West Midlands (county)

The **County of West Midlands** is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of around 2,600,000 people. The county contains three major cities, these being Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. Other large settlements in the county include Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, and the Black Country towns of Dudley, Walsall and West Bromwich.

The name "West Midlands" is also used for the much larger West Midlands region, which sometimes causes confusion.

## Geography

The West Midlands borders the counties of Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south, and Staffordshire to the north.

The West Midlands is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull together form the largest conurbation in the UK outside London, with a combined population of around 2.27 million.

The West Midlands is not entirely urban; Coventry is separated from the Birmingham urban area, by stretch of green belt land roughly 15 miles across known as the "Meriden Gap", which retains a strongly rural character.

A smaller piece of green belt between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich includes Barr Beacon and the Sandwell Valley.

## Towns and villages

- Aldridge
- Balsall Common, Bloxwich, Bilston, Birmingham. Blackheath, Brierley Hill
- Coventry
- Dorridge, Dudley
- Halesowen, Hampton-in-Arden
- Little Aston
- Marston Green, Meriden
- Oldbury
- Rowley Regis
- Sedgley, Smethwick, Solihull, Stourbridge, Sutton Coldfield, Streetly
- Tipton
- Walsall, Wednesfield, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton

## Places of interest

- Aston Hall, Birmingham
- Bescot Stadium (Walsall FC)
- Birmingham Bullring
- Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
- Birmingham Hippodrome
- Birmingham Railway Museum
- Birmingham Wheel
- Black Country Living Museum
- Blakesley Hall
- Cadbury World, Bournville, Birmingham
- Coventry Cathedral
- Coventry SkyDome Arena
- Coventry Transport Museum
- Dudley Castle
- Dudley Zoo
- Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham
- Internation Convention Centre (including Symphony Hall), Birmingham
- Molineux stadium (Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.)
- National Exhibition Centre
- National Indoor Arena (NIA), Birmingham
- Netherton tunnel
- Perrott's Folly
- Ricoh Arena (Coventry City Football Club)
- Sarehole Mill
- Sea Life Centre, Birmingham
- St Andrews (Birmingham City Football Club)
- The Hawthorns, (West Bromwich Albion Football Club)
- Thinktank, Millennium Point, Birmingham
- Villa Park (Aston Villa Football Club)
- Walsall Art Gallery
- Wightwick Manor

## Education

The West Midlands contains 6 universities;
- University of Birmingham
- Aston University
- University of Central England
- University of Warwick
- Coventry University
- Wolverhampton University

Though Warwick and Birmingham are considered the most prestigious of the universities in the area, all have a large intake of students from around the country.

## Other websites

- Photographs of Birmingham and the West Midlands
- Identity in the West Midlands
- West Midlands Joint Committee
- West Midlands NO! Campaign
- West Midlands Groups Communities

## Infobox (english county)

- **official name**: West Midlands
- **image caption**: Birmingham skyline, the _Self Sacrifice (statue), Self Sacrifice_ (Lady Godiva) statue in Coventry, and Dudley Castle
- **locator map**: West Midlands UK locator map 2010.svg
- **map caption**: West Midlands within England
- **region**: West Midlands (region), West Midlands
- **established date**: 1 April 1974
- **established by**: Local Government Act 1972
- **lord lieutenant office**: Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands
- **lord lieutenant name**: Dr Derrick Anderson, CBE
- **high sheriff office**: High Sheriff of the West Midlands
- **high sheriff name**: Wade Lyn, CBE (2020–21)
- **government**: West Midlands Combined Authority
- **mayor office**: Mayor of the West Midlands
- **mayor name**: Richard Parker (mayor), Richard Parker (Labour Party (UK), L)
- **admin hq**: Birmingham
- **nuts code**: TLG3
- **districts map**:
- **districts key**: Metropolitan borough, Metropolitan districts
- **districts list**: # Wolverhampton
# City of Coventry, Coventry
- **mps**: List of parliamentary constituencies in the West Midlands (county), 28 MPs
- **police**: West Midlands Police