Flora Stirchley-Entis Walk (For Birmingham Heritage Week 2025)

 

During Birmingham Heritage Week (2025), I developed and ran a "Flora Stirchley-Entis Walk". It was a gentle, reflective walk through Stirchley, exploring the botanical and nature-inspired details in the local architecture. From floral motifs and decorative stonework to nature-inspired names and overlooked details, we looked at how architecture captures and reimagines elements of the living world.

This walk invited participants to slow down, look up, and see the familiar differently; paying close attention to the textures, patterns, and symbols that surround us. Along the way, we considered how plants, trees, and landscapes find their way into our streetscapes, both subtly and boldly.

I forgot to ask for photographs to be taken of this walk, so this is me guiding last years Heritage Week walk!

Below is the first part of the walk, along Bournville Lane:

The rest of the walk will be added soon.....

Furze & Broom, pen illustrations by Jen Dixon.

Note: Images marked with a * were made using AI from my own photographs, below. The AI versions are neater than my research photos - like a clear path through the woods. I could have recreated them by hand (see above and below), but this way I could share the route and discoveries of the walk more quickly, letting you wander through it without waiting for me to sketch every detail.

Where's the ivy in Stirchley?