If you want to visit a beautiful museum and park, then Haden Hill House and Park is a great option for you! Haden Hill is a 55-acre park situated near Halesowen in the West Midlands. The park is home to Haden Hill House, a Victorian house with really interesting history! It is a great place to spend a few hours with the family.
Since the park is free to enter, you can enjoy it for as long as you like. The park has ample space and is great to walk around, especially when the weather is on your side! The park has ornamental gardens and two ornamental pools where your little ones can feed the ducks. There are two play areas in close proximity of each other; the first is an enclosed play area for younger children, and the newest addition is a larger adventure playground with timber-built climbing frames, a treehouse, monkey bars, and adventure trails. To the right of Haden Hill House, closest to the entrance on Halesowen road, there is a tennis court which can be used by the public - this is great if you have older children who enjoy a game of Tennis or Badminton.
The park is great for couples, dog walkers, as well as families. There is so much space for picnics, woodland walks, climbing trees, and exploration. Within the grounds, at the bottom of Haden Hill Park, there is Corngreaves Nature Reserve which is a much quieter area. In the main area of Haden Hill Park, the paths are paved which makes it so much easier for pushchair access but the further you go toward Corngreaves Nature Reserve, there are steps involved as well as fewer paved pathways. As well as this, the further you delve into the park, the hillier it is so do prepare your calf muscles to walk back up to the main car park! But there are multiple entrances to the park, so if you just want to explore the nature reserve then it is best to park and enter close to Corngreaves Hall on Corngreaves Road, at the southern end of the park.
The history of Haden Hill House itself is truly fascinating. George Alfred Haden Haden-Best inherited Haden Hall in the late Victorian period and shortly after, built a modern house on the site of an old farmhouse as he did not want to live in the adjacent Old Hall. The Victorian House is now a museum filled with period-style furnishings. Entrance into the museum, where there is also a tea room and activity room for children, is free but is currently closed due to COVID-19. Once the house opens in May, you are required to book a free timed ticket to visit the house and must wear a face-covering inside the building unless medically exempt. Pushchairs are also not allowed inside the house but you can leave them under the stairs or at the front door of the house. The park also hosts events a few times a year including VE Day celebrations, 1940's weekends, and your children can even pay a visit to Santa at Christmas time.
In summary, Haden Hill Park has:
No entrance fee
Free parking on the main car park just off Lee Road (although this can get busy during peak times)
Haden House Museum and tea room (although currently closed due to COVID)
Two playgrounds
Ornamental gardens and two ornamental pools
Tennis court
Woodland walks
Toilets (although currently closed due to COVID)
Address:
Halesowen Road, Cradley Heath B64 7JU
The park is in close distance to transport links including Old Hill Train Station and bus stops nearby.
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