In the past, it’s been synonymous with British industry, but now Birmingham is fast gaining a reputation as a top cultural, entertainment and shopping destination.
Thanks to more than £1 billion invested in the city centre in the last decade, Birmingham has been regenerated, with its neglected canals and alleyways catching the eyes of architects and developers. They have created stunning and accessible entertainment, leisure and shopping areas.
If you like to shop, Birmingham is most definitely the place. It now boasts one of Europe’s largest and most innovative shopping destinations: the Bullring. Costing £500 million, this mammoth complex offers 110,000 square metres of retail space, with 130 shops, cafeìs and restaurants. It has a very futuristic design, from its stunning sky-plane roof to the Space-Age look of the Selfridges store, with a covering of 15,000 spun-aluminium discs.
Heritage-lovers will also not be disappointed, as, staying at The Briar Rose, you are only around the corner from some of the city’s most historic buildings. If you walk to the western end of New Street, you will get to Victoria Square, home to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, housing some excellent pre-Raphaelite paintings and English watercolours.
In the centre of the square is a statue of Queen Victoria, placed there in 1901. There is also a huge fountain known as The River, one of the biggest in Europe, with a flow of around 3,000 gallons of water every minute! Victoria Square also houses Birmingham’s Central Library, with an estimated 30 miles of book shelves! However, if you are a Shakespeare fan, it’s worth a visit, because of its Shakespeare Memorial Room, housing a collection of more than 50,000 books about the bard and his work.
Fans of Tolkien can also indulge in their own Tolkien Trail. Tolkien spent his early years growing up in Birmingham, and it is thought that the 96ft tower Perrott’s Folley, Birmingham’s oddest architectural feature, together with a nearby Victorian tower which was part of the Edgbaston waterworks, could have been the inspiration for Tolkien’s Twin Towers.
There’s also the Jewellery Quarter – Birmingham has been synonymous with jewellery for the last 250 years, and this industry is very much still flourishing, with hundreds of shops here producing one-third of the UK’s jewellery.
11th February 2012
For your chance to win this fantastic prize, simply answer the following question, complete your details and send in your entry.
How many aluminium discs give Birmingham's Bullring's Selfridges store its Space-Age appearance?
Competitions open to all UK residents over the age of 18, excluding employees of the promoter, their respective families and agents or anyone directly connected with these competitions. Acceptance of the rules is a condition of entry. No purchase necessary. Entries must be received no later than 22/3/10. Proof of dispatch is not proof of receipt. The winner will be the first correctly answered entry drawn. Where multiple prizes are offered, the winners will be the first relevant number of correct entries drawn. Where the prize requires travelling to or from a venue, transport costs and incidental expenses will be the responsibility of the prize-winner(s), except when detailed otherwise in the prize description. The judge’s decision is final; no correspondence will be entered into. One entry per household. The winner/winners will be notified by post. No cash alternative available. The prize(s) will be delivered to one UK address (where the prize(s) are goods for delivery). The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend this promotion, owing to events arising beyond its control. The promoter is not responsible for any third-party acts or omissions. Promoter: J D Wetherspoon plc, Wetherspoon House, Central Park, Reeds Crescent, Watford, WD24 4QL