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- Friendship, not dating
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- Local guide
- October 19, 2026
Make Friends in Smethwick, from Victoria Park to the Lions
The Lions of the Great War statue has stood on Smethwick High Street since 2018, and a quarter of the people living in Smethwick are not yet 16.
64,000+
residents across Abbey, St Pauls, Smethwick and Soho and Victoria wards (Census 2021, ONS)
25%
Smethwick children under 16 as a share of residents; West Midlands 19% (Census 2021)
28%
Smethwick households in private rented homes, ten points over the region’s 18% (ONS)
Smethwick swims at a Games venue
A class at Sandwell Aquatics Centre on Londonderry Lane, built for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and home to a ladies-only gym, is an active way to make friends in Smethwick. Smethwick Library on the High Street opens on Sundays too, Victoria Park beside Cape Hill is one of Sandwell’s 2026 Green Flag winners, and the volunteer-run Heritage Centre sits in the park’s old lodge. Gofrendly links up Smethwick women too.
Smethwick questions, Cape Hill to the canal
What is the Lions of the Great War statue in Smethwick?
The Lions of the Great War is a 10ft bronze by Black Country sculptor Luke Perry on Smethwick High Street, unveiled in November 2018. Commissioned by the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, it honours South Asian soldiers of all faiths, and it won a Green Flag Community Award in 2026.
What is at Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Smethwick?
Sandwell Aquatics Centre on Londonderry Lane was the only brand-new venue built for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. It has a community pool, two gyms including a 25-station ladies-only gym, studios and a café, which gives Smethwick women plenty of regular classes to choose from.
Is Smethwick Library open on Sundays?
Yes. Smethwick Library on the High Street opens from noon to 4pm on Sundays, as well as six days a week. It runs reading groups, author visits and IT classes, so Smethwick residents who work weekdays can still drop in.
How do Smethwick women find friends living close by?
Gofrendly, a women-only friendship app, shows Smethwick women others living around them, from Cape Hill to Bearwood, and you can arrange to meet once you have swapped a few messages. A turn round West Smethwick Park, past the restored boathouse, is an unhurried first outing.
Smethwick, young families and old canals
Smethwick sits on the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and West Bromwich, with Cape Hill and the Lions of the Great War, a bronze by Luke Perry honouring South Asian soldiers. In four Smethwick wards, one resident in four is under 16, and private tenants make up around 28% of households, both far higher than regional shares. With so many young families and renters about, a weekly place of your own makes it easier to turn the school gate into a friendship.
When the house goes quiet after a crowded week, Smethwick can feel lonely. Smethwick Library has reading groups and a Job Club, West Smethwick Park has a new pavilion and boathouse after a £5.1m restoration, and Lightwoods Park in Bearwood keeps its Grade II bandstand and Shakespeare Gardens. Sandwell named all three parks among its record Green Flag list in July 2026. Good places to start, from Cape Hill to Bearwood:
1
Sandwell Aquatics Centre on Londonderry Lane, with a ladies-only gym.
2
Victoria Park, with its pavilion, bandstand and the Heritage Centre.
3
West Smethwick Park and its restored boathouse.
4
Smethwick Library on the High Street, open on Sundays.
5
Lightwoods Park and its Shakespeare Gardens in Bearwood.
LOCAL TIP
Book the same Smethwick swim or gym class each week and let the regulars get to know you.
How to
Smethwick: places to make friends
1
Volunteer at the Smethwick Heritage Centre in Victoria Park’s old lodge.
2
Join a ladies-only gym session at Sandwell Aquatics Centre.
3
Ask a Smethwick woman from Gofrendly to stroll the Victoria Park paths by Cape Hill.
4
Try Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun, just across the Birmingham boundary.
Reading for when the house is quiet
Writing about Smethwick, from Cape Hill to the canal
Our editors and Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja wrote the Smethwick page for Sandwell women raising young children, renting near the High Street or looking for friends close by.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Find women near you
See who’s nearby and say hi — it’s free to start.