As part of our regular property feature on life in Black Country areas, this week we look at living in Dudley with information on the schools, transport, house prices and more:

The second largest town in the United Kingdom, Dudley and its surrounding localities is home to around 195,000 people.

Its rich and colourful history dates back to medieval times when the 11th century Dudley Castle, parts of which which still stands today, was built on a hill overlooking the town.

The town has since played an important role in the country’s industrial output and grew rapidly during the 18th and 19th centuries when it developed into a centre for the production of coal and limestone mining, as well as engineering, textiles and glass cutting.

Transport:

Dudley is well-positioned between Wolverhampton and Birmingham to offer a relatively easy commute by road – both are possible in under half-an-hour. A close proximity to the M5 and subsequent motorway network make it easy to travel further afield as well.

Tipton and Dudley Port railway stations both offer local services through London Midland trains and Sandwell & Dudley station also offers services to London, but all are over a mile from the town centre.

However, there is a large bus station on the outskirts of Dudley town centre which provides access to a variety of local destinations.

What the people say:

On Twitter, Dan Richards told us that the “worst aspect has to be the town centre. It’s got no feeling of community like Halesowen. The best part is probably the prospect of redevelopment and city status making it 100x better!”

Spencer Clay added on his Twitter page that there is “lots of amazing potential, tourism (really colourful history) and great friendly people.” The worst part, he said, was that the “people of Dudley put the town, and themselves, down too much.”

Schools:

There are a number of primary schools and four secondary schools in central Dudley. Of these, The Hillcrest School is rated by Ofsted as ‘Outstanding’, Holly Hall and Bishop Milner are consided ‘Good’ schools and Castle High School is satisfactory.

Providing further education is Dudley College, which lies to the north of the town centre.

Property prices:

The average house price paid in Dudley over the past three years was £129,101. The average property price has decreased by 15.4% in that time – an average monetary loss of £23,135.

See a full market overview for Dudley here.

Search for a property:

Find a home to rent or buy in Dudley.

Did you know:

The front and inner photographs for the 1971 Led Zeppelin were taken in the Eve Hill area of Dudley – the main tower block, shown side on, is Butterfield Court and still stands today.

Links:

• Dudley on Wikipedia
• Dudley news
• Dudley Council
• Black Country Living Museum
• Dudley Zoo and Castle