Having worked around St Paul's Square for the past 4 years, this Georgian square is one of the most…read moreprettiest parts of Birmingham's City Centre. Located in the historic Jewellery Quarter, the square itself is the only Georgian square left in Birmingham. With St Paul's Church located in the centre, the grounds make for a lovely green spot to take a picnic or catch some rays in the Summer time. It also looks gorgeous in the winter when topped with snow. It's also far less busy than other green spaces such as Birmingham Cathedral which can attract unwanted types. Their is the 24 Carrots market held here twice a year as well as live music from Birmingham's Jazz festival and I've even attended a film event at the church for Jameson's Cult Film club and seen live painting classes. Surrounding the church and it's ground the rest of the square is a mix of residential and commercial premises as well as a flourish of bars and restaurants. It's definitely a sought after area and one people pay a premium to live in and you can see why. This is a piece of Birmingham heritage that I'm proud to shout about.

Birmingham has loads of green public spaces (200 parks maintained by the Council) and areas close…read moreto the Centre, but this space is one of the better spaces in the Jewellery Quarter. It's technically a graveyard, but doesn't feel like one! In the summer it's filled with people reading, playing games and picnicking and over Winter it's full of sledgers and urban snowman makers ready for cold weather fun! With the background of the Church, it's a great place to take your lunch or just sit and while away some time enjoying the view. The area around the square has Coffee shops, bars, art galleries and restaurants. It's really easy to get to from the City Centre (a 5 minute walk) and is reasonably well signposted if you fancy an explore. It feels like the gateway to the Quarter, as from the square you can get straight to Caroline Street which is a haven for hairdressers, signmakers, spa's and deli's. A couple of great places which are just a stones throw away from the square are the RBSA Gallery and St Paul's Gallery (which showcases album cover artwork and all manner of interesting pieces). 3 times a year a community market is held on the space, so a good chance to buy locally produced food, crafts and goods while taking in the Church and meeting the residents of the area. St Paul's Square is well maintained and green all year round. If you feel like you need a little retreat from the bustling centre of town, this is a great place to chill and contemplate.

A public square adjacent to the Chamberlain Square. We happened to visit the city the day after the…read moreCommonwealth Games had ended, so the place was still decorated in bright rainbow colors. The place has nice sights of historical sculptures and landmarks, plus important buildings such as the Town Hall and Council House. Although it was bustling with people at our weekday evening passthrough. I was astonished to witness the sheer number of children playing in the waters of The River "Floozie in the Jacuzzi". If visiting, I recommend coming in the morning when it is not so crowded.

Home to The Town Hall and the Council House in Birmingham, Victoria Square is a rather nice open…read moresquare and is in-between New Street and Colmore Row in the city - although partially ruined at the moment by ongoing construction works which make parts of the city a mess for the metro extension, I can't let this affect my opinion on the square as the construction is only temporary and of course the metro extension will bring lots of benefits to the West Midlands city as a whole. With fountains and benches, although there aren't really many cafes directly in the square - there is both a Starbucks on New Street and Colmore Row, however, where you can get multiple train and bus services respectively, it can be a nice place to sit in the city away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping areas on a nice sunny day - sadly in the UK we don't get many of them. In the square, you also have the Queen Victoria Statue, it is pretty much a common attraction most people will pass through while in Birmingham - this was pretty much part of my journey into the main city centre having to pass through the square to get to and from Broad Street, where many of the hotels from the Jury's Inn, Hampton by Hilton and Garden Inn Hilton, Hyatt Regency brands and more are located. I do feel there could be more of a welcome to tell people about the square including the historical parts of it including the Grade I listed building which is nice to see rather than having to look online after a visit and find it out. Pretty cool place in the city and it doesn't get as busy as the Bullring / New Street too on a regular day - pretty much Birmingham's answer to Piccadilly Gardens in a way. 3*

My wife and I went to Coughton Court today for a nice day trip. Although a lot smaller than most…read moreNational Trust properties it was still very enjoyable. The National Trust recently acquired this property and the family still live in the property and on the grounds. The highlight for me was walking around the many rooms in the house, it seemed a lot more relaxed than other National Trust properties where you can sit down and touch anything. In the main room, you could sit in front of the fire (which was nice as it was freezing!) A random point... They had the weirdest sheep? That we've ever seen in the field... I went to investigate what exactly these animals were and they chased me off!

