birmingham in october
Aug 1st, 2003 | 09:34 AM
#3
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
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Birmingham's a perfectly fine city (it's probably got the best professional orchestra in Britain outside London right now, for example. And, as they'll tell you forever, more miles of canal than Venice - and Brum canals smell less). But, as the previous post shows, it does have an image problem - especially in its own country.
All irrelevant, really, as it's the centre of England's motorway system and of its train system. So, as long as they're working (not necessarily guaranteed), you can be pretty much anywhere in England in a couple of hours max. Or a day or two if the roads are running as they normally do (an exaggeration - but not much)
Nearest conventional good stuff, if you've the sense to avoid Stratford (though its theatre's fine), are the Cotswolds and Oxford. Some of the less visited great churches, like Tewkesbury Abbey and Glucester/Worcester Cathedrals are glorious. Walking in the Malvern Hills is a lot more bracing than the Cotswolds
What the whole Birmingham area really specialises in is industrial history. Several industrial and mechanical museums in the region, and Coalbrookdale in nearby Shropshire has the world's first iron bridge. If that sounds a bizarre thing to hunt out - designers in the Industrial Revolution were almost incapable of anything ugly. Most of the area's surviving 18th and early 19th century stuff is simply beautiful - though unfashionable.
http://www.visitheartofengland.com/ boosts the area. You've the rest of your life to visit London and the South East of England. Try exploring this area by itself.
All irrelevant, really, as it's the centre of England's motorway system and of its train system. So, as long as they're working (not necessarily guaranteed), you can be pretty much anywhere in England in a couple of hours max. Or a day or two if the roads are running as they normally do (an exaggeration - but not much)
Nearest conventional good stuff, if you've the sense to avoid Stratford (though its theatre's fine), are the Cotswolds and Oxford. Some of the less visited great churches, like Tewkesbury Abbey and Glucester/Worcester Cathedrals are glorious. Walking in the Malvern Hills is a lot more bracing than the Cotswolds
What the whole Birmingham area really specialises in is industrial history. Several industrial and mechanical museums in the region, and Coalbrookdale in nearby Shropshire has the world's first iron bridge. If that sounds a bizarre thing to hunt out - designers in the Industrial Revolution were almost incapable of anything ugly. Most of the area's surviving 18th and early 19th century stuff is simply beautiful - though unfashionable.
http://www.visitheartofengland.com/ boosts the area. You've the rest of your life to visit London and the South East of England. Try exploring this area by itself.
Aug 6th, 2003 | 01:39 PM
#5
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
Isn't there the Cadbury's chocolate factory and visitors centre in Birmingham?
flanneruk is right, Birmingham does have an image problem, some of which is justifired, some isn't. Use it as a base to travel round the midlands as he suggests
flanneruk is right, Birmingham does have an image problem, some of which is justifired, some isn't. Use it as a base to travel round the midlands as he suggests
Aug 7th, 2003 | 03:57 AM
#6
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Aqua:
I know next to nothing about local hotels (I live here. Why would I know about hotels?). Though, since all hotels are worse than being at home, there can be no such thing as a nice hotel. Just hotels that are more or less painful,
The issue surely is where do you want to stay? If you're at a fair, chances are it's at the NEC. Staying there puts you at the centre of England's road system. Hotels at the NEC are functional and efficient on things like dry cleaning last time I had to stay there. But, apart from the exhibition industry, railway station and airport, nothing's there.
You might stay in downtown Bham. Ignore the English on this. Bham's OK (think a scaled down Chicago, rather than one of those dead industrial towns with no centre anymore, like Louisville. Big English towns can get surprisingly - many may say disconcertingly - boisterous at night, especially at weekends). Trains go every 10 mins or so, in 10 mins or so, from Bham's main (New St) station to the NEC. Apart from the predictable Hyatts etc, two recentish hotels (Malmaison and Hotel du Vin) are touted as "cool" by their PR people, and in the articles they've had planted. (in fairness, H du Vin's food is rated well by independent critics. Brindley Place is the centre of the yuppified bars, brasseries etc. Bham New St is Britain's best connected station. Train-based tourism is relatively easy from here. Car based tourism's fine - much easier than from almost any other British city, except for serious rush-hour problems.
Or consider Stratford as a base. Most over-rated tourist town in the world IMHO, and lousy train connections. But a few painless chain hotels, handy for the road system and, when the wind's in the right direction, only 20 mins by car from the NEC. And if you're only there at night, its theatre makes up for its less-than-stellar restaurants.
Do remember that short distances in England seldom mean short journey times. Getting into the NEC early in the morning, at least for the next six months (serious road works) can be tricky, except from within the NEC, by train, or by the non-motorway road from Stratford.
I know next to nothing about local hotels (I live here. Why would I know about hotels?). Though, since all hotels are worse than being at home, there can be no such thing as a nice hotel. Just hotels that are more or less painful,
The issue surely is where do you want to stay? If you're at a fair, chances are it's at the NEC. Staying there puts you at the centre of England's road system. Hotels at the NEC are functional and efficient on things like dry cleaning last time I had to stay there. But, apart from the exhibition industry, railway station and airport, nothing's there.
You might stay in downtown Bham. Ignore the English on this. Bham's OK (think a scaled down Chicago, rather than one of those dead industrial towns with no centre anymore, like Louisville. Big English towns can get surprisingly - many may say disconcertingly - boisterous at night, especially at weekends). Trains go every 10 mins or so, in 10 mins or so, from Bham's main (New St) station to the NEC. Apart from the predictable Hyatts etc, two recentish hotels (Malmaison and Hotel du Vin) are touted as "cool" by their PR people, and in the articles they've had planted. (in fairness, H du Vin's food is rated well by independent critics. Brindley Place is the centre of the yuppified bars, brasseries etc. Bham New St is Britain's best connected station. Train-based tourism is relatively easy from here. Car based tourism's fine - much easier than from almost any other British city, except for serious rush-hour problems.
Or consider Stratford as a base. Most over-rated tourist town in the world IMHO, and lousy train connections. But a few painless chain hotels, handy for the road system and, when the wind's in the right direction, only 20 mins by car from the NEC. And if you're only there at night, its theatre makes up for its less-than-stellar restaurants.
Do remember that short distances in England seldom mean short journey times. Getting into the NEC early in the morning, at least for the next six months (serious road works) can be tricky, except from within the NEC, by train, or by the non-motorway road from Stratford.
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