Bromsgrove - town in Worcestershire, England, UK

Bromsgrove is a dormitory town in Worcestershire. Bromsgrove is not much of a tourist destination, but it hosts a well regarded annual music festival.

Understand

Bromsgrove was a market town, with a long history of water mills, nail making and a railway wagon works. It is best known now for Bromsgrove School, a private residential school, and for being the town where the poet AE Houseman and his radical brother and sister lived. His house and some connected sites can be seen, and a statue has been placed on the pedestrianised high street.

Bromsgrove was also the home to a group of artists and craftsmen working at the Bromsgrove Guild, who created a number of famous works, including the Liver Birds and parts of Buckingham Palace's gates. Some of their work can be found in local churches.

It is close to major motorway junctions, so it has some large hotels. It is also close to some better known leisure spots, such as the Lickey Hills.

Get in

By train

• Bromsgrove station, New Road, B60 2LX (approximately 1 mile from the town centre), 52.323°, -2.048°. One of the two southern termini Birmingham's Cross City Line services, the other being Redditch.

Trains run every 20 minutes (hourly on Sundays) all-stops to Birmingham New Street station, then on the northern terminus of the line either at Litchfield or Four Oaks. From New Street, connections can be made to/from Birmingham International station (for Birmingham Airport and the NEC), or other rail routes across the UK. A single fare is around £6.50, and journey time is about half an hour.

There are also a handful of trains per day to Nottingham and Cardiff. Car parking, complete with EV charging, as well as cycle parking is available on site, but few buses serve the station. If you aren't cycling or walking, it's recommended to have a taxi booked in advance to meet you, as they rarely wait at the station (most passengers are commuters who either drive themselves, or get picked up).

By car

Bromsgrove is located at the intersection between the M5 and M42 motorways, and is well signposted. The main A38 runs through the town.

There is plenty of car parking, although few places are free of charge.

Get around

The town is quite compact, so the best way to get about is on foot. For travelling slightly further afield, regular buses depart from a bus loop in the town centre (next to the ASDA supermarket) to surrounding areas as well as a few local circular routes around the town estates. Other than the two axial routes (Birmingham-Bromsgrove-Worcester and Redditch-Bromsgrove-Kidderminster) most services aren't terribly regular or logical. However, the BusTimes website provides well organised and accessible timetables and route guides.

See

Most people do not visit Bromsgrove as tourists, as there is little of interest to see. However, St John's Church, near the town centre is worth a look. Sanders Park is also quite pleasant during the day, but is best avoided at night.

• Rosedene Cottage, Victoria Rd, Dodford, near Bromsgrove, B61 9BU (about three miles from Bromsgrove town centre, towards Kidderminster), 52.354698°, -2.10304°, +44 1527 821214, rosedene@nationaltrust.org.uk. By arrangement, first Sunday of the month only, March to December. Restored Chartist cottage owned by the National Trust just outside Bromsgrove. Dodford was one of four Chartist colonies where working people attempted to gain economic independence by going 'back to the land'.
• Church of the Holy Trinity and St Mary, Priory Rd, Dodford, B61 9DF (about three miles from Bromsgrove town centre, towards Kidderminster), 52.350284°, -2.101135°, +44 1527 579561. By arrangement. Early 20th-century church in the Arts and Crafts style designed by members of the Bromsgrove Guild, "one of the best of its date" according to Simon Jenkins.
• Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, B60 4JR (2 miles south of Bromsgrove), 52.314°, -2.072°. Well worth a visit if you are interested in history. Particularly good for families with children. The museum is a 30 minute walk from Bromsgrove train station. Easiest access is by taxi, although the 144 bus stops close by, and the 141 passes the museum. Could be combined with a meal out at the Ewe and Lamb restaurant, which is a 10 minute walk away. Adult tickets are £7.70, children £4, or a family ticket £19.80
• Lickey Hills Country Park, Rednal (train to Barnt Green or #X62 bus), 52.3704°, -2.0028°, +44 121 447-7106, lickey.hills@birmingham.gov.uk. Popular park (heathland, coniferous forest and deciduous forest) covering over 200 hectares with a visitor centre, pub and golf course. Best visited in the spring (for bluebells) or autumn (for bilberries and turning leaves). Free admission