My husband and I visited this National Trust site today, on mother's day. There were a lot of…read morepeople there, but not too many to where it was unpleasant. I think not that many people know about this place. We now have our National Trust membership, so we easily walked through the entrance and we're given tickets to view the house by a lovely lady and a map of the grounds. As you walk in, there is a full restaurant, used book shop, gift shop, Toilets, and an area to buy some plants. Just past that are the gardens (which were closed this time of year) and the entrance to the house. Everyone working there as a volunteer was very kind and knowledgeable. Each one smiled or greeted us as we walked into each room. It only took us about 45 minutes to get through everything, but we are not the type of read everything as we go along. Then we walked to visit the two churches. One church was open and nice inside. Although the other was closed, there was a picturesque graveyard behind it. We also visited the sheep... or whatever type of animal it was. Haha. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice cream tea for only £3.50 in their full restaurant. We really enjoyed that and it was of great value. It seemed they offered numerous meal options and everyone eating seemed to be enjoying themselves. We also bought some mead and postcards from the gift shop. There were numerous unique items in there, including an ice cream container for those people who just have to have it everywhere they go. ;) I bought two used hardcover books from the book shop for £2.50 each. Their book selection was organised very well with many good options. We also noticed some beautiful rose bush options for sale, along with some herbs and flowers. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would recommend this place for a nice half day trip out in the Midlands!

Brindleyplace is one of my favourite areas of Birmingham city centre, it is home to a large number…read moreof restaurants, while also being pretty to walk around with the bridges and canals, it feels much more chill and laid back from the big city which it is a part of. It's within walking distance of New Street and the Bullring, or you can hop on the West Midlands Metro, which has a dedicated station for Brindeyplace following the Metro Expansion to Edgbaston. For coffee, you have the choice of Caffe Nero, Costa, or Pret A Manger, while the selection of bars and restaurants located here includes All Bar One, Cosy Club, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Turtle Bay, Wagamama and many others. On my most recent visit to Birmingham, I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is located within Brindley Place, my room had a pleasant view overlooking it. It's a fairly nice place in the city whether you're looking to walk around, hang out, grab a bite to eat or enjoy the nightlife.

If you've ever been to Birmingham you will know that it has more canals than Venice. I'll take…read moreBirmingham over Venice any day where you can enjoy the lovely Brummie accent. My gondolences to those who haven't had a chance to visit. A friend of mine has been putting off coming here for years because the streets are always flooded. Brindley Place is a quarter around the canals with plenty of cafes, pubs and restaurants and apartments. It has a nice modern design and you can walk down by the canal level or a level up crossing the canals over small pedestrian bridges. The water looks like a terrible quality. Someone needs to drag a long net through it to catch all the rubbish floating around. Most restaurants are chain restaurants, which seems to be the rule rather than exception these days. The one side of the canal quarter connects to the Mailbox mall. Quite a few house boats floating around where you can look straight into peoples bedrooms.

Nechells Baths is an example of when Heritage Lottery Funding ends up going to the right place…read more The building is stunning - Edwardian, and obviously once upon a time a swimming baths. Now, many many years later, through persistance from grassroots organisations and support from the council as well as HLF, it has been transformed into a community venue hosting a range of community businesses as well as a cafe with cheap and cheerful offers for anyone passing by. Nechells is misunderstood by people who've not spent time there. I've run workshops in the carpark of the bath, and with the sun fortunately shining down, we had an endless stream of children, young people and families coming over and chatting to us and having a go at the activities we were running - including a couple of boy racers who are usually seen as 'trouble' but who got SO excited by what we were doing, they went home to get more drawings they'd secretly done and wanted to share! Brilliant.

I love, love, love this building and whilst it is sadly no longer a baths they have maintained so…read moremany of the original features. Once properly inside the building you'll discover the former single changing rooms are now the buggy stalls. A couple were turned into listening booths that were meant to have some fun audio plating in but alas I fear they haven't worked in a long time. As you walk around this community centre/office space/community cafe you will find hidden treasure feature everywhere so long as you really, really look. There is even a 'Being John Malkovich' half door, I won't tell you where as spying it is half the excitement. This is a fine example of the regeneration and restoration of a building with a more practical purpose for it's current community being executed amazingly well. I'm sure that if the purpose of the building needed changing again then the modular way they've added in false ceilings and floors means that it could probably be turned back into a public baths. Finding the old in the new feels like an exciting treasure hunt and when old public baths like the ones at Stirchley are still fighting a battle to save it then this one shows why we should.

