The centre was opened by Sir David Attenborough in 1975 and is a popular destination for school children from Birmingham.
The centre features a classroom, pond, arboretum, a replica of an Iron-age Roundhouse and the half-timbered Lea Ford Cottage which was renovated and re-thatched in 2019. There is also access to neighbouring Church Pool Covert.
The centre was one of more than a dozen similar projects set up by the Central Electricity Generating Board at power stations and sub stations across the country. For more than 30 years the centre acted as a field studies facility for thousands of school children from Birmingham and Warwickshire.
The Centre is situated in the old walled kitchen garden of Hams Hall, home of the Adderley family for 300 years until 1911. The garden walls date from 1773 and are surrounded by yew trees planted at the same time. The thick brick wall along the northern edge was built with cavities and fireplaces to heat the greenhouses placed against it. There are also a number of alcoves for storing beehives during the winter.
Just outside the garden, in the north-western corner, is a large oak tree, the sole survivor of a grand avenue of trees, planted during the reign of Charles I, that once lined the lane from the main house to the nearby church of St John the Baptist.
The house was demolished in 1921 to make way for what became one of the largest electricity generating sites in Europe, and is now the Hams Halls Distribution Park.
The Tame Valley Wetlands Office is based at:
Tame Valley Wetlands
Hams Hall Environmental Studies Centre
Hams Hall Distribution Park
Coleshill, North Warwickshire
B46 1GA
By road:
Vehicle access is via Hams Hall Distribution Park:
Please note your satnav might direct you through Lea Marston village, but access from Church Lane to Hams Hall from this direction is blocked for vehicles. Parking is free on Church Lane, and there is pedestrian access through the small gate to the left of the locked gate – follow the path from the pedestrian entrance; the Centre is on the left after the next gate.
By bus:
Hams Hall is served by X70 – Birmingham – Chelmsley Wood via Castle Bromwich operated by National Express West Midlands https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/plan-your-journey
The bus stops on Faraday Avenue. From Faraday Avenue turn onto Canton Lane.
Canton Lane bends around to the right and you will see a sign for Hams Hall Environmental Centre on your left. Go through the metal gate and follow the road. At the bottom go left through a wooden gate and follow the track round to the right. The Environmental Centre is in the walled garden through the tall green gates.
By train:
The walk from Coleshill Parkway train station to the Environmental Centre take approximately 45 minutes. There is a regular service from Birmingham New Street station to Coleshill Parkway.
From the northern side of the railway track follow the pink marked route along Marconi Way until it joins Edison Road. Turn right on to Edison Road and walk past Plastic Omnium on your left and Phoenix Healthcare on your right.
At the end of Edison Road turn left and go through the gap by the Emergency Access Road (pedestrian access is permitted). Follow this road as it crosses the river and then bends to the right. Continue and it will bend left and cross a disused railway line. Turn left onto Fishery Lane. There is a small car park there for Ladywalk Nature Reserve.
Continue out through the metal gate into the industrial park. Follow the road to the left until you get to a roundabout. Turn left here onto Faraday Avenue.
Keep going on Faraday Avenue until you get to a roundabout. Turn right at the roundabout onto Canton Lane. There will be a tall BMW sign and a pond on your right. At the next roundabout go straight over and continue to follow Canton Lane.
Canton Lane bends around to the right and you will see a sign for Hams Hall Environmental Centre on your left. Go through the metal gate and follow the road. At the bottom go left through a wooden gate and follow the track round to the right. The Environmental Centre is in the walled garden through the tall green gates.
Please note that gates will be locked and access restricted outside of normal office working hours.
