Good Evening Solihull 👋

October is well and truly here and this week’s Solihull Spotlight has a distinctly autumnal feel.

We’ve found three local pumpkin patches worth getting in the diary, a family adventure at Baddesley Clinton, FREE football at Damson Park and two last-minute escapes from Birmingham Airport for less than £40 one way.

Closer to home, there’s also some brilliant news for the borough, with Solihull ranked among the UK’s Top 10 areas for high-growth business potential, Birmingham Airport picking up two local awards, and a new feature introducing you to some of the clubs and communities you might never have realised were right on your doorstep.

Plus, we’ve got two Solihull food spots we’ve tried and loved this week.

Let’s get into it.

— Max

Here's a stat we rather like… Solihull has been ranked 7th best in the UK for high-growth business potential.

New analysis from Growth Flag looked at more than 4.3 million businesses across the UK, identifying the companies most likely to achieve growth of 20% or more. Nationally, around 9% of businesses were identified as having high-growth potential. In Solihull? 10%.

That might sound like a small difference, but it was enough to put our borough 7th in the country and make Solihull one of only two areas in the West Midlands to feature in the UK Top 10. It's perhaps not surprising when you look at the mix of businesses calling Solihull home.

We've got global names including Jaguar Land Rover and Gymshark, major employers around Birmingham Airport, the NEC and Birmingham Business Park, and thousands of smaller businesses, independents and growing companies operating across the borough.

There are particularly strong clusters in areas including professional services, digital, automotive and clean technology. It's another reminder that there's a lot more being built in Solihull than most of us probably realise.

👉 Read more about Solihull's Top 10 ranking

A little recognition for our neighbours at BHX.

Birmingham Airport picked up not one, but TWO awards at the 2026 Solihull Chamber Awards, taking home both Community Builder and Sustainability Trailblazer.

The Community Builder award recognised the airport team's charity and community work, including its partnership with Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity.

BHX staff have helped raise more than £200,000 for the charity in just 18 months, through everything from Race the Plane and the Runway Fun Run to an airport abseil and charity dinner.

The Sustainability Trailblazer award recognised the airport's work towards reducing its environmental impact and its wider sustainability programme.

Nice to see one of Solihull's biggest employers recognised for what it's doing away from the departure boards too. 👏

👉 Read more from Birmingham Airport

We're starting a little experiment. Every so often we're going to introduce you to a Solihull club you might have no idea existed. First up…

Solihull Model Railway Circle. 🚂

And this isn't a tiny train circling a Christmas tree. The club was founded in Olton in 1951, making it one of the oldest model railway clubs in the Midlands, and it's still going strong more than 70 years later.

Members meet on Thursday evenings in Hobs Moat, sharing everything from model engineering and electronics to scenery building, signalling and architecture.

Their main Cherwell layout stretches more than 26 feet long, includes four mainline tracks, automatic signals and scratch-built local landmarks including The Manor House, The Mason's Arms, Water Orton station and Kings Heath Library.

They're also currently building another 16-foot layout inspired by a Scottish branch-line terminus. Beginners are welcome too, you don't need to turn up carrying a railway empire under your arm.

👉 Meet Solihull Model Railway Circle

Okay… you need to go hungry for this one. We recently tried Beleza in Touchwood and loved it. If you've never experienced Brazilian rodizio before, the concept is dangerously simple.

You sit down.
They bring meat.
They bring more meat.
You continue until you're forced to admit defeat.

Passadores circulate the restaurant with different cuts of flame-grilled meat, including beef, lamb, chicken and Brazilian specialities and carve them straight at your table.

You control proceedings with a double-sided card: green means keep it coming, red means give me a minute.

There's also an unlimited salad bar and hot Brazilian sides, although pacing yourself is very much recommended.

Great fun for a celebration, date night or group meal and definitely something a little different for Solihull town centre.

👉 Find out more about Beleza

Tucked away at 97 High Street, The Woods is one of those places that's remarkably easy to walk past without realising what's hiding inside.

Think cosy woodland-inspired interiors, good coffee and a menu built around breakfast, brunch, lunch and sweet treats.

We've been ourselves and really enjoyed it.

It's relaxed enough for a quick coffee but equally works for a slow weekend breakfast or lunch and despite being right in the middle of town, it feels like a little escape from the High Street outside.

Breakfast options include the likes of pancakes and smashed avocado on sourdough, while the lunch menu has plenty of lighter bites too.

