About Redditch and Tourist Information

Redditch is set within the beautiful county of Worcestershire and at the heart of the British motorway network.

Fast and easy connections to the rest of the country come via the M42 junctions just five miles from the town and Birmingham, England’s second city, is just 14 miles away and linked by rail. Birmingham International Airport is less than 30 minutes’ drive away.

Designated a New Town in 1964, Redditch has successfully mixed the old with the new. The modern Kingfisher Shopping Centre is among the top ten shopping centres in the country while Redditch’s world renowned needle making industry is celebrated and preserved through the Forge Mill Needle Museum, with the remains of the 12th century monastic Bordesley Abbey nearby.

The award-winning Arrow Valley Country Park and sailing lake can be found a short distance from the town centre. Yet nearby are the international headquarters of GKN and Halfords head office.

This compact borough of 54 square miles and over 80,000 people is surrounded by pleasant countryside and places of great historic interest – Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare’s birthplace, Warwick Castle, the Malvern Hills and the Cotswolds are all within easy reach.

While in Redditch there are a staggering five million trees, with an enviable amount of green space and landscaping for such a significant urban population.

As a new town with a younger than average population, leisure facilities are a key priority and include a municipal golf course, sports centres, numerous clubs and societies, and the renowned Edwardian and modernised Palace Theatre.

Redditch is the birthplace of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and  in 2007 Redditch’s then MP, Jacqui Smith, became Britain’s first female Home Secretary.

If you want to know what’s going on in Redditch, visit our tourist information centre in the lobby of the Palace Theatre in the town centre.

We have lots of local information on arts, events, the theatre, sports and leisure, walks and rambles, places to eat and places to stay  - plus trips, holidays and events for across the UK.

Our staff will be able to answer any questions you may have about the area, and information from a range of other organisations is available at the information centre too.