Route Checker: Kelvin Roberts

[1]  From the entrance to Cadbury’s factory at the junction of Main Street South, turn left briefly and then first right up Franklin Way.  At the T-junction turn left into Mary Vale Road.  As soon as you have crossed the railway bridge, turn sharp left down the ramp and right along the Birmingham and Worcester Canal (A) path underneath the bridge.

(A)  The Birmingham and Worcester Canal was an important feature of the development of Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution. It is 29 miles long, and this stretch was completed in 1796. Cadburys used part of the canal for moving bulk goods until the 1960s.

[2]  Continue along the canal path until you pass under another bridge, and take the exit to your right.  Go down the 9 steps, and up past an electricity pylon to emerge onto a road. (This is Lifford Lane, but the roadsign is tucked into the hedge on the right.)   Cross this road and turn right.  In about 20 metres, turn left onto Pershore Road, then almost immediately cross the Pelican crossing and go right down Dell Road (which is slightly to your left).

[3]  Take the first left into Shirley Road.  At the top of the hill turn right into Breedon Road, then the left fork over the railway bridge.  Enter Cotteridge Park, and take the sharp right path alongside iron railings. Turn  next left  and cross the park between the children’s play area and the tennis courts.  Just before you reach the road, turn right along a path and continue until you reach the end of the park, and then follow Franklin Road in the same direction, past Beaumont Road until Mary Vale Road.

(B)  Cotteridge Park is one of the parks established in the city in Victorian times, and it has a very active group of Friends, with lots of activities for children, schools and other groups.

[4]  Turn left down Mary Vale Road, noticing the Almshouses on the right at the junction with Linden Road.  Cross Mary Vale Road  and walk up Linden Road to the right, past Bournville Lane and as far as the entrance  to Cadbury World on the right.

(C)  Bournville Almshouses were built in 1898, and are still  house older residents who have worked for Cadbury’s, or their widows/widowers.

(D)  Cadbury World is the place where you can enjoy a chocolate-filled day out, finding out how chocolate is produced from start to finish.

For a shorter walk, cross Mary Vale Road and turn right.. Take the left turn down Franklin Way, retracing your steps to the factory entrance.

[5]  Cross the driveway to Cadbury World and turn right and follow it  as far as the second zebra crossing, where you cross and enter into the factory grounds.  Follow the path, sign posted to the station, round past the carpark, walking alongside the factory itself.  Note the Bourn Brook, which was Cadbury’s early water supply, and the Men’s Recreation grounds.  Ascend the steps or the ramp up onto Bournville Lane, turn left and return to the factory entrance where you started the walk.