leather museum, you see displays showing you the history of Walsall and its relationship with leather including the saddles they have made for the royal family. Also you will be able to see the museums most recent designs.
When you are at the museum there is a small café with limited seats so that you can have a drink and they serve up sandwiches at a reasonable price.
The final thing of course is that there is a shop so that you can take home your very own leather product to keep a memory of your visit. Here they sell key rings, belts and purses (which I am very fond of) at good prices.

2) The Illuminations.
Once a year Walsall is bustling in the evening with people wanting to visit Walsall Illuminations. Now honestly it is not as bad as it sounds as it makes for quite a nice night. It costs £4.50 each for adults to get in and £3 for children aged under 15, under 4s go free. When I was little we always used to go to the illuminations and then I didn't go for years. Last year however my boyfriend Dave saw it advertised and was adamant that we go. We took my sister and cousins along and actually had a really good time.
The illuminations are located in the arboretum so immediately you get great surroundings with all of the woodland and the lake. The illuminations themselves vary from year to year. It is a lights show as the name suggests and features lots of displays including Disney, cartoons and Halloween displays. The laser displays across the lake are stunning and for children they have live entertainment shows. As sad as we are we stayed and watched one with a magician who was quite funny and all of the kids loved him. There is a small selection of fair rides you can go on including the waltzers and fair like food so expect candy floss, toffee apples , hot dogs and burgers.

3) The Art Gallery.
The Walsall art gallery was opened by the queen several years ago now and has become a focus point of Walsall. The gallery is free to enter and there are several different floors to explore and sections are clearly labelled. There are both stairs and elevator to reach each floor and many toilets are located around the facility.
Sections to visit will include exhibitions and local art. The exhibition taking place at the moment is Epstein and the fertile line. The gallery itself is very interesting and there are lots to see and do. People of every age should find something of interest there and there is a shop located at the entrance to buy souvenirs including art prints and key rings."