Our Sparkhill community directory (map and plan) allows you to discover community organisations, gardens, and networks in your area that support social and environmental wellbeing.
Sparkhill Community Map
This Sparkhill community walking and cycling route allows you to explore your local area by bike or foot connecting brilliant organisations, groups and your local nature spaces.
Viewing the route:
You can view and follow the Sparkhill community map route online using Google Maps or route finding and navigation app Komoot. The route is walking and cycling friendly, designed to be a self-guided tour which is great to do on your own, with friends or as a family.
Start/Finish: Sparkhill Park
Total Distance: 17miles
For a great day out you can complete the route all in one go at your own pace or choose one or two organisations/highlights to visit and use the route to help plan your journey.
Organisations
- Friends of Sparkhill Park – A group of volunteers working towards improving the park and facilitating activities. There are regular football and cricket clubs running, as well as environmental action work, and cleanups. They are mobilised predominantly on Facebook groups.
- Sparkhill Litter Busters – Local volunteers keeping Sparkhill clean through regular litter picks, fly-tipping responses, and community clean-ups. They mobilise dozens of residents to reclaim streets, parks, and green spaces.
- The Springfield Project and St Christopher’s Church – A family centred community charity in the heart of Sparkhill, offering a range of educational, welfare and recreational services. They are also our Sustainability Anchor organisation for our Building Greener Communities project.
- Friends of Trittiford Park – The Friends of Trittiford Park and Pool are a group of volunteers dedicated to the care of this wonderful green and blue space.
- Friends of Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood Reserve – Built on the success of previous groups and years of volunteering and campaigning. It was community action that saved the reserve from the developers and was one of the catalysts for the formation of the Urban Wildlife Group, which became The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country.
- Moseley Hive – A hub of activity offering community services such as workshops, exercise classes, wellbeing activities and arts based sessions.
- Moseley Park and Pool – A beautiful and peaceful parkland and lake running yoga, tennis and angling clubs. They also offer a range of free activities such as nature play, drama groups for children, arts workshops, outdoor cinema, festivals, and walks.
- Friends of Cannon Hill Park – A group of volunteers dedicated to the care of this wonderful green and blue space.
- Midlands Art Centre – Offering live theatre, cinema, visual arts exhibitions, practical courses, and special events.
- ChangeKitchen CIC and Cafe – A social enterprise and Kindness Cafe, that focuses on social impact, food justice, improving life opportunities and cooking up delicious, climate-friendly, plant-based menus.
- The Old Printworks – A diverse and welcoming community in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, that believes in the transformative power of making and creativity.
- Balsall Heath City Farm – A City Farm that is free for the community to book a visit nearly every day of the year. A vibrant community space in the heart of Birmingham, run by St. Paul’s Trust. Our farm is home to a range of friendly animals, gardens, and interactive learning areas, all designed to bring people closer to nature.
- Adam Mosque and Dawah Academy – A place of worship for Muslims. They are also committed to the alleviation of disadvantage, inequality and deprivation through a targeted range of services.
- Friends of Seven Streets Pocket Park – Members from the community have set up this Friends Group to help make it a welcoming and more beautiful place to spend time.
- Friends of Spark Green Park – Volunteers transforming Spark Green Park with tree planting, composting, and an orchard. They run after-school nature play, sports, scavenger hunts, wellbeing picnics, and first-aid training.
- Ladypool Cycles – Cycle and repair shop in Sparkhill.
- Bosnia House – Provide practical support to Bosnian and other ethnic minority communities.
- Guru Nanak Gurdwara – A place of worship working with the community to deliver social and environmental improvements.
- Narthex – Narthex runs a food and clothes bank, St John’s Pantry, warm welcome space, debt advice, and refugee support. They also host coffee mornings, wellbeing workshops, youth mentoring, and senior friendship clubs.
- Beacon Cycling Academy at Ackers Adventure – Coaching and cycling sessions to encourage young people to ride, safely and confidently.
- Ashiana Community Project – ACP offers domestic violence, carers and menopause support services, as well as debt advise and counselling. They run programmes of activities like nature trips, yoga retreats, and cycle exertions.
- Cog Nation CIC – Mobile bike repair, maintenance and community cycle services, getting more Birmingham residents cycling. Contact Cath or Fabio for more information.
Highlights
- Sarehole Mill – An iconic site for Birmingham’s heritage with JRR Tolkien drawing on his childhood nearby to create Middle-earth. The mill alone is great to visit, but the surrounding Woodland Realm is home to enchanting creations by Graham Jones. They have reiterated a sustainable focus by using recycled materials and timber. Within walking distance of Sparkhill, it is one to visit!
- Moseley High Street Bike Parking
We hope this map can be used by local residents to find accessible services and places of support, as well as highlight the great work residents can get involved with, plus visit beautiful green spaces.
Greener Community Plan
We are working towards a Greener, Healthier and Fairer Sparkhill. In focusing our efforts to one area we have been able to get to know the community. Alongside these community insights, we have gathered data to inform a Greener Community Plan.
This plan identifies actions needed to benefit communities and the local environment through sustainability improvements.
Working together within and around Sparkhill to deliver sustainable improvements will make a huge difference to the resilience of our communities to climate change.
Please get in touch if you would like support with a project plan or partnership.
We look forward to seeing where these plans take us.
A few things to note when using the Sparkhill Walking and Cycling Community Map
- Komoot – This is a route finding app/website, to access the content for free you will need to create a free account and select Birmingham as your first region which is free.
- Always follow the Highway Code. Give priority and be courteous to pedestrians, particularly on towpaths and share with care paths.
- Please be extra careful when walking or riding near open water.
- Ride within your own ability.
- If stopping to rest or look at the map, please stop in a suitable and safe place.
- Most of all, have fun exploring your local area by bike or foot!