Another Charles II jigsaw piece for the area, as this is another house where he stayed, bed and…read morepriest hole still there to see. The staff/volunteers are really knowledgeable, (My Nanna has had a couple of them to WI meetings to do talks on historical medicine, and I think the other one was food history). The house is well kept, and more to look round than in seems on the outside, and the gardens are lovely, especially with the resident peacocks. They also put on a lot of interesting features- there were children fencing once in blue and red masks (not historical stuff, but good starting points) and they do food-ie bits etc. Lots of nice facts and etymology thrown around too. Nice tea room and gift shop (everyone needs a national trust picnic blanket in their life)

I have been visiting this fantastic National Trust property since I was a small child and have…read moreenjoyed every subsequent visit to this day. This atmospheric Elizabethan farmhouse conceals a priest's hole and hiding places, in one of which Charles II hid after the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and thus has link with Boscobel House nearby where he also hid in an Oak tree. The actual bed on which the royal fugitive slept is also on view. With an excellent guided tour we followed the story of the King's dramatic escape from Cromwell's troops and find out about 17th-century domestic life in this historic home which has been encased in bricks during its long life. The garden has many varieties of plants in keeping with the period and has a striking knot garden following a 17th-century design (see photo) There is a great little gift shop, tea shop, plant sale and second hand book shop to peruse as well.

Eastside is a brilliant area of Birmingham that is only just beginning to see the development it…read moredeserves. With all the fuss around the HS2, it seems as though developers are finally starting to see potential in this area (which was, largely, a wasteland for a long time). Millennium Point is a building which I see to be the centre of Eastside. With it's large, bold design and varied services within - I am a fan... But can see so much more potential. Currently it houses several academic institutions (including Birmingham Metropolitan College and departments from Birmingham City University) as well as "The Giant Screen" (see http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-giant-screen-birmingham) and "Thinktank" Science museum (which I have STILL never visited). It's a huge space inside and currently sees the addition of a wonderfully quirky musical clock as part of BMAG's "Marvellous Machines" season. On the quarter hour, half hour and the hour birds start singing and dancing; it really is a treat to behold. Events occur in this space regularly (including food fairs and the "National Barista Championships") and there are now coffee pop ups and different bits and pieces going on seemingly every day of the week. Outside of the building is the free to enter "Science Garden" (for children, unfortunately), Eastside Park and it's around the corner from BCU's excellently equipped "Parkside" campus. You're also five minutes walk away from the sights and sounds of Digbeth and the centre of town, so it's dead easy to find and get to. If you haven't ever ventured down to Eastside, there couldn't be a better time to check it out. With art events, architecture festivals and tourist attractions such as "Thinktank"; make a date to pop down and check it out for yourself.

There has been some great developments here recently making this place a real hive of activity. I…read morevisited yesterday for a coffee at 6/8 cafe and was surprised to see so much buzz in a previously quiet part of town. Millennium point itself is a truly impressive building both inside and out but has never felt like it is being fully utilised until now. It is the home of the Think Tank and also multiple uni campus that now bring many students and families to the building. The Think Tank now has a large development at the front of the building with even more scientific loveliness in an enclosure for both kids and adults to enjoy. I was very close to going and having a look around but ill save it for another day why I can fully embrace my inner mad scientist.

Wonderful place to stop and spend some time. Got to see a…read moredemonstration with wool, discussion on different types of wool. Donkeys, horses, goats, falconry and gardens. The demonstration with Talia the eagle owl was delightful and fun. Friendly staff, very educational.

We walked to Mary Arden's Farm from Stratford-upon-Avon. Fair warning: it's a LONG walk. Don't do…read moreit if you're not prepared to walk 5 miles (or about 8 km) there and back. I suppose a bike ride would nice, though. It's along a river through really Englishy countryside with rolling hills and and pebbly roads. Once we got there, it was pretty meh. Admissions is covered in the Shakespeare Five House ticket, but not any of the other types of ticket packages. You just walk around and look at pigs and rooms. We saw some owls and falcons, a dovecove, some pigs, an old oven, old bedrooms with small beds.... It's not really educational - there wasn't much to learn about Shakespeare or Mary Arden. I didn't think they made much of an effort to make it tourist friendly either. It wasn't really worth it but still mildly interesting. I recommend saving some money and just purchasing the Four House ticket and forgo this house.