A lovely independent worth having on your radar. 🌲☕

👉 Take a look at The Woods

October is officially here, which means pumpkin patches, spooky trails and half-term activities are starting to pop up all around Solihull. Whether you’re after something for the kids, a family day out or just an excuse to get into the autumn spirit, here are a few Halloween activities worth getting in the diary…

👻 Stranger Folk Digital Adventure — Baddesley Clinton — Until Sunday 8 November
Fancy turning a National Trust visit into an interactive adventure? Stranger Folk is a new digital game taking over the gardens at Baddesley Clinton, with families using a mobile app to explore, solve challenges and uncover the story as they go. It’s particularly suited to ages 7–12, runs daily from 9:30am–4pm, and the activity itself is free with normal admission. Download the app before you arrive, signal can be a little patchy on site.
👉 Stranger Folk Digital Adventure at Baddesley Clinton

🎃 Halloween Spooktacular — Hatton Adventure World — Selected dates from Saturday 3 October
Pumpkin season has officially arrived at Hatton! Their Halloween Spooktacular is back on selected weekends throughout October before running daily from 24 October–1 November. Kids can choose their own pumpkin, carve it on site and take on a brand-new Witchling Adventure, Haunted House, Monster Mash Disco, spooky shows and plenty of the usual Hatton farm fun. Tickets start from £19.95pp, with a pumpkin included for qualifying child tickets.
👉 Halloween Spooktacular at Hatton Adventure World

🎃 Halloween at The Barn — Berryfields Farm, Meriden — From Saturday 17 October
One of the biggest pumpkin patches near Solihull is returning later this month, with a five-acre Pick Your Own field at Berryfields Farm in Meriden. It’s much more than pumpkins too — expect a Halloween maze, farm animals, face painting, eco-skating, axe throwing, street food and plenty of autumn photo opportunities. It opens on 17–18 October, then every day from 24–31 October.
👉 Halloween at The Barn, Berryfields

🐐 Pumpkin Patch — Newlands Bishop Farm, Catherine-de-Barnes — 17–31 October
For something even closer to home, Newlands Bishop Farm is bringing back its Pumpkin Patch from 17–31 October. Alongside choosing your pumpkin, families can explore the animal walkway, tackle an autumn scavenger hunt, enjoy spooky decorations and stop for seasonal treats at Berry’s Café. Tickets are around £4pp, with pumpkins priced separately and every visit helps support the brilliant work of Family Care Trust.
👉 Newlands Bishop Farm Pumpkin Patch

⚽ FREE football at Damson Park — Solihull Moors v Newcastle United U21 — Tuesday 6 October
Premier League youngsters are coming to Solihull on Tuesday evening, as the Moors welcome Newcastle United U21s in the National League Cup. Kick-off is 7pm at Damson Park and, even better, admission is completely FREE — you just need to claim a ticket in advance. Parking is £5, while hospitality including sandwiches and Directors’ Box seating is available for £10. A pretty good-value midweek night out.
👉 Claim your free Moors ticket

🏉 Local rugby: Silhillians v Kenilworth — Saturday 10 October
Fancy some live rugby next weekend? Old Silhillians 1st XV welcome Kenilworth to Copt Heath on Saturday 10 October, with the fixture scheduled for 3pm. We’re going to start featuring more of Solihull’s rugby, hockey, riding and other local clubs here — because there’s a lot more sport happening around the borough than most of us realise.
👉 Old Silhillians fixtures

🏑 A Saturday of hockey at The Sils
There’s plenty happening at Old Silhillians Hockey Club next Saturday too. The Ladies’ 1st XI host University of Warwick 2 at 3pm, while the Men’s 2nd XI face Worcester 2 earlier in the afternoon. The Men’s 1st XI are away at the University of Warwick. If you’ve never watched a local hockey match before, this could be your excuse to give it a go.
👉 See the Old Silhillians hockey fixtures

Fancy escaping Solihull for a few days? We’ve been digging through the latest fares from Birmingham Airport again and found two tempting options for anyone feeling particularly spontaneous…

🇪🇸 Girona, Spain — from £38 one way — Monday 5 October
How spontaneous are you feeling? Jet2 is currently showing Birmingham → Girona from just £38 one way tomorrow. Girona is a brilliant alternative to the usual Spanish city break — think colourful riverside houses, medieval streets, city walls and plenty of tapas, with the Costa Brava also within easy reach if you fancy heading towards the coast. Perfect for squeezing in one last bit of autumn sunshine without needing a full week away.
👉 Check the latest Birmingham to Girona fares

🇵🇹 Faro, Portugal — from £37 one way — Tuesday 6 October
Or, if you’d rather chase a little October sunshine, Jet2 is currently showing Birmingham → Faro from £37 one way on Tuesday 6 October. Faro itself has a lovely old town, marina and plenty of restaurants, or use it as the gateway to the wider Algarve for a few days by the sea. The direct flight from Birmingham takes around 2 hours 50 minutes, with 10kg hand luggage included in Jet2’s advertised fare.
👉 Check the latest Birmingham to Faro fares with Jet2

• Bin collections: https://digital.solihull.gov.uk/BinCollectionCalendar/
• Council news + updates: https://www.solihull.gov.uk/news
• Travel disruptions (West Midlands): https://disruptions.tfwm.org.uk/

Thanks for reading Solihull Spotlight 💙 let’s chat again on Thursday! Hit reply and tell me what you want more of next week: family, events, food, deals, walking routes, live music, sport, or hidden gems.

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