Day 1. A weekend in Birmingham

On By Little Miss TravellerIn Birmingham, Birmingham May 2017, The Midlands, United Kingdom

Meeting my son for a weekend away in the U.K. has usually resulted in trips to London or Edinburgh so for a change we decided to explore Britain’s second city, Birmingham.  Strangely, Birmingham isn’t a city I am familiar with, in fact I’ve only ever visited three times and then only to attend courses and conferences with little or no time to look around.

Birmingham New Street Station
Main concourse, Grant Central, Birmingham New Street Station

Birmingham is located in the West Midlands, right in the middle of the country making it easily accessible from all parts.  My rail journey from home took approximately three hours including one change onto a Cross Country train for the longer part of the journey.  I’ve passed through Birmingham New Street station many times but as it is underground it never looked very appealing so I was quite interested to see what lay above.

The Place to Eat, John Lewis, Grand Central, Birmingham
The Place to Eat, John Lewis, Grand Central, Birmingham

After taking the escalator up from the dreary platform level I was transported into a glitzy modern shopping mall called Grand Central which includes a range of high quality shops, bars and restaurants.  Grand Central has only been open since September 2015 and its design is impressive with large circular balconies overlooking the New Street station concourse.  Noticing a branch of John Lewis I decided to take a look around and then proceeded to their top floor cafe for tea and cakes as I had some time to pass before my son was joining me.  The cafe was surprisingly very quiet on this a Thursday afternoon but they had a good selection of cakes and pastries on offer to tempt me.

Birmingham Central Bullring Travelodge
Birmingham Central Bullring Travelodge

Feeling ready to move on, I studied my map to find the way to the Birmingham Central Bullring Travelodge where we were staying.  It looked near to the station but not knowing which exit to leave from resulted in me walking slightly further to find it.  Checking in was quick and I was soon in the room unpacking my weekend bag and ready to continue looking around the city centre.

St. Martin in the Bullring, Birmingham
St. Martin in the Bullring, Birmingham

A few steps from the hotel lies Birmingham City Markets, a collection of indoor and outdoor market stalls selling almost everything.  I glanced in the enormous Bullring Rag Market and found it stocked with a mix of fashion, fabrics, haberdashery and household items.  The Bullring Indoor Market is one of the UK’s largest fish markets and also sells meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables.  It was a warm, sunny afternoon when I started my tour around the city, but all too soon dark clouds threatened followed by a heavy downpour sending me back indoors.

Bullring Indoor Market, Birmingham
Interior of the Bullring Indoor Market, Birmingham

Between the markets and the Bullring shopping centre lies the Victorian church of St. Martin in the Bullring which contrasts beautifully with the contemporary modern buildings surrounding it.  The Selfridges department store featured below has an exterior which was inspired by a Paco Rabanne sequinned dress and is made up of 15,000 spun aluminium discs.

Selfridge's Department Store, Birmingham
Selfridge’s Department Store, Birmingham

Standing proudly outside the Bullring shopping centre is a six tonne bronze statue of a bull.  It was created by Laurence Broderick and is officially known as The Guardian but is simply called The Bull.  The sculpture measuring 2.2 metres is two and a half times the size of a real bull to produce more impact and was installed in 2003 resting on a hidden plinth below the paving.

Bronze Bull sculpture, Bullring, Birmingham
Bronze Bull sculpture outside the Bullring, Birmingham

The Bullring shopping mall is one of the busiest in Britain and consists of two main buildings, the East and West Malls which are bright and spacious with more than 160 stores and kiosks offering a wide selection of goods and services.

The Bullring, Birmingham
The Bullring, Birmingham

After enjoying some time shopping in the Bullring it was then time to meet my son at the nearby station and have a light supper ready for a full day’s city sightseeing the next day.

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A long weekend in Birmingham

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Nottingham – a perfect weekend break

Hull – UK City of Culture

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78 thoughts on “Day 1. A weekend in Birmingham”

  1. A far cry from the original industrial look of this city. It is always good when cities reinvent themselves to stay vibrant. Love the look of the Selfridge store, now there is a Canadian link. Stay well Marion and thanks for sharing. Allan

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  12. Gosh!… Your blog is inspirational!
    Then, just like that, you have now transported me right back to my birthplace. Miss Traveller … Bull Ring and all 😀
    I’ve always wondered how other people view Birmingham. I absolutely loved your commentary and photos, imagining that I was walking by your side.
    You did us Brummies proud. 😀
    Have you visited Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon yet? if not, then next time that you visit your son, you must take a look.

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      1. I enjoyed:) Yeah Alabama I can honestly say it not a must see, must visit state for many who have never visited from out of the country or even from within the US. It’s usually California and New York that are on the top of the list. Where all have you traveled here?

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  21. I really don’t like Birmingham sorry to say! I once got hopelessly lost trying to get out of the Bull ring and find my way to the bus station – very nearly missed my bus! As a whole, the city is still pretty dire and run down. Possibly my least favourite place to visit in England!

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      1. Hmm I know it quite well and even worked there for a while – I think my mind is quite set! That said, I do have friends who tell me there are some lovely places in Birmingham and I’m sure they’re right! I did review a wonderful play there once and I have to say the performing arts centre which hosted the production was excellent. That’s about has high as the praise gets from me!

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  26. Sounds like a fun weekend! My daughter went to college and then lived another 4 years in Birmingham, Alabama. She is currently living in Edinburgh while attending graduate school. My husband and I are going for a visit in December. I can’t wait!

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    1. Thank you for making contact. You will love Edinburgh, one of my favourite cities. One of our sons studied at the University of Edinburgh for four years and we loved going to visit him there. I’ve written several blog posts about the city and suggestions of things to do if you might be interested. Have a great time! The Christmas Markets are gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words about England. I do indeed have a lovely home in northern England and although it doesn’t appear from my blog posts that I am ever at home, I’m acttually there quite a lot.! I love to travel and see new places but as I only post every four days it spreads my trips out more. I think the garden would be a terrible mess otherwise! Hope you are having a good weekend.

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    1. We found plenty of interesting things to do to fill our weekend in Birmingham . The city centre was attractive and we felt perfectly safe wandering around in the evenings. I haven’t been to the NEC, what did you go and see there? Have a good weekend Joy!

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      1. I’ve been there for work things in the past – mainly boring exhibitions but I remember going to see the Clothes Show once which was great!! Not been for years now though but am definitely tempted to go and explore Birmingham properly. Looks like the weekend is going to be a wet one Marion – hope yours is good nonetheless!!

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