Established around a manor house owned by Sir John Dudley, Oldbury is a historic market town in the West Midlands. By the 19th century, it had become an important industrial area for making pig iron. Oldbury later became home to a chemical factory owned by Quakers, Arthur Albright and John Wilson.
Things to do in Oldbury
In the heart of town is the Oldbury Green Retail Park, where you’ll find a Sainsbury’s supermarket and a Homebase home improvement store. You can browse the latest fashions at Next, shop for footwear at Shoezone or let the kids run loose at Smyths Toys. Surrounding the retail park are plenty of fast-food eateries, plus a JD Wetherspoons within an 1816 courthouse.
South of Oldbury is Banford Hill Park, which offers elevated views across the Black Country. It was gifted to the borough by the chemical manufacturing company Albright & Wilson and opened to the public in 1916. In addition to a rose garden, a hedge maze and walking trails, the park features a children’s playground, a skateboarding ramp and soccer pitches.
On the opposite side of Oldbury is the Sheepwash Nature Reserve, which encompasses 39 hectares of woodlands and grasslands that provide habitat for native wildlife. The site was formerly used as a brickworks and the remains of industrial structures dot the site today. Flowing through the reserve is the Oldbury Arm of the River Tame, which feeds bird and amphibian-attracting lakes.
Getting around Oldbury
Oldbury is around 20 minutes’ drive from the centre of Birmingham and 30 minutes from Birmingham Airport, which has flights to destinations across the globe. Regular trains connect to the Sandwell & Dudley railway station, which is around five minutes’ walk from the centre of Oldbury. Buses also travel to Oldbury from the surrounding towns.