Dudley among top spots in UK - National Geographic explorer
A National Geographic explorer who electronically measured his changing mood during a 2.5 million step walk across Britain's cities and parks, has said Dudley is one of the best places in the UK.
Daniel Raven-Ellison had an EEG strapped to his head which monitored his brain activity as he crossed 69 cities over seven months from June last year.
Statistics from the monitor showed how stressed, relaxed, excited, focused, interested and engaged he was during the walk.
Mr Raven-Ellison walked from Birmingham, through Dudley to Wolverhampton during the last leg of the trip which ended up being one of his favourite walks on the trip.
The 37 year old said: "Dudley is a very special place. It has a combination of industrial heritage and lots of green spaces and hills that have stunning views.
"The wilderness and scenery makes Dudley one of the best places I've been in the UK.
"It was wonderful to see the nature in the suburban area."
Mr Raven-Ellison walked from Northfield in Birmingham, through Oldbury, before arriving in Dudley, taking a trip down the High Street, walking past Dudley Zoo.
He then walked through Wren's Nest nature reserve, towards Coseley and finishing in Wednesfield in the last leg of his overall trip.
He added: "The High Street was great and my headset detected high levels of interest.
"Overall, Dudley has a lot going for it but lots more can be done to the town to make it better.
"The walk was one of my favourites and for people that don't think Dudley is a special place, I think they should think again."
Though rubbish left around Dudley was something he didn't like to see on his voyage.
Mr Raven-Ellison said: "I walked through a lot of great places in Dudley but the level of fly-tipping really disappointed me.
"In some of the green spaces I was walking across I saw some of the worst fly-tipping ever. There were big pits which should be beautiful but there were baby dolls and shopping trolleys there."
Mr Raven-Ellison added: "Let's just say I've got no plans not to come back. It was a fantastic walk and I would definitely do it again. My 22-mile walk across the West Midlands took just over a day but many people could do it. The walk I did was fantastic but there are many other beautiful walks people could do in Dudley."
The overall walk, which saw him visit 15 national parks, ended on December 23 in Birmingham.
All the data from the walk will be published online.
