Portway Hill, part of the Rowley Hills

Ox-eye daisies on Portway Hill, part of Rowley Hills

Credit: Mike Poulton

Colonies of rare butterflies and nesting birds make this site great for wildlife enthusiasts - but it is also internationally famous for the unusual onion skin weathering on basalt which was used for kerbstones throughout Birmingham and the Black Country

Location

St Brades Close
Rowley Regis
B69 1NX

OS Map Reference

SO974891
A static map of Portway Hill, part of the Rowley Hills

Know before you go

Size
1 hectare
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Entry fee

No entry fee though there may be a charge for events & activities
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Parking information

Roadside parking, this is a residential area so please park considerately

Bicycle parking

Fixed rails but no formal racks

Walking trails

There are several foot paths across the hills and a formal path across the site

Access

Unfortunately this site is not wheelchair friendly. Steep escarpments. suitable footwear for walking required.

Dogs

Dogs permitted
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Facilities

Picnic area

When to visit

Opening times

Open at any time

Best time to visit

All year round

About the reserve

Portway Hill is part of the Rowley Hills, a few acres of grassland high on the Hills looking out over Sandwell, Birmingham and parts of Dudley, but home to an astounding wealth of grassland wildflowers and butterflies.  

Backed by spectacular rock exposures of the Rowley Rag, carpeted in wildflowers and with butterflies filling the air, there's no finer place to appreciate the living landscape of wildlife sites in the wider cityscape. The reserve boasts scarce plants, like the exotic Bee Orchid and the unusual hare's foot clover, and many important butterfly species, including one of the few colonies of Marbled White Butterflies in Birmingham and the Black Country.

The site is excellent for birds with birds of prey such as peregrines and kestrels as well birds which enjoy the open grassland and those, like warblers, which may be found in the scrub at the edges of the site. 

Environmental designation

Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI)