Walsall

Walsall's economy was once dominated by the leather trade, though the industrial revolution brought a spate of new crafts to the town, which earned it the title, 'town of 100 trades'. The Walsall Leather Museum uncovers this aspect of the town’s heritage along with live demonstrations of craftsmen and women at work.

The Art Gallery is an unexpected delight and features the Garman-Ryan Art Collection. Local woman Kathleen Epstein was the wife of the controversial sculptor Jacob Epstein and she donated an eclectic collection of works by artists as diverse as Constable and Lucian Freud to the people of Walsall.

To the north of this locality is over 30,000 acres of natural parkland called Cannock Chase. It draws many people each year who come here to cycle, walk, run, picnic or just simply enjoy the variety of scenery ranging from hills, forests and moor land.