A Weekend in Birmingham — DandY Adventures

As mentioned in previous posts, we love to travel abroad to explore different cultures and brand new experiences- it is easy to forget the country you live in. The U.K has some diverse cities and landscapes to explore, including the city of Birmingham. Birmingham has an extensive history and is one of the most culturally diverse cities within the U.K.

Before we get into the guide, feel free to check out our blog post on the beautiful, historical city of Lincoln

Brief History of Birmingham

Established in the 6th Century, Birmingham was a small settlement set in a forest. The name is derived from the leader (Birm) of a tribe (ing), in a place they called home (ham). It developed into a market town and excelled during the industrial revolution, being dubbed as “the first manufacturing town in the world” in 1791. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham in 1712. After the city was heavily bombed during the blitz, the city was essentially rebuilt into the metropolis it is known as today.

Birmingham is now the 2nd biggest city in the U.K, boasts major cultural institutions, masses of theatres, live music venues and comedy clubs, hundreds of restaurants and bars, and a generously sized shopping centre containing a Selfridges department store.

What can you fit into a weekend?

1. Go to a live music event, comedy gig or theatre production: Birmingham is home to the Hippodrome Theatre, New Alexander Theatre, and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre- amongst many more! From personal experience, the theatre productions are of the same quality of those on the West End in London.

Got a favourite band you’ve been wanting to see? If they are doing a U.K tour, then they will almost definitely play a gig in Birmingham during the tour. Birmingham has 3 main large capacity venues:

The Utilita Arena- previously the National Indoor Arena (Capacity 15,800 known for live music events from top artists & major comedians),
The National Exhibition Centre – N.E.C (Capacity 15,683- if seated. Known for large scale exhibitions such as Grand Designs, Crufts & the National Wedding Show)
The 02 Academy- Hosts up & coming acts, or bands that are less well-known in the U.K (Capacity 3,000)

Birmingham also has a big comedy scene, hosting some of the U.K’s top comedians and acts from around the world. There are many comedy clubs, the most popular being The Glee Club

2. Enjoy a fun night out: If going to show is not in your plans, then just enjoying a night on the town will provide you with a variety of hot spots to visit. We really enjoyed the vibes in the China Quarter: an excellent mix of a variety of pubs & clubs as well as Asian cuisine.

We had a fun evening at an all you can eat Chinese buffet Ming Moon- you pay £22 per person and have your pick of a massive selection of dishes- all clearly listed with allergens marked. As suggested you can fill your plate as many times as you want to, drinks are not included but dessert is! (We only found fruit as a vegan option but otherwise there is a huge selection). After your meal- if you can move, you can head downstairs to enjoy Karaoke! They have 11 themed karaoke rooms, some of which can hold up to 40 people- a great idea if for parties. They offer room service and have a bar near to the rooms. We recommend ringing to book in advance, the room cost £45 per hour.

3. Have some fun playing tabletop golf! This can be incorporated to your night out or enjoyed as a separate activity. The Floodgate is in the Digbeth area of Birmingham- a quirkier side of town that comes alive at night. The Floodgate offers Tabletop Golf (basically like a game of pool combined with a game of crazy golf!) for £10 per person- we spent just over an hour here. They also offer curling and baseball batting cages. You are allowed to purchase drinks at the bar and take them to your chosen game. There is a free cloakroom for your possessions.

4. Shop ‘till you drop: If shopping is your thing, then Birmingham has it in abundance. The bullring shopping centre holds over 160 shops, set over 3 levels. The department store Selfridges (well-known for being the world’s first department store, originating in London) is a designer experience, which is great for browsing or shopping for gifts!

Travelling Into and Around Birmingham

We have found that the easiest way to travel into Birmingham, particularly the city centre is by train. There are 2 main stations in the city: New Street- travel connections from major U.K cities such as London & Manchester, as well as the smaller Moor Street station- travel connections from surrounding areas and nearby towns.
Travelling into Birmingham via car is not for the faint hearted, the famous Spaghetti junction is one of the main routes into the city and can be hard to navigate and extremely busy during rush hour. The traffic tends to be dense within the city centre and getting around can take longer than expected.
Birmingham International Airport is one of the main airports within the U.K and hosts flights to over 150 destinations, it also has its own train station.
Buses & trams are regular throughout the city, easy to navigate and widely accessible. They connect throughout the tourist areas of the city, as well as the surrounding suburbs.
The easiest way to get around the city is via the uber app- friendly prices and safe, instant travel.

Staying in Birmingham

If you’ve read any of our other blog posts, you will know we love to book apartments rather than hotel rooms (using Booking.com or similar). When we stayed we were able to get a 1 bed apartment with a city view for £80 per night. The apartment included an open plan living space with fully equipped kitchen and floor to ceiling windows to make the most of the city views. We like having our own space and feel you get better value for money when booking this type of accommodation. If you do like staying in a hotel though, there is an abundance within the city- ranging from budget to bougie. There are also stays located just outside of the city to suit a tight budget.

Find current deals on booking.com:

Apartments

Hotels

Check out some of our photos from Birmingham below: