THE GREAT ESCAPE Part 2

As we walked further out from the station, the feel of Perry Barr started to change dramatically.

Like Corby, Perry Barr has undergone a programme of regeneration and the One Stop Shopping Centre seems to be the flagship for the new, the clean, the modern and the convenient. The shops are full, the place is busy, it’s functional and like many other out of town retail complexes but its aspect and orientation does much to combat the impression made by Perry Barr when you alight from the station. There is energy and hustle, students and locals add to the hum of energy.

We decided to explore the University Campus, once again the nicest spaces were sheltered, curled inside, tree lined walk ways, small, planted courtyards, intimate study areas not immediately obvious from the outside view. From the steps leading up to the Student Union building you could see a sculptural conglomeration of pipe and ducting – reminiscent of a Paolozzi design or sculpture.  Jo particualrly liked this as an gritty industrial backdrop to the shiny newness of the University piazza.

We continued walking, trying to find the edge of Perry Barr, or at least get a sense of its size.  We asked how large Perry Barr was?  We were directed towards a park, it seemed to imply this was as far as "Perry Barr" went.  So we carried on down the road in search of the park.

On the way we passed the Greyhound Stadium.  We already knew there was a Greyhound Stadium here and were quite excited as Carole owns a whippet.  But of course when we got there the Stadium was empty.  It was really strange, a place that would be a hive of excitement and atmosphere when the races are on, but when empty it had a weird feeling of loneliness and abandonment.

We stumbled upon the zigzag bridge, now dwarfed by a newer bridge just upstream which carries the traffic. The zigzag bridge itself is just for pedestrians, providing a really rather lovely, surprising and odd little path.

It was a long walk to Perry Park and we weren’t really sure if the park we came upon was the park we’d been looking for. They were building a new skate park, men and diggers were busy moving earth and reshaping the landscape. A lone skater practised his moves on a relatively new skate ramp. A path wound past the heavy vehicles and busy men, there was an expanse of grass punctuated by trees and drifts of crocuses. 

A bowling green awaited bowlers and spaces cried out for parents and children, picnics and play. 

We peered over a wrought iron railing and saw a drainage channel lined with Victorian blue brick. A man in a suit picked his way along the channel, measuring stick in one hand, camera in the other. He told us this was the first time the water had run so free and clear in many years, his face was a picture of pride and happiness at the completion of a job well done.  We all agreed that the structure did have its own beauty about it.

We were particularly struck by the park, how beautiful it was after the business and urbanity of the part of Perry Barr that we first arrived at, and yet it was practically empty of people even on that glorious sunny day.  Another man working on clearing the channel told us that the park was always this empty.  We felt an urge to adopt the park, draw people to it, fill it with noise and laughter.


In the distance, on the far edge of the park, we could see a large construction project underway.  This, we were told, is the new stadium, due to open as part of the Olympics.  Obviously there were big plans for this area and we wondered how the stadium would affect the park - would it draw more people to use it?  We realised that the "Be a Star in Perry Barr" campaign must be part of this project, to involve local people in the Olympic event.

So what next?   - We want to come back, meet more people, and explore more of the area.  Our visit gave us lots to think about and the great thing about train journeys is that short amount of time to reflect on where you have just been.  

We discussed our impressions and the idea that Perry Barr had many friendly and positive things but these were underlying and hidden away, like the people, sense of community, the park and the zigzag bridge.  We wondered, where is the heart of Perry Barr?  This idea is something we would like to develop into a proposal for the town.  A way of mapping and networking Perry Barr and the impressions of people who live there - where do they think the heart is?  Does each person have a different location for their heart?  Is it a very personal thing?  Where do people get together?  What potential is there for community celebration?

 If you live in Perry Barr, send us your thoughts on Where is the Heart of Perry Barr?

More photographs from the day

THE GREAT ESCAPE Part 1

PERRY BARR, MARCH 4^TH 2011

Perry Barr, sounds rural, romantic or like the name of a childhood sweet, we’d never been there and we went with few preconceptions other than it was unlikely to be rural, romantic or anything like a childhood sweet!

To take advantage of our £10 Great Escape ticket we had to begin our journey at Northampton Station, a busy place but very ugly in a low, crouching, cramped kind of way. It’s a functional place with many commuters using the line to get to and from work; it must cost commuters a fortune in parking fees every week.

On our arrival at Perry Barr we knew we were going to have to work hard to make the place come alive in our imagination, if Northampton Station was ugly, then Perry Barr really needed to be adopted by the community. The London Midland lime green and black livery did do something to add a visual cohesion but there was a sense of things being a bit run down and unloved.

Maps, help points and signage were sad, tired and there was a cherry tree that seemed to be held prisoner in the unforgiving embrace of the concrete stair-rail, there was also bird song, and budding on the branches, the light was lifting, warming and the adventure was about to begin.

Out on the street we were struck by the noise, petrol fumes and the savage gash created by the main road running through Perry Barr. It was hard to get any sense of the place, it wasn’t a space it was a line. There had been an attempt to make the Subways beautiful in an Art Deco-meets-the-8o’s way.

The community didn’t love that either; the walls were tagged, the walkways were filthy, cigarette butts and cast aside rubbish etched itself on the eye.

It was obvious that there were the beginnings of regeneration; the bold colours of a large, curved billboard jumped out at you, urging you to "Be a Star in Perry Barr". The significance of this became clear later.

As our senses began to atune to the surroundings, we started to pick out interesting details that seemed to hint at stories: a dignified Church building sitting next to a modern factory / warehouse complex. Sheltered under the ornate arch of the church entrance, a man, smartly dressed in a dark suit, texting on his iphone……….

A jumble of sudden colour at the market, bright fruity colours lined up in blocks that sang out amongst the concrete and tarmac greys of the main road.

Having almost stumbled over a monument to P. C. Malcolm Walker we stopped to puzzle over it.

A voice behind us piped up “ I can tell you all about that, what happened that day……” and Sal the manager of a Property Lettings Agency launched into the history of the monument, what had happened on the day, the subways, the tension between communities, his passion for local and family history, his travels in the forces, the wide and varied network of his family and roots. We were wide-eyed and glued to the spot and we felt it was as if we were meant to meet this person who was able to make the location come alive.

Once we started noticing the individual, whether it be in the glorious local market or the tales of Sal, we realised how friendly this place can be. Many of the people milling about were calling a good morning to others in the street, there did seem to be some sense of community and people were, on the whole, smiling. An underlying warmth in Perry Barr had started to reveal itself and we were glad we had taken the time to look deeper. As our walk around the area continued, we found more things of astonishing beauty and potential, and we left hugely inspired... which you can read about in part 2, coming soon!

Old photos of Perry Barr

Some history

Our Mystery Trip - where shall we go? It's up to YOU!

On 4th March Carole and Jo will be taking a Mystery Trip via rail to a station somewhere on the London Midland Network.  We don't know where we are going to go.  THAT'S UP TO YOU!

We are asking all readers of our blog to vote for where they would like us to go on the network.

You might know one of the places and think we should go, or you might just be intrigued by the name of the place and want us to find out what it's like there.

Please click here to look at the network map.  Choose a place and make your vote by leaving us a comment or emailing us at milesanddacombe@virginmedia.com saying where you would like us to go and why.

We will choose the best idea on Thursday 3rd March, the day before we go, and then we will write a report on the blog of what we found there!

Why are we doing this?  London Midland Network are doing a Great Escape ticket for only £10 for adults and £5 for children anywhere on their network between 19th February and 6th March 2011.  If you also go on a Great Escape, please write to us about your trip too and we will publish it on our blog.  Click here for more details on the Great Escape ticket.