A HINT of some of the richness of modern British society was uncovered by the leader of Redditch Borough Council when Councillor Bill Hartnett joined the latest faith walk in the West Midlands, this time around some of the sites of religious significance in Dudley.
The event, organised by Redditch resident Nitin Sodha, and building on last year’s successful tour of Birmingham seats of religious significance, took in the Gurdwara Amrit Parchar Dharmik Diwan Sikh Temple, Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the Balaji Temple – the largest Hindu temple outside India – and the new Dartmouth Street Mosque.
“It’s all about understanding the different cultures and appreciating and celebrating the diversity among us, but it’s also instructive to recognise the similarities between the different faiths and the common values between them like peace, love and harmony,” said Coun Hartnett.
Starting and finishing from the Gurdwara, the walkers were treated as guests and shown every courtesy as they did their tour which, Coun Harnett noted, took longer than expected as there was always occasion to linger.
“You don’t realise just how diverse our culture is yet within a few miles of there is all sorts of religions and cultures,” he said.
The walk was organised by Mr Sodha through the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and plans are already being made for a third Redditch faith walk.
4th Jun, 2026
