Balsall Heath Park

Balsall Heath Park, sadly, is not one of Birmingham’s best parks. It’s also not too bad — just a bit plain and shoddy in places.
It has a children’s play area — and not much else. It does offer some green space in down town Balsall Heath though, which has to be a good thing — and seems to be quite popular, although often a bit littered. Not to mention dog poo-​ed.
All in all it’s better than a big concrete car park, but doesn’t have any particularly outstanding features. It’s not that well-​lit either, so probably best avoided after dark.

Of all the parks in the south Birmingham area, this is probably the worst. It’s fairly small, although there’s nothing wrong with that, but it is often very much full of litter and dog mess, which suggests that it is not a high priority for the parks department. It is also quite popular with a handful of street drinkers and not very well lit after dark.
The only interesting feature here is the state of the trees. You might not notice it at first glance but these old, tall trees but some have very small branches. The reason for this is that in 2005 this park was pretty much at the epicentre of Hurricane Balti! A freak tornado hit Birmingham and caused untold damage as it made a 40 second journey through these parts — the trees were stripped to the bark of their leaves and branches and are only now, 7 years later, starting to resemble their former stature.

Balsall Heath Park is a large, grass covered, open area with a few large trees on the sides. There’s also a dilapidated looking basketball court. And that’s about it, in terms of physical things you can describe about the park.
However, it does serve as a community space on fine days, with all ages coming to hang out, gossip, or maybe kick a ball about or something — there’s a fair bit of fodder for people watchers here when the weather’s good. There’s enough space for everyone to have their own patch of grass, and the atmosphere is usually jovial, with little of the intimidating edge usually associated with inner city parks. Perhaps this is something to do with the fact that the park is very open, making it very easy for anyone trying to do anything dodgy to be seen.
If you’re looking for a beautiful piece of parkland with which to lift the spirits, the world beating Canon Hill Park is just down the road. However, this doesn’t mean that Balsall Heath Park is to be sniffed at, and if you’re in that neck of the woods, why not pay it a visit on a sunny day and let the locals bring the colour?