Ever since I was a young lad, Warley Woods has always been an extension to my own backyard. It was the place where I learnt to play football. The place I first rode my bike, and also the first place I first fell off it.  As a pupil at Abbey Road, we held our sports days in the woods, and when it snowed, we careered down the slopes at break neck speed on a wooden sledge that my dad made me.  

 Whether it was fact or not, I was always led to believe that the Water tower at the back of the golf course was the highest point in Birmingham, and if that was so, my Gran had the coldest back bedroom in Birmingham, as there was a icy blast that blew directly across from the Urals that my Granny insisted the Russians aimed purposely at her house. From that part of the Woods it is like being on top of the world, with the panoramic views over looking God’s ultimate creation’s, that is the Hawthorns and the Black Country. I recall the evening we gathered up there on the eve of the new millennium, we had a bottle of bubbly, and it was as if we were waiting for the world to come to an end, only for it to erupt in an explosion of colour as we welcomed in the dawn of a new era. 

Today, what was once the place I used to play, is now one were I train. I have been lucky enough to have run in some of the great parks. Central Park New York - Parc Mauceau Paris - Hyde Park London, all inspirational places to run and exercise. But given that, Warley Woods will always remain home to me.  So a question arises, why can't the park on our own door step be as equally inspirational....? You see Warley Woods today, and it is looking better than ever.  That has to offer the inspiration.  I often see lone runners, running in the opposite direction, and wonder why we don't all run together in the same direction as a group, as we all share the interest in well being. Running Warley Woods can be as easy, or as challenging as you want it to be. Its rollercoaster ride around its perimeter, can build stamina. Its inclines can build strength, and to run the foot paths and tracks on a summer’s day can make you feel glad to be alive. 

Party in the Park 2006

Carl Chinn and David Yates