Birmingham open market is an absolute lifesaver! We've been shopping here for over five years and…read morethe quality, variety and price far outweigh any convenience of shopping at a supermarket. From standard fruit and veg to more exotic Caribbean and Asian foodstuffs the open market has something for everyone, and usually something to didn't know you wanted. The produce is fairly seasonal so when something is in season it is cheap as hell like 3 butternut squash for a pound or bunches of asparagus for 50p. The frozen food stall at the back is well worth checking out for your freezer-stocking bargains and the stall at the front with eggs and cheese is a must. Seriously, you'll hear the egg man shouting from mills away!

Great Quality produce and great prices. Shop around for the best deals, but on average we save…read morebetween 50p to £1 on each item - meaning a £10+ a week saving on our shopping (compared to supermarkets). The traders are friendly and will normally do you a deal if you need a large amount of a particular type of fruit or veg. Well worth a trip! Remember to take your canvas bags!

I fecking LOVE the Gay Village. This area officially starts up by the Hippodrome Theatre…read more(http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/birmingham-hippodrome-birmingham-2) and ends somewhere towards Second City Suite (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/second-city-suite-birmingham) and then across towards The Diskery (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-diskery-birmingham) and around in a square, it's not a huge area but has plenty of fun within it's confines. This area host Birmingham Pride (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/birmingham-pride-birmingham) which is one of the larger LGBT festivals in the UK and is home to many gay friendly bars, clubs and venues. The venues go from the sophisticated (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-loft-lounge-birmingham) to the ridiculous/fantastic fun (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/village-inn-birmingham) and you're pretty much guaranteed a fun night out whenever you go down. There is a wide range of venues to choose from in this area, so whether you're in the mood for a chilled out cocktail or a full on dance fest until 6am - you're going to have a great night. The people who frequent the Gay Village are just as colourful as the venues and you'll probably end up chatting to strangers at any of the places in the area. Whether you're gay, straight, Bi or undefined... You're going to have a good time in the GQ. The rules are.... play nice, be friendly and be prepared to have a whopping night out (even if you just intended to go for one or two).

Extremely inviting and warm. Very helpful and a great place to lose yourself. Been here quite a few…read moretimes and would recommend it for anyone looking for a good time. A lot less crowded than broad street so a much friendly atmosphere.

If you take the valley rocket from the city up to Merthyr Tydfil, jump off, (not literally) cross…read moreover the roundabout and head up Tywn Hill, somewhere between the terraced houses, snuggled into the winding hill is the Bali Glas. On first entering you feel like you're in someone's front room. Except this front room has a vast amount of alcoholic beverage choice, the most amazing welcome and a fantastic atmosphere that only comes with a well established local. There's a wide range of clientele in the Bali Glas, from young to old, to boring to bonkers to plastered to sober as hell. This pub really is a hidden gem. Charlotte, behind the bar is not only the prettiest barmaid ever but she's also the happiest. You never have to wait for a drink and when you get one, I'm brave enough to say, it's probably the best pint you'll ever drink in Merthyr Tydfil. Scott and Hywel are guaranteed to know your family History before you've taken three sips of your drink. Alan the landlord is possibly the driest person I've ever met and once you get past his frown he really is very nice and surprisingly happy! I looked upon my time in the Blai as a learning curve because over three pints of delicious Strongbow I learnt that elephants are pregnant for a whole twenty two months, that Merthyr Tydfil was once the largest town in Wales and I also learnt to cure hiccups! Yes, to cure hiccups. I would recommend everyone have at least one drink in the Bali Glas though you'll probably end up having at least five because the place is bloody marvellous! Well worth the trek up the hill.

Wonderfull, peaceful place with amazing views and walks. We visit on hot days, take a picnic with…read moreus a put our feet in the streams! Bliss! You do need to get here early on these days! You do have to pay for parking but that is it! The shop and cafe are nice and sometime there are books for sale!

This is the place to come to if you fancy getting away from it all. Barr Beacon is about 3 miles…read morefrom walsall town centre and is one of the highest points in the west midlands. The top on the hill has fantastic panoramic views. On a beautiful sunny day you can see iconic areas and buildings such as Cannock Chase, Lichfield Cathedral and Birmingham City Centre. They have a lot of lovely pathways for walk like the beacon way and the 2 mile circular trail. It has many other trails too which are yet to be explored. i was there on a warm sunny day, this place offers secluded spots for a nice picnic or sunbathing. The only problem is it lack basic facilities like toilets and a shop/ cafe to buy food and drink. There was a ice-cream van but prices were a rip off. £3.00 for a simple flake ice-cream cone. They have benches if you bring your own food. But this place needs some money pumped into it to bring it up to scratch. This place is beautiful it needs basic facilities. The bandstand like memorial stand was built in 1900's and the roof is made from copper which has aged and blends into the hues of landscape well. inside is a small pedestal has a map of how far surrounding areas are from this pin point location. Theres two car parks off Beacon Road a north car park which is less busy, but i used the south car park which was busier and was where the memorial monument was. this place is very popular with dog walkers, families with picnics, people playing football and there was a kite flyer too. This place has stunning amazing views, i recommend this place highly.

