Bassetts Pole

Bassetts Pole is an area at the Staffordshire–West Midlands–Warwickshire Tripoint. There are no residences here, although the settlement of Middleton Heath is located just to the South West. It is sited on the A.446 London Road near to the world-famous golf centre "The Belfry".

The site is known for regular gatherings of Motorcyclists of all ages on TUESDAY nights during the Spring and Summer. These take place on unadopted roads outside and adjacent to the McDonalds Restaurant, an Industrial Estate and The Bassetts Pole public house (A Harvester Inn). Whilst the Pub is in Staffordshire, the roads and Restaurant are in Warwickshire. The West Midlands Boundary is to the West of the A.38 Traffic Island.

The name derives from a marker post set up by the Bassett Family - Owners of the DRAYTON Estate, (Hence the nearby Village of Drayton BASSETT). This delineated the boundary with the MIDDLETON Estates of the De FREVILLES/WILLOUGHBYS/GRAZEBROOKS and the SHENSTONE Estates of the GRAZEBROOKS There are recorded episodes of several armed encounters with men from the bordering Estates around this spot.

During WW II a large detachment of Home Guard were stationed at this important road junction and a Tank testing track was built in the nearby Trickley Wood. Since 1987 this area has been the home to National Paintball Fields, (NPF Bassetts Pole) - the largest 250 acre No.1 paintball attraction/venue in the UK. Paintball & lazer games are played in the Bassetts Pole woodland, hosting events for players from 10 years upwards. www.npfbassettspole.com

The BLUE LAGOON night club opened in the 1920s and attracted 'Flappers' from B'ham, who would meet the young men who gathered there on motorcycles. By the 1930s it had become the HAPPY HOUR Transport Cafe. In the early 1990s, it was reopened as the Happy Hour Restaurant. In the mid 1990s it was acquired by a local business man and relaunched as Chicanes Motorsport Bar and Restaurant. The 'BIKE NIGHTS' started then as a small gathering which rapidly grew and spread to the roads outside. In the late 1990s it was taken over by the McDonalds chain, and refurbished to its present 1920s Art Deco style.

Transport

The site is located on the A446, with easy access to the A38; the Sutton Coldfield bypass and Junction T3 of the M6 Toll motorway.

The nearest railway station is Four Oaks Railway Station, located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) away.

References