October 19, 2026

Make Friends in Halesowen, from the Leasowes to the Cornbow

William Shenstone laid out the Leasowes landscape garden in Halesowen between 1743 and 1763, and nearly three Halesowen homes in four are owner-occupied.

Halesowen friends giggling below a street lamp late at night

51,800+

residents of Halesowen North, Halesowen South, Belle Vale and Hayley Green and Cradley South (Census 2021, ONS)

73%

owner-occupied Halesowen homes, ten points over the regional 63% (Census 2021)

22%

Halesowen residents aged 65 or over, against 19% for the region as a whole (ONS)

Halesowen crafts on Wednesday mornings

The Crafting Circle at Halesowen Library, on Wednesday mornings in the Cornbow, is a cosy way to make friends in Halesowen, though it fills up, so ask about places. The library also runs a monthly nostalgia film club for adults, the Leasowes offers a circuit walk past lakes and cascades, and Halesowen Leisure Centre has a six-lane pool. Halesowen women also meet via Gofrendly.

Halesowen: Leasowes, library and parkrun questions

Halesowen friends laughing beside their bikes in the sunshine

What is the Leasowes in Halesowen?

The Leasowes is a 57-hectare Grade I listed landscape garden in Halesowen, designed by the poet William Shenstone between 1743 and 1763. A circuit walk passes wooded valleys, lakes and cascades, and Virgil’s Grove was restored with £1.3m of Heritage Lottery funding.

Is there a café at the Leasowes?

Not yet. In October 2026 Dudley Council submitted plans for a visitor, education and café building with a green roof at the Leasowes in Halesowen, backed by the Friends of the Leasowes. The plans still need approval and funding, so bring a flask for now.

Which parkrun do runners from Halesowen choose?

Halesowen has no parkrun in the town itself. The closest is Woodgate Valley Country Park parkrun in Birmingham, about 3 km away, which runs an out-and-back route with a field lap and has coffee afterwards at Cogs on Spies Lane, so Halesowen runners can make a morning of it.

Where do Halesowen women look for new friends?

Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, shows Halesowen women their neighbours, from Hayley Green to Hasbury, and swapping messages first makes the meeting easy to plan. A walk round the Leasowes lakes, past Shenstone’s cascades, is a lovely way to start.

Halesowen friendships, garden to town centre

Halesowen sits on the edge of the Black Country, with the Grade I listed Leasowes, the poet William Shenstone’s 18th-century landscape garden, just outside the centre. Along its circuit walk he placed seats, urns and verses among the woods and lakes. In four Halesowen wards, owner-occupiers hold about 73% of homes and people aged 65 or older make up some 22% of the population, each ahead of the regional figure. Where most homes are owned by those living in them, a standing group lets you become a recognised face fairly quickly.

Quiet afternoons can feel lonely once work or family life slows down. The Friends of the Leasowes back plans for a café and visitor building, the 1776 walled garden was Grade II listed in December 2025, and Halesowen Library runs a family history group as well as the Crafting Circle. Halesowen in Bloom has won national awards. Places to try, near and far:

The Leasowes, Shenstone’s landscape garden with lakes and cascades.

Halesowen Library in the Cornbow, with the Crafting Circle.

Halesowen Leisure Centre on Great Cornbow.

The Leasowes Walled Garden, run by Halesowen Abbey Trust.

Woodgate Valley Country Park, home of the nearest parkrun.

LOCAL TIP

Walk the Leasowes circuit in Halesowen once a week with the same companion.

How to

Halesowen: making friends near the Leasowes

Ask the Friends of the Leasowes about their volunteering days.

Go to the monthly nostalgia film club at Halesowen Library.

Walk the Leasowes circuit with a Halesowen woman who answers your Gofrendly hello.

Try Woodgate Valley parkrun and join the post-run coffee at Cogs on Spies Lane.

Real friendships, told in full

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Our Halesowen authors

Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja and the editorial desk wrote the Halesowen guide for Black Country women who have deep roots here, are easing into retirement or want friends nearby.