Beacon Hill is one of the highest hills in the West Midlands. A fact, it is the highest point…read morebetween here and Ural Mountains in Russia, On a good day you can see Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham, Shropshire and Wales. On a very clear day you can see the Bristol Channel. As well as its wonderful views, it also has good wide open space, a couple of football pitches and some flat ground on top of the hill.

Spent some time here with my family on a rainy English Wednesday. The staff were lovely and very…read moreknowledgeable about the history of the castle as well as giving us pointers on how to navigate the area with a stroller. Lunch in the cafe was great and apparently the soup was 5 stars. My sister and I both had a scone with jam and clotted cream. The scone was about a 3/10 but it did hit the spot. Parking was adequate and overall it was a lovely experience. I'd imagine it's beautiful sitting outside in the cafe on a sunny day!

Interestingly, Berkeley Castle is England's oldest inhibited castle, the word on the street is the…read more24 generations of the Berkeleys have passed through the thick brick walls. Edward II was imprisoned in a cell here, and infact murdered! The Great Hall, is indeed Great and has been host to many a King and Queen over the centuries. As an extra bonus, as well as exploring the house there is a tropical butterfly house with tens and tens of beautiful and exotically coloured butterfly's flying around. £7.50 for adults / £4.50 kiddiewinks

If you've been to the Ikon Gallery you'll know about the water feature in Oozells square…read more It's a lovely area with cherry trees, restaurants and cafe's. Running diagonally along the centre is a long channel filled with water that ripples slowly along from one end to the other. This water feature forms the starting point of the composition of the whole area, with the six benches and the large arch dominating the rest of the space. The space makes me think of Japanese traditions as it incorporates nature into it's design. It always feels a little calmer a space than it's neighbour, brindleyplace plaza and I'm sure this is no coincidence. What my children like doing on a warm day is to dip their toes into the channel and pretend it's a river. I love the idea of using architecturally designed spaces as fun places to play, especially when they're right n the middle of the city.

This is a pretty and quiet square that is home to the Ikon Gallery and several smart restaurants…read more As urban landscaping goes, it is very much in the minimalist style with more than subtle nods towards Japanese zen gardens. It is a quiet and relaxed place - far removed from the hustle and bustle of nearby Broad Street and Brindley Place I like calming channel of water that runs from end to end of the square. I also love the way the square lights up a night, with fairy lights trimming the trees. I wouldn't necessarily suggest making a special trip to Oozells Square, but it is well worth pausing on your way through or taking a seat on one of its benches after a visit to the Ikon Gallery.

I saw this grand old steam train pull into Snow Hill Station and it was wonderful! There were loads…read moreof people on the platform just to watch the train arrive. It was quite sweet to see all of the little kids getting ridiculously excited about the big steam train. To be honest, I was getting quite carried away with it all - for about 30 seconds I understood the mind-set of a train spotter! The Shakespeare Express is a steam train service that runs between Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon. It runs every Sunday from 1st July-9th September. It calls at Snow Hill, Moor Street, Tyseley and Henley-in-Arden before chugging it's way into Shakespeare's hometown. The journey (one-way) takes around 1hour 10 minutes and pre-booked return tickets cost £20.00 per adult and £12.50 per child. Family tickets (2 adults and 2 children) can be purchased for £45.00. The carriages are authentic vintage carriages, pulled by the Princess Elizabeth engine. There is a café on board and there are options to upgrade to a premium dining ticket that includes breakfast, lunch or high tea depending on the time of your journey.

I love the usual Yelp and Deliveroo events, however this one not so much. Why, looking at the price…read moreof alcohol beverages! It makes zero sense to order via Deliveroo for drinks. One small 187ml bottle of wine I can buy the full bottle of the same wine for the same price in a local supermarket. I can buy beers for less than 1/3 the price in my local off-license, and this is before the £2.50 charge. I find the pricing is all too wrong. Then there is the minimum £10 spend. You can't order food from one restaurant and drinks from another without having to make a separate order, frustrating! Oh, and two of my local off-licenses deliver for free, too.

Found that my £10 credit from Deliveroo was showing on my app and the email from Dan confirmed I…read morecould order after 3pm... I was on it! I looked at both places we could order from - the Wellington or 40 St. Paul's. Decided as I like cider, I'll pick the Wellington. Though I felt bad as I ordered it to be delivered to my office on Edmund street so that's only on the next block!! Lol I ordered 3 bottles as ordering less than certain amount incurs a fee. The order arrived, pretty much within 20 mins, I got text so I went to the lift and was also called by the Roo driver! He found the place with no problem. My only real issue with the delivery was it was not in a bag.. So I had to carry 3 bottles of cider into the office lol thankfully no one question me, no one tackled me for a bottle or more importantly did I smash any!! Lol I think next time I would go downstairs with a bag to be on the safe side. The bottles were nicely chilled though they are now in my work rucksack for when I get home! Thanks to Yelp (Dan) and deliveroo for my drinks today!! Cheers !!!!