The Jinney Ring opened in 1980 and was the brainchild of Richard and Jenny Greatwood, former Herefordshire farmers. It is situated in a tiny village called Hanbury, in Bromsgrove, 18 miles from Birmingham city centre, and 5 miles from Redditch. It was very easy to find, as it is not far off the A38 and is sign-posted most of the way.
The car park at first glance looks very small, but once you get in the courtyard, the track leads round to the left to reveal a big car park. Whether it would be big enough on a weekend, I'm not entirely convinced; we went on a Friday, and the actual centre seemed to be fairly busy, and there was plenty of parking left, so perhaps it would suffice.
There are some disabled parking spaces in the first courtyard you drive into, which would be ideal for people with restricted mobility. However, as our wheelchair lift comes out of the side of the van, I didn't feel there was enough width to the parking spaces for me to get Ian out. We parked in the other car park, which is still flat, and provides access to the actual centre via a ramp and a pretty view.
The actual centre itself is fully accessible, but it does have one or two minor annoyances. At one point there are a couple of steps, so I had to wheel Ian off the main path and into the picnic area, which was fine, except for the fact that to get back onto the main path, I had to manoeuvre him over a big dip, in which we got stuck. I would have to therefore recommend that any wheelchair users who push themselves approach this centre either with caution, or with a friend.
The restaurant is wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, and the staff were helpful enough to carry one of the trays to the table. Some of the shops are a little on the small side, as you might expect in a place of this sort, and the gift shop has access to the upper floor by stairs only, so again, if you are a wheelchair user, or cannot manage stairs, your experience is limited.
The centre also has a toilet with disabled access.
I have to admit that some of the shops were either shut or weren't big enough for us all to get in, but the whole place gave me an impression of a Victorian high street. The shops all led off a slightly worn path, and were very close together.
The most interesting shops were the ones where you could watch people making their wares, and then buy something, but there are also services such as a picture framer, garden designer and interior designer.
Although every shop was well maintained, and all the people working there were friendly and helpful, here were some shops I would recommend more than others.
1. Glass blower the biggest building, and therefore the easiest access. As you walk through from one door to the other, you can watch the glass blower working. He also has pieces of glass on display, either on shelves or hanging from the ceiling. I particularly like the huge baubles of swirled colours, which seemed reasonably priced at about a tenner.
2. Stained glass some very beautiful work, but tricky to get in. luckily, it's displayed well enough that you can see most of it from the outside. I particularly liked a huge yellow and blue sun, but it was priced a bit out of my range.
3. Jewellery very small, but very pretty shop, bursting with beautiful pieces of jewellery. There were some lovely silver pieces with semi-precious gems, which were also attractively priced.
4. Pottery we couldn't really get inside the shop ourselves, but I would highly recommend a visit, as you can see the potter working at the wheel, which I always find fascinating (we watched through the window!).
5. Candle maker again, it was hard to see what was going on peering through the window as we were, but it was no less fascinating. I was going to buy some candles on the way back to the car, but I forgot (as usual).
I really would have liked to see the violinmaker, but the shop was shut. I fully intend to return on another visit to Birmingham, so I'll update this review if I ever get to see him.
The biggest shop is, of course, the main gift shop. It is a treasure trove of bits and bobs that most people (well, especially women) will enjoy digging amongst. As well as greetings cards, dolls, and ornaments, they have an amazing children's section, which I spent about half an hour looking in, and a shelf of joke items, which Ian enjoyed. Upstairs is a craft gallery with pieces of artwork by local artists, as well as clothing and jewellery.
The restaurant was by far the busiest place in the whole centre. Almost every table, and it's not a small place, was taken up with at least two people. There was certainly a proliferation of women; either older ladies 'doing lunch', or young mothers and babies chatting. Now and again, I spotted a man, no doubt dragged there by his wife, but it seems to be a predominantly female clientele on a weekday.
The food is standard lunch fare jacket potatoes, salads, quiches and pies, read more