Do

• Bromsgrove Festival. An annual classical music festival, each spring.
• Tardebigge locks, 52.3214°, 2.0107°. A series of thirty locks make a pleasant walk along this stretch of a restored 19th-century canal. It is one of the longest series of locks in the UK.
• Sanders Park, 52.333595°, -2.0704°. The park covers 16 hectares. Nice place to take a stroll or relax. Events are occasionally held at the park, usually located around the small bandstand. Facilities include: Two tennis courts that are in poor condition. Rackets and balls can be rented from the small office next to the courts for a fee. An outdoor skate park, often full of young people loitering around. Jumps and ramps are well setup for skating and BMX. The skate park is occasionally frequented by some decent riders. A bowling green and a children's play area. 2016-12-31

Buy

Eat

• Darr's Fish and Chips, 68 Worcester Road, B61 7AG, 52.317756°, -2.080013°, +44 1527 873393. Good fish and chip takeaway. Probably the best in town.
• Pizza Express, 25 High St, B61 8AJ, 52.334233°, -2.061771°, +44 1527 570880. Part of the popular chain. Reasonable Italian style food.
• The Ewe and Lamb, 68 Hanbury Rd, B60 4DN, 52.311405°, -2.076651°, +44 1527 871929. Located approximately 2 miles south of Bromsgrove town centre. Well worth a trip out of town. Excellent atmosphere. Feels quite modern, but still retains a country pub charm. Expect to pay between £15-27 for a main meal. The fish and chips or steaks are particularly good, as are the desserts.
• Antonio's Pizza, 34 Worcester Rd, B61 7AE, 52.332624°, -2.063571°, +44 1527 833399. Pizza man extraordinaire. 2017-10-09

Drink

• Golden Cross Hotel, 20 High Street, B61 8HH, 52.333941°, -2.06176°, +44 1527 870005. Part of the Wetherspoons chain of pubs. Cheap drinks, but lacking in atmosphere.
• Love 2 Love, 39 Worcester Road. The only nightclub in Bromsgrove. Only worth a visit if you can't get to the far superior nightlife in Birmingham or Worcester. Can get rowdy outside the club, but it is rarely violent.

Sleep

• Travelodge, 2 Finstall Rd, Aston Fields, B60 2DZ, 52.322485°, -2.047768°, +44 8719 846386. Check-in: From noon, check-out: From noon to 2PM. Aston Fields. Located next to the train station. Part of the large hotel chain. 'The Ladybird' pub next door offers a good pint and cheap, poor quality food. At all costs avoid 'The Ladybird special burger'! Alternatively, there is a more up-market restaurant next door, an Indian restaurant just down the street, or an excellent Chinese takeaway (Aston House). If you are staying on a Sunday, get a roast dinner from 'Banners', which is just next to the pub.
• Grafton Manor Hotel, Grafton Lane, B61 7HA (south of Bromsgrove, down a lane off the Worcester Road), 52.3206°, -2.0909°, +44 1527 579007, info@graftonmanorhotel.co.uk. Relatively expensive family run hotel, in an historic manor house with connections to Catholic aristocracy.
• Brockencote Hall, Chaddesley Corbett DY10 4PY (Off A448), 52.357°, -2.167°, +44 1562 777876. Classy hotel in chateau-like mansion in parkland, great comfort, service and dining. No dogs. B&B double £140 2020-07-02

Connect

Stay safe

As with the rest of the UK, in any emergency call 999 or 112 (from a landline if you can) and ask for ambulance, fire or police when connected.

Bromsgrove is a reasonably safe place. Some trouble can occur with drunk people late at night on weekends around the main pubs and club. However, it is no worse than any other UK town or city, and the police are fairly effective in the area. Sanders Park is best avoided at night, as is the area around Charford.

Go next

Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby