What a great historical hidden-gem in Birmingham! Like visiting a Shakespeare family home in…read moreStratford-upon-Avon, but for a tiny fraction of the price and no crowds whatsoever! If you're at all interested in Tudor history, or want to experience a slice of Birmingham's history that's hard to find anywhere else in the city, this is a must-visit! Selly Manor is a beautifully restored tudor home converted into a museum, moved to Bournville from another part of Birmingham in the early 1900s by George Cadbury. There are many rooms to explore at your own pace, filled with period furniture. Booklets with plenty of historical information are available for those who like a bit more context. There's a great selection of tudor costumes for adults and children alike to try on and join in some fun. My friend and I (both in our 20s) had a blast roaming around the manor and property, trying on costumes, and learning about the building's unique history, from being part of a tudor estate to serving as overcrowded tenement housing! Guided tours are available, and an adjacent building is available to hire as an event space.

When I was researching places for my wedding, Selly Manor kept popping up in terms of local venues…read more It was too small for us to use, but I became intrigued by what it is and what's inside it, so wedding or not, I thought I'd investigate. This is what I discovered: What it is: A beautiful, 12th century Tudor building: replete with timber beams and structure, a manor house that initially housed the local tax collectors! What's inside: Parlour, Hall, Bedchambers, Kitchen, Garret, 'Solar' (Tudor version of a conservatory) and gardens. All containing restored original features and furniture. Which brings me to my next point: I'm a bit of an obsessive about furniture, so I was immensely pleased to discover inside the Laurence Cadbury Collection, which is essentially items of furniture dating from about 1500 to the early 1900s. Included in this collection, on permanent display, are some absolutely beautiful wooden chests. If you're any thing like me and have a penchant for old wooden things, then this is your place. It's only £3.50 per adult, so it's great value for money. If you fancy stepping back in time for an afternoon, I would thoroughly recommend Selly Manor. (It's closed on Mondays, by the way....)

Weoley Castle ruins are really quite hard to find - you'll need to head towards Northfield on a 29…read morebus and alight in the middle of the estate - even then it's worth phoning ahead as due to repeated attacks of vandalism the site can only be accessed via one of their open days or by a pre-booked guided tour (although you can peer over the fence and see a bit of the site). The ruins themselves are at least 700 years old and are what's left of a moated medieval manor house that formed the estate of William Fitz Ansculf - cool name eh? Weoley then changed hands several times between the centuries and fell into disrepair - stone from the castle was removed to build a nearby farm and the Dudley no.2 canal. According to the council run website the site is a now deemed an Ancient Monument of national importance. I have fond memories of visiting the site when I was a little girl - although I'll be honest with you there isn't a massive amount to see - recently they have started a programme of events which involve the local community and I'm actually rather excited by the upcoming 'Witches Promise' which is a co-production with the Birmingham Rep and will feature the people of Weoley Castle.

With the same protection rights as Stonehenge- Weoley Castle Ruins are a real historical gem. You…read morecan view it from the railings at any time BUT your best bet is to visit on an event day. They hold Bat Walks, Falconry Days, a Knight School for kids, craft activities and lots more. The site is certainly most interesting when you know what you're looking at so take a tour and let one of the volunteers bring the site to life for you! Take a look on the website for details of events.

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.

Really great venue where Tolkien got his inspiration for the Two Towers. Not open all the time…read more Check the Ikon Gallery for details as they have their art instillations there. Basically a really tall town with spiral stair case. Amazing views of the City and fab decaying decor.

You can find Perrott's Folly just off the Hagley Road - for a while it's future looked uncertain as…read moreit was in a bit of a state but thanks to a renewed interest in all things Tolkien-y (sorry, that's not really a word but hopefully you catch my drift) - it was renovated and in 2008 reopened. It's now owned by Trident Housing and mainly used for art projects - the tower itself has lots of little rooms which makes it conducive to that sort of thing and it's certainly a beautiful space. Built in the 18th century, it's rumoured that John Perrott built the tower so that he could see his wife's grave, 15 miles away - I'm not sure if that's true but records show that from 1884 right through to 1979 the tower was used as a weather recording station for the Birmingham and Midland Institute. And that in the 60s the Geography Department of the University of Birmingham took over the running of the observatory until operations were transferred to the main campus. As for the Tolkien connection - it's said that this inspired him to write about the two towers in Lord of the Rings - again I'm not sure if that's true but if you find yourself nearby it's worth popping along for a look.

Warstone Lane Cemetery is a bit of a hidden gem within the Jewellery Quarter. It's easy to dismiss…read moreit as another cemetery which provides a hand cut through between Warstone Lane and Vyse St, or as a place to sit and eat lunch when the weather is nice. Actually, if you take the time to walk further into the cemetery, you'll be surprised to discover incredible catacombs which cut two storeys down into the land. With businesses on all sides, and buses and the metro skirting alongside, people are always walking around and through the cemetery - but it's definitely worth making the effort to go and explore the catacombs, as aside from being vaguely maudlin they're incredibly beautiful and curious in a day and age where people can barely afford a cremation or regular burial, let alone the glamorous expense of a catacomb. In addition, the famous John Baskerville (creator of the font Baskerville!) is buried here, and if you're curious about the historical side of this cemetery, there are guided walks every so often organised by The Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane - http://www.fkwc.org/

This was the most interesting thing I saw in the Jewelry Quarter. It's an old cemetery with loads…read moreof atmosphere, an interesting slope to it, and easy to find near the train station. Without this little gem, my visit to the Quarter would have been a total waste of time.

