Watch: £120,000 worth of improvements mark the start of plan to bring Dudley historic beauty spot back to its former glory
Look to the west, and there are green fields as far as the eye can see.
The Welsh mountains in the distance, The Wrekin a little closer to home, and a few degrees to the south are the Clee Hills and Malvern.
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Turn 180 degrees, and the view is almost entirely urban. Neat semi-detached houses in the foreground, the factories of Bilston about five miles away, and the tower blocks of Heath Town, Wolverhampton, in the distance. I'm told that, looking in this direction, the next spot this high is at the Ural Mountains in Russia, 2,400 miles away, although not even my recent cataract operation allows me to see that far into the distance.
Sedgley Beacon is one of the great unsung gems of the Black Country. At 777ft above sea level, it's not uniquely high, and there are many places that offer similarly distant views. But I can't think of anywhere else that offers this sharp dichotomy, between the rolling greenery to the west, and the gritty urban landscape to the east.
In 1588, it is believed a fire was lit on the top of the Beacon to warn of the impending invasion by the Spanish Armada. And the present tower, thought to have been built by Lord Wrottesley for astronomical purposes, celebrates its 180th anniversary this year with a £120,000 programme of restoration works at the site.
Jayne Pilkington, a senior historical officer at Dudley Council, is responsible for overseeing the work, which she hopes will mean that more people will be able to enjoy the beauty spot which has in recent years fallen been somewhat forgotten and overlooked.
Back in the 1970s, the tower was a favourite spot with youngsters climbing the spiral staircase. The bottom third of the stone steps have long collapsed, and steel doors have been installed on the entrance to the tower, which is now also surrounded by formidable-looking security fencing.
