Birmingham, Brum, B’ham – whatever you call the home of the 2nd largest population outside of London, we have fallen in LOVE with it! That may have a LOT to do with our Brum tour guides showing us all the best parts, but there is no denying it’s always a city that we can’t wait to get back to. So in honour of the city once known as Bromwicham, and the 72nd largest city of the world, we bring you our view of Birmingham.
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The UK is amazing. I feel like we have started more than a few posts with that line over the year. Being based in the Midlands we have been able to take full advance of exploring this wonderful island.
We thought we’d take a moment to round up our UK highlights, it ended up being too much for one post so we have split it into three – starting with the Midlands, followed by the South and then the North! So if you want a day trip or mini break or long weekend then there might be somewhere for you to check out.
In the UK this past few weeks there have been a few news reports about how last year more people moved from London to our home city – Birmingham than to any other city. It makes sense as it has the highest concentration of any city other than London and you know – there’s us 🙂
There is a whole list of stories here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37585337 but I thought I would jot down our reasons for the move after a 2 day stay in London reminded me of all the reasons our move was totally the right decision!
1) We could afford our own house and as a massive benefit the mortgage on our house is £500 less that the rent we were paying for our 1 bed London flat.
In the 5 years that we have lived in Birmingham we have driven past signs for Warwick Castle frequently and added it to our to do list. Sadly time has never allowed a visit and then when Annabelle arrived we pushed it down the list thinking it wasn’t going to be baby friendly.
Crazy golf / mini golf / putting whatever you call the bizarre game of hitting a ball around a course it’s not new. In fact I remember playing it on holiday as kid whether we were in Brighton, Tenerife or some other not so exotic destination. Laura and I have also played at various locations around the world since we have been together. It’s simple fun that we both enjoy.
What is a newer trend is the development of courses that are ‘next level’. In Birmingham this is taken literally – with the two storey Adventure Mini Golf at Star City that includes two 18 holed themed courses. But also design wise – with the pop-up Ghetto Golf an 18-hole twisted course based on Birmingham landmarks and retro themes that allows you to drink as you golf.
Where do I start this post? Sitting here, reflecting on an amazing weekend, I am not sure which of our highlights to start with! Our visit to Cornwall was our first UK mini break as a family of three and thanks to Love Newquay, we had a weekend to remember celebrating 10 years of being together!
With the bank holiday fast approaching we wanted to round up a few recent trips we have taken in and around Birmingham that may be of interest if you are in the area, or planning a trip here.
If you plan to stay centre here are a couple of things to do…..
1. Back to Backs
Turns out even some locals don’t what this is but TripAdvisor rates it highly on the to-do list and so do we. The Back to Backs are houses that were built to deal with a housing crisis back in the 1800’s. The example you visit is 5 minute walk from the train station. From the outside you will a traditional sweet shop and what looks like an oldish building. It is here that you start the tour.
Happy Tuesday!
Well hopefully it’s happy Tuesday in your world. I am feeling the pain after returning to yoga last night, while it felt good to be back my legs are currently feeling the burn. Ah well what’s a little pain in the pursuit of health and well being.
My legs may also be suffering from the weekend, over a two day period Laura and I managed to cover almost 10 miles thanks to:
The plenty to see fell into three main areas – Stonehenge, Glastonbury and Glastonbury Tor.
The energetic dogs were these two cuties:
