Barrow Hill: The Dudley Volcano

During a cold & damp Sunday morning we joined a geological-ecological walk around a local nature reserve in Dudley. Near Russells Hall Hospital is a little-known patch of green with a dome shaped hill and a large cross on its summit. Barrow Hill is part of a former volcano where molten magma has penetrated the surrounding coal measures. Starting from St. Marks Church, we followed a trail first to the summit then round quarries, passing fields slowly being restored to their former wildlife friendly meadow status. The route of the Pensnett Railway once ran through the area, now known as the Barrow Hill Incline. Quarrying was undertaken to provide stone for local (turnpike) roads. Adjacent to Barrow Hill is the Tansey Green Claypit where the stems of fossil conifers have been discovered buried in ash deposits. Controlled grazing is helping to develop the wild meadows and we have been advised to return in the summer to see the flowering wildflowers and the bees & butterflies that are attracted to them.