I have to talk about Old Joe (as it's commonly known) on here, as Old Joe was the reason I came to…read moreBirmingham in the first place. Having looked round various universities in the UK, I was rather taken by the fact that Birmingham University had a rather splendid red brick clock tower. Obviously ummm I maybe should have been thinking about other things like "Is the course here good? Who are the teaching staff? How much are the course fees?" rather than "Oooh, pretty buildings" which was essentially what I based my decision on. Hey ho, it all worked out OK in the end. You can see Old Joe from where I'm currently living in Stirchley, and, in fact, from many parts of South Birmingham, which makes it a familiar and popular landmark. There are plenty of weird & wonderful urban myths about Old Joe, such as if you walk underneath it as it chimes then you'll die, or fail your degree or something. Occasionally, University students get it into their heads to do various things for charity involving Old Joe, such as abseiling down/ climbing up its tall brick walls. And the Physics Department are constantly throwing things off Old Joe ummm for fun. (I'm sure that actually they are conducting serious science experiments...) Suffice to say that Old Joe is a much-loved, integral part of Birmingham University life, not to mention an equally loved, integral part of Birmingham's wider cultural landscape.

You don't have to be a student at Birmingham uni to appreciate the majesty of dear Old Joe. You can…read moreget a great view of it on the train from New Street heading towards Bromsgrove. It dominates the skyline, as if it is giving the middle finger to all of those airy-fairy "dreaming spires" that the Oxbridge lot love to go on about. This noble clock tower has stood proudly in front of the equally grand domes of the Aston Webb building since 1908. It was built to honour the university's first chancellor - Joseph Chamberlain. It is based on the tower of Siena Town Hall in Italy and was designed by Aston Webb (he of V&A fame) and Ingress Bell. It is 99.06 metres high and has an arch at the base that you can walk through - though many a superstitious student will refuse to do so. Apparently, it is the "largest free standing clock tower in the world". Students have a real sentimental attachment to Old Joe and I can kind of see why. It also serves the practical purpose of telling the time and making sure folk get to lectures on time. The tower is generally not open to the public, but appointments can sometimes be made.

The gilded bronze statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch stands on a plinth of…read more stone outside the old Register Office on Broad Street, this statue is known locally as The Golden Boys due its colour. It was created in order to honour the impact this trio had on the Industrial Revolution. Possibly the blingiest statue you're likely to encounter in Birmingham!

This statue has been a fixture of Broad Street for as long as I can remember, but it has recently…read morebeen ruined somewhat by an incredibly gaudy paint job that makes it look like something Michael Jackson would have picked up in Harrods for his bathroom and would not have blinked at paying £250k for. It really was a baffling decision to make it this shiny. I've always heard it referred to as "3 men discuss the size of a recent gas bill", the joke being not that the price of the gas was extortionate, but that the gas bill itself is very large. That aside, Boulton, Watt and Murdoch are important figures in the history of Brum and it's one of many nods to our proud industrial heritage that are dotted around the city centre. I'm only giving it two stars at this point, it would get 5 if they cleaned that muck off of it.

For a great way to explore the Jewellery Quarter and learn a bit about Birmingham's history from…read morewooden roller coasters, spitfire manufacturing and key dates, then following and looking out for the pavement trail is great fun. Whenever I'm walking to the Jewellery Quarter I always check them out no matter how many times I walk over them. Admittedly I've marked the address for the pavement trail starting with the one at the Chamberlain Clock which is actually the last one listed on the trail but I have to admit that i've never observed or seen the key which is the start of the trail. So that is now my task to myself, i will find the key. I urge you to check the pavement trail out as the first time I learned about the Hockley Flyer Roller coaster I was very excited by this discovery and it's all thanks to this trail.

I love this. I used to work in the Jewellery Quarter and it took me ages to even realise the…read morepavement trail was there - which is, perversely perhaps, one of the reasons that I love it. To me, it sums up a lot about the Jewellery Quarter - it's the kind of place where, initially, there may not be all that much that meets the eye, but once you start looking properly and digging things out, amazing things come to the surface. I suppose that, unless you spend a lot of time staring at your feet as you walk, you won't necessarily realise this is here. Each aspect of the trail represents something about Birmingham's history - particularly as regards manufacture, as you'd expect from this historic quarter. There are actually 2 trails: the Charm Bracelet Trail and the Findings Trail. Both incorporate art and sculpture integrated into the pavements of the Jewellery Quarter, and both are really fascinating. Historical, understated and a bit quirkily creative - that kind of sums up this area of Birmingham, to me.