My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

Birmingham

I live reasonably close to Birmingham so I would like to believe I know the UKs second largest city quite well. Thanks to shows like Peaky Blinders however, Birmingham’s popularity has grown. There is a lot to see and do in Birmingham, and not all of it is limited to the City Centre. I am however going to start with the City Centre, and one of the buildings that is worth a viewing both inside and out, is Birmingham Library. Due to its bold design it is not a building that can be easily missed. I believe it is one of the biggest public libraries in Europe and is spaced over 10 levels, featuring 2 garden terraces and a panoramic viewing gallery. There is also a little museum at the top which had some old books on display.

Also in the City Centre and not too far away from the Library, is The Bull Ring shopping centre. If you arrive via the train into New Street Station then there is a walkway that takes you into The Bull Ring. This is great when the weather is not very good, as you don’t have to get wet by going outside, if all you want to do is a bit of shopping.

Located not to far from the Bull Ring and next door to the Birmingham Hippodrome are the Birmingham Back to Back Houses. These properties are owned by the National Trust and you have to pre-book a tour around the properties. The Back to Back houses show life in Birmingham from the 1800’s through to the 1970’s. Most of the displays in the houses are based on lives of former residents of the properties, who both lived and worked in these tiny houses. Unfortunately I cannot find the photo’s I took on my visit, it was a long time ago, but if you click >>Here<< it will take you to the National Trust website which has some photos of the houses and some more information. I am hoping to go and visit it again this summer, so I will do a devoted post to the Back to Back Houses when I do. My lasting memory of the Back to Back houses was the occupation of one of the former residence, they made glass eyes.

There is a lot to see and do in Birmingham City Centre, there is a museum and some great art galleries, as well as some unique shops and eating places. If you get chance a walk along the canal from The Mailbox is nice, especially if the weather is good. During November and December, Birmingham hosts a German Christmas Market, which is worth a visit, especially if you like beer and blutwurst. There are a lot of stalls with wooden toys and decorations too, besides a fun fair.

That is my whistlestop tour of Birmingham, I have mainly focused on the City Centre but there is also a lot to see in the surrounding areas. In fact, over the summer I might go on a few day trips and post my findings on here.

The photos in this post are my own. Thank you for reading :)