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.

NO IDEA if the map is right here so directions given Wantage (12km ENE)…read more A place of legend and a good day out if you combine it with the other places in the area..see my Wayland's Smithy. Picnic here..spend the day..the views are beautiful. We have to speculate here. It is called a horse but is it really a dragon? Only you can decide. The area would be quite difficult for the disabled. The Uffington white horse can be seen from up to twenty miles away in good conditions. It can be seen close up from the top of nearby Dragon Hill, but is perhaps best viewed from three or four miles away The steep combe below the horse is known as the 'manger'. The ice-cut terraces to west are the 'Giant's Stair'. 'Dragon Hill' a natural outcrop with an artificially flattened top is just to the North. While the great expanse of 'Uffington Castle,' a hillfort dating from 700 bc, guards the southern approaches. Further a-field are the 'Blowing Stone' and 'Wayland's Smithy'. It is the largest of the horses being some 374 feet in length and 110 feet in height, constructed of trenches which are 5 to 10 feet in width and 2 to 3 feet deep and filled with chalk, this is a few feet above the natural chalk of the hill. The horse is in excellent condition being maintained by the National Trust. The edges are well defined partially consolidated with concrete (although well hidden) and the top edge reinforced with polypropylene netting. The Uffington white horse, one of only four that face to the right, is high on an escarpment of the Berkshire Downs below Whitehorse Hill ten feet or less wide, and its length of around 365 feet makes it over twice as long as the longest of the Wiltshire horses The horse can be found 1.5 miles due south of Uffington village on the Berkshire downs ( now in Oxfordshire). It is situated facing NW near the top (at approx. 800 ft) of a very impressive steep escarpment below the Ridgeway long distance footpath, Whitehorse hill and the Saxon hillfort of Uffington castle and above Dragon hill. There is convenient parking nearby at Woolstone hill and at Whitehorse hill. This high locale makes the horse difficult to view from close quarters it is seen rather better from most areas of the Vale of the White Horse. The White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure, 374 feet (110 m) long, cut into the turf of the upper slopes of White Horse Hill The figure has been shown to date back some 3,000 years, to the Bronze Age. The horse is thought to represent a tribal symbol perhaps connected with the builders of Uffington Castle. The Uffington Horse is the symbol of Wessex Hall at the University of Reading, adopted in 1920 and still in use. Dragons Hill A bare patch of chalk upon which no grass will grow is purported to be where the dragon's blood spilled. Dragon Hill and is said to be the site where St. George, England's patron saint, slew the dragon. The blood from the dying dragon so poisoned the ground beneath that grass never grows there leaving the chalk scar we see today. Pillow Mound.Between the castle and the Horse lie a number of burial mounds, the most obvious being the Pillow Mound. These date from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages and are unusual in that they were reused for Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon burials. The Giants Stairs are a reminder of how the valley was created by scouring melt-water during the retreat of the last Ice Age. A terrace along the lower edge of the western slopes is thought to be the remains of medieval farming practice.

Went to Uffington's National trust white horse hill, 6 miles fro faringdon yesterday! and the views…read morefrom this English land mark are fantastic on a clear day! you can see Swindon city, Faringdon and all the oxfordshire village's, and oxford. and on the way up you see the chalk horse embedded into the hill side, and you also see dragon mound were it is thought that st George slayed the dragon! and on top of the hill are the remains of Uffington Castle, and a short walk from there an ancient burial ground. Car park £1 for two hours £2 for 4 hour's A great place to take a picnic.

No, not the much loved children's TV program (although Florence and Zebedee wouldn't look out of…read moreplace here) but a roundabout of bizarre sculptures made out of roadsigns. This affectionately known Splott landmark even has a claim to fame, it featured in a 2008 'Roundabouts of Britain' calendar! The quirky roundabout was designed by artist Pierre Vivant. If you're a roundabout lover like me check out www.roundaboutsofbritain.com!

I bloody love this round about! It usually at this point i'm lost somewhere between the bay and the…read morecity centre and then i see this magical is-ore. Made out of road signs by an artist (not a piss) called Pierre Vivant it really is something to behold. Now, careful if you want to go having your picture taken on here, its pretty tricky round about seen's as its a busy one. I don't want to be the cause of any mishaps or worse still, deaths! Now obviously it's not one of Cardiff main attractions and if you're reading this from across the waters you're better off just checking out on yelp other than booking flights over. Its nothing spectacular but is definitely worth mentioning for its quirkiness. One of the prettier round about's the city has to offer!

