Birmingham
Who would have thought Birmingham had so much to offer! I caught the train to New Street Station nice and early and started exploring..........
One of the first places you come to is the iconic Bull Ring Shopping Centre - and what a sight the Bull is - I was so glad to have taken this shot early in the day, as later on he was being clambered on by lots of children. The Bull Ring has been developed twice, in 1960's and again in the 2000's - now into a building that looks like a space ship.
The Church of St Martin in the Bull Ring was the original parish church of Birmingham, and now stands between the Bull Ring and the markets (that have been held there since medieval times).
My main reason for visiting Birmingham was to go and see Dippy the Dinosaur whilst he was on tour, but I had no idea there was a Dippy Trail around the city. Look at these colourful dinosaur flower boxes mainly in the New Street area.
In Victoria Square you will find the Council House and the Town Hall, both very impressive Victorian buildings - with planted areas and statues. This area is considered to be the centre of Birmingham and from where road sign distances are marked. Close by there is building work happening at the moment - so watch out for the refurbishments very soon.
The square was formerly known as Council House Square, but was renamed Victoria Square on 10th January 1901, with the unveiling of her statue - unfortunately she died a few days later.
There is a floral tribute to the people who arrived in England aboard the Empire Windrush in 1948.
There are many fabulous architectural buildings as you walk about, but much of the walkway is cordoned off (August 2018) due to major changes and refurbishments.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is free to get into but some exhibitions are chargeable. It contains archaeological exhibits, metalwork, fine art, jewellery, coins and medieval, ancient and local history. It is most famous for its extensive collection of paintings, some dating back 600 years.
This is the Hall of Memory - right in the middle of the building work.
This a photograph of how Victoria Square area is expected to look in a year or so.
Over a hundred years ago, a 26 metre long cast of a Diplodocus arrived at the Natural History Museum in London from USA, and it is now touring Britain, thrilling and inspiring a new generation of adventurers, historians and archaeologists.
There are other exhibits to look at, to read and to participate in - the children especially will be thrilled with all they can see and do. There is a special room where they can do craft work.
Modern Building Site Art!!!
The rooms are all numbered, so you can look for a particular exhibit room if you like - I did find this area rather confusing and went around in circles a few times!
When the Doomsday book was compiled, Birmingham was said to have been valued at just £1, a poor manor with only about 50 inhabitants, but 2 centuries later it had become one of the wealthiest cities in the area. This was due to Peter do Birmingham, the Lord of the Manor buying a charter for a market and encouraging many different industries to partake.
There are paintings and prints by well known artists..............
You can enjoy the exhibit about the largest Hoard of Anglo Saxon treasure that was only discovered in 2009 in a field near Lichfield. There are about 4000 items, mainly associated with battle wear etc.
Not far from the museum is this unusual building - Birmingham Library. What a fascinating place this is - and not just somewhere for book lovers. When you go inside you are met by huge escalators taking you up to the next level - it looks as though you are going into outer space (it's very dark with little white lights twinkling like stars up above); then the next escalator takes you through another strange illuminated zone.
The Library's real surprise is its gardened terraces which are on several levels (4 and 7) - offering the most incredible views of the city in every direction. Somewhere to sit, have a rest, or have a picnic whilst taking in the view.
You also have a great view on level 9, but this is through a glass window and only one direction. On this level is the Shakespeare Memorial Room which has copies of one of the finest collections of Shakespeare's material, housed behind ornate wooden cabinets. As well as over 40,000 books, there are pieces relating to Shakespeare's life and work, and his treasures are contained in The Golden Box in the archives. The outside of the building has been made to look like the outside wrapping of this precious box.
Through the outside metal work of the building makes for an unusual photograph of the city skyline.
You can see well into the distance, and if you look between some buildings, you will have glimpses of Birmingham's beautiful canals, as well as many fabulous landmarks.
Next to the library is the ICC ( Birmingham's International Convention Centre), this is where major conferences take place as well as various music events - in one of its Symphony Halls. If you walk straight through here, you arrive at BrindleyPlace and the meeting point for many canal boat tours.
Now it was time for a trip on a canal boat - Sherbourne Wharf Heritage Narrow Boats. They run trips every day at 11:30am, 1pm, 2:30pm and 4pm - there is no need to book, you just have to turn up 15 minutes before the departure time. If you have gone to Birmingham by train, you can get a 2 for 1 voucher that is acceptable on this tour - making it very reasonable!
We quickly left the city and were in the countryside; many buildings are now derelict and huge areas are being renovated.
A heron amidst rubble and rubbish - a sad sight.
There was plenty to see.
We continued through the city until we reached the Mailbox - with its shops and restaurants and the nearby BBC Visitor Centre offices. At the large space of water, the narrow boat turned around and headed back towards the charming Gas Street Basin area that was alive with people enjoying the sunshine.
When the Canal boat trip finished, I walked across the bridge to BrindleyPlace named after the canal engineer James Brindley. It is a delightful area full of quality shops and restaurants, and where you will also find the National Sea Life Centre, The Ikon Art Gallery and the National Indoor Arena.
The National Sea Life Centre is a fabulous place to visit, with its 1,000,000 litre aquarium containing sea turtles, sharks and tropical fish that you can view from a transparent underwater tunnel. There are other displays of Giant Octopus, Seahorses, Sting rays, otters and many more water based creatures.
There is also the Legoland Discovery Centre where children can spend hours seeing Birmingham in miniature, looking at the exhibits, and having a go at various workshops or go to the 4D cinema.
Heading towards the opposite side of the city, past the small City Centre Garden (behind the library), I ended up in the iconic Jewellery Quarter - which is said to have the largest concentration of jewellery shops in the country.
There are still some interesting buildings to see here.
Even the local pub is appropriately named!
I was disappointed with the Jewellery Quarter, apart from the shops I have photographed, much of the area was run-down, derelict and seedy - anywhere off the main street didn't feel a safe place to be.
On the way walking back towards the city, I had to cross the pedestrian footbridge over Great Charles Street Queensway and saw some lovely old buildings especially up Ludgate Hill.
St Philip's Cathedral was built in the early 18th Century, it is surrounded by a delightful grassed churchyard with seating areas; it is right in the middle of the city with shops on every side.
This area is home to various shopping malls, from the old Great Western Arcade below to the modern Minories.
It had been a thoroughly enjoyable day exploring Birmingham - it is a wonderful city to visit. Although I had particularly gone in search of Dippy the Dinosaur, the library had been my biggest surprise of the day and I would tell anyone to go and see the views from there.
Thanks for coming along with me,
Lynne,
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