Wolverhampton isn’t a miserable place. Well, we have our fair share of miserable people, but no more so than elsewhere. We’ve easily thought up 25 reasons to be cheerful that you live in Wolverhampton or are a Wulfrunian. This certainly isn’t definitive – we could have gone on and on..
- Friendly, down to earth Wulfrunians. Most of us aren’t miserable, but we are pragmatic. We also have a few famous sons & daughters
- Football, in particular Wolverhampton Wanderers – though not setting the world alight at the moment, ours is a great old club with proud traditions. We’ve also got some great non-league sides in AFC Wulfrunians, Bilston Town & so on
- Our location. We’re part Black Country, part South Staffordshire & reap the benefits of urbanism & the countryside
- i54 in Pendeford. A world class facility on the Wolverhampton / Staffordshire border
- Our past. It’s true that we were a massive manufacturing town at one time. We can hold our heads high knowing that people in Wolverhampton were so enterprising
- Our future. Things aren’t that bad. Revitalisation is taking place in the city centre & we’re witnessing the rise of some excellent independent businesses as well as big names moving in
- The Civic & Wulfrun Halls and local musicians. Regularly attracting bigger names than many larger cities do, the Halls do us proud. As do our local musicians. Birmingham & the Black Country isn’t The Home Of Metal for nothing you know..
- The Grand Theatre – a proper Victorian masterpiece, a truly classic theatre
- The Arena Theatre, the avant-garde younger cousin to the Grand, some truly cutting edge & original theatre can be seen here
- University of Wolverhampton. A world class university, it is a commendation holder from the Quality Assurance Agency – the only holder in the region as well as being a world leader in research
- Architecture. When in the city centre & beyond, look up! We have some brilliant Edwardian & Victorian buildings
- Hail to the Ale micropub in Claregate. The current holder of Wolverhampton, the West Midlands and West Midlands Region pub of the year, a great example of the micropub format
- Great restaurants. We have some great ones. Bella, Banks Bistro, Rocco, Made in Thai, Skalsa, Penn Tandoori, Indigo, Jivans, Rocco E Nero, The Hungry Bistro, Tiger Wok, Catellanis, New Spice, Bilash.. we could go on & on. We certainly won’t go hungry
- Our Anglo-Saxon roots. Most our place names derive from Old English & the Battle of Tettenhall / Wednesfield was a key victory for the allied Mercian Angles & West Saxons on the way to the formation of a unified England
- Sacre Brew, excellent craft beer brewed at a microbrewery right here in Wolverhampton. Their ‘Man on the Oss’ beer has recently been named one of the UKs best craft beers by Time Out magazine.
- The Express & Star newspaper. The biggest selling evening regional newspaper & an ever present in Wolverhampton since 1889
- Our own nature reserve – the Smestow Valley. that’s 120 acres of meadows, scrubland and woodland, a haven for nature
- Our parks. West Park in particular being a fine example of a well managed Victorian park, it opened on 6 June 1881 & provides fresh air and tranquillity to this day
- The Way – Wolverhampton’s youth zone. Not yet open, but this facility is something to look forward to for children and teenagers in the city
- Our enterprising small businesses – the Little Dessert Shop, Zuri Coffee, Wild Bytes Cafe, Cafe Metro, Broughs Brewery to name but a few. People are pushing on & Wolverhampton is becoming a hotspot for independent businesses
- We have some great schools and an excellent college – education is a priority in Wolverhampton & the next generation of Wulfrunians will have the tools needed to succeed
- Banks’s Brewery / Marstons. One of the city’s biggest employers, a key investor in Wolverhampton & landmark building
- Characters! We’ve had many down the years. Otherwise ordinary people with various quirks. The cowboy (come man of God), the Ring Road tramp (the late Jozef Stawinoga), the preacher.. which leads us to..
- ..our sense of humour. Self depreciating, down to earth – it can & does confuse people from elsewhere in the country, but we wouldn’t have it any other way
- St Peter’s Church and the Art Gallery. Both splendid buildings worthy of a visit, real jewels in Wolverhampton’s crown
What would you add? Let us know by commenting below.
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Don’t forget the local accent and dialect, I moved to Wolverhampton when I was 10 and was rather confused by the cors, days, dos etc. Ive heard many a time from certain local people that speaking like this is ‘common’. No! Embrace it, there’s a lot to be said for an authentic regional sound. I’ve read that the Wolverhampton / Black Country accent is how Shakespeare would’ve sounded, Bostin!
Thanks Robert, we need to do what we can to preserve it as unfortunately it’s dying out.
What about Wightwick Manor & Gardens? An internationally-important collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art and William Morris interiors, visited by 78,000 people a year and you MISS IT OFF?!
Thank you Lynn, we intend to do a further 25 in December – we initially decided on 50 but the list was too long, so watch this space..
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The lighthouse media centre! Our fantastic independent cinema in the heart of the city and a massive part of our culture. I love it there.
Number 10? The uni is a shambles! It may be a leader in research but its course content and lecturers need a reshuffle
Our fantastic transport links whether it’s train ( & thereby air), tram, bus, coach or road – we can get anywhere. We have old railway & canal walks & we have lovely countryside on our doorstep in Staffs & Shrops.
Wolverhampton used to be a fantastic place, especially the night life, but sadly since the likes of the lighthouse bar, oneils and flares have closed it’s gone right down the drain, it’s true that wolves have fantastically friendly people, that is as long as you don’t go outside if the town centre, then just make sure you’ve got some form of protection, it’s definitely not a miserable place though, to say that is totally unfair!
Why would you state that people need some form of protection? From what exactly? What do you think happens outside of the town centre that doesn’t happen in the centre?
Not forgetting our outstanding parks and green spaces :O)
Unique community Social enterprises such as: Asylum Art Gallery, New Hampton Arts Centre, Gatis Community (the old Adventure Playground), WildSide Activity Centre and many more
There’s an amazing dynamic amongst churches in this city. I have spent time with churches and church leaders all over the country and the unity we have here is quite unique. Unity, honouring each other, doing away with competitiveness, sharing life together. It’s rare, it’s wonderful, and churches around the country look and learn.
Wolverhampton Uni is the only place you can do a degree in sign language interpreting and the town has a huge Deaf Community as many Deaf students choose Wolverhampton for the access and support they can get at this uni. And don’t forget how excellent the curry is in Wolves!
We celebrate and support many different cultures, with 140 different languages and dialects spoken in our schools (according to the Express and Star). A short trip out of town gets you access to foods from all around the globe. Generally we are a tolerant, open minded place with a love of the underdog and a wry sense of humour. I honestly feel you couldn’t get a better taste of modern Britain anywhere else (with all the challenges that it brings). We innovate and overcome. Our local communities have often led the way with social inclusion and local initiatives. We have however, not always been good at celebrating how brilliant we are, we like to complain too much to make that easy!
We have our own amazing roller derby team! Wolverhampton Honour Rollers! https://www.facebook.com/wolverhamptonhonourrollers/
West Park and the variety of events held there.
Light House Media Centre is a hidden gem within the city! Also not forgetting to mention the city contains a huge amount of cultural diversity from people of many different backgrounds!
Light House Media Centre! Hidden gem within our city! Also spread across the city, the variety of ethnic minorities which keeps Wolverhampton advancing as a very welcoming and culturally diverse city!
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