Holy shit it's the most amazing maze there is for adults…read more When filling out additional information on Yelp, there should be a checkbox for "Good for Adults Who Like Being Awesome". It's about £3 for entry, takes 30-45 minutes and is one hell of a thrill ride. In addition to the maze itself, there's a supplemental puzzle to solve with a series of words and pictograms. I won't give anything away, but it's not easy. Doubly-so if you're American, as the nomenclature is decidedly British. Best time I've had in a maze since the Pineapple Maze on the Dole Plantation in Hawaii.

Holy shit that was awesome!…read more This maze is a must do for any maze goer be they regular or new to losing themselves in a world of greenery. The maze itself is excellent but the puzzle that has to be figured out en route just adds to the intensity of the experience - this maze is incredible!

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.

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.

Another great night! The community vibe was loud and clear among us and we all enjoyed some…read moredrinking and dancing in some places we've never been before. The full moon cafe has a lovely cosy marquee in the back and the owner said a few words and gave us some lovely tapas and a trick or treat task before Thom led us on to the next place - chimp house. The staff were great in there and got involved in all the fun. We did a trick or treat and ended up all doing a shot! We went down to hobgoblin where the owner was absolutely great. We all clapped him for how accommodating he was and he gave a massive shout out to the Yelpers. It was my first mulled wine of the season and I thoroughly enjoyed it! He gave us some infamous chicken wings and some of us got an extra shot for good fancy dress! We wandered on down to bootlegger and this is where it gets blurry! The cocktails are really good in here and the music was great so we all had a good old boogie. Roll on the next event! :-)

The Brewery Quarter in Cardiff is in a way like a retail park, but smaller and in lieu of shops, it…read morehas a decent selection of restaurants and bars, I'd like to point out the name, not being from Cardiff, being a tourist from my home-town of Manchester, I'm not sure if there is any re branding to just "The Brewery Quarter" which gives it a better feeling, as I'm sure you don't want to hear "Old" when you're going to something to eat, as it just doesn't give the right impression, in a way it makes me think, Is the food from last year? This reference is actually quite ironic, while also considering the last review for this place was also "last year" as well! Moving onto more serious matters, most of the places here are restaurants however Breakout, do have there Cardiff branch here and there is also one of many Starbucks branches around the city located here other big names here include Bella Italia, Nando's, Chiquito and Five Guy's there is also a Brewhouse, which has a clever name, fitting into a complex which it is in, which certainly deserves a shout-out in this review because of that! There are 10 bars and restaurants here which excludes Starbucks Coffee, and Breakout located here so there is a fairly decent selection for most cuisine types including burgers with Five Guys being a more high end Mcdonald's, chicken/Portuguese food of course at Nando's, Italian at Bella and Mexican at Chiquito to name a few. The overall feel of the BQ is reasonable, it isn't too bad, but it isn't too good either, the main thing it does, it combining quite a nice selection of places to eat into one, the Nando's branch in particular which I visited, did look very nice, it was a big store with huge portion sizes, which worked out quite poor, as they overloaded it with spice, making it too hot, but I have commented on that further in a separate review. In a way, the Brewery Quarter lacks that special thing, that sparkle most malls and retail parks have to bring tourists and even locals in alike, which is a shame, and is one of the main reasons I don't think the BQ has done anything to deserve anything more than 2 stars, which I'm dissapointed to report.

The Old Brewery Quarter is a trendy café and restaurant area set around a kind of open-air piazza…read morein the heart of the city centre. It was once the 'Old Brewery' site of Welsh brewery Brains, but after being sat vacant for a while it was redeveloped in 2003 into the current leisure area. You can now find many chain restaurants in the Brewery Quarter, split over two levels - with the likes of Nando's, La Tasca, and Thai Edge on the upper level, along with Brains' own flagship venue, The Yard Bar and Kitchen - and Lava Lounge and Chiquito's on the lower level down some steps. Above all of the restaurants there are residential loft style apartments and penthouses, too. Although it covers a fairly compact area, the Brewery Quarter offers a good choice of different places to eat and drink, and the whole atmosphere is really pleasant - when the sun's out you can almost imagine you're on holiday.