Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

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Previous issues for Birmingham

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United Kingdom : Birmingham - June 2010

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There’s a homely vibe in Birmingham this month, as the BBC’s Gardeners’ World Live and Summer Good Food Show (both 16-20 June at the NEC) dish up tips, and the Back To Backs museum reprises its popular workshops in rag rugmaking (25 June). All is mellow at the Botanical Gardens, meanwhile, with sketching and tai chi lessons on the manicured lawns in full bloom. Sally Howard pulls on her slipper socks

Getting around

Birmingham International

Bus: Buses from the airport to the city centre leave every 30 minutes and a single fare costs €1,95/£1.50.
Train: Trains run from Birmingham International to New Street Station; the journey will take around 10-20 minutes and a return ticket will cost €7/£5.30 before 9.30am and €4,50/£3.40 after 9.30am.
Taxi: A taxi from the airport into the city centre will cost around €22/£17 and take about 40 minutes.
Tourist information: The main tourist office is at The Rotunda, 150 New Street (tel. , beinbirmingham. com).

BOURNVILLE

This planned Quaker village is the most remarkable of Birmingham’s suburbs, preserving an idyllic village vibe.

Culture vultures – Now a museum of Jacobean and Tudor furniture, the lavishly beamed Minworth Greaves (Maple Road) and adjacent Selly Manor offer an enjoyable insight into medieval and Tudor Midlands lifestyles. And no trip to Bournville is complete without the world-conquering indulgence that gave the village its name. Cadbury World (Linden Road) takes visitors through the history of the cocoa bean and Cadbury dynasty – with all-you-can-eat samples included in the ticket price.

Must eat – More waistband-popping fare is on offer at Mangos Restaurant (3 Bournville Lane, tel. ), an unpretentious Caribbean that produces steaming bowls of ackee and salt cod from the depths of its tiny kitchen.

EASTSIDE

This is the rebranding for Digbeth’s blossoming arts area to the south of the centre. Whatever its name, the district is vibrant and endearingly unpretentious.

Sleep soundly – The Paragon Hotel is as cosy as a B&B (145 Alcester Street, tel. , theparagonhotel. co.uk, doubles from €46/£40).

Culture vultures – Studio 4 Gallery (The Custard Factory, Gibb Street) is one of the UK’s best galleries for street and ‘subversive’ art with pieces from Beat 13, Chu and street artist du jour Banksy.

Must drink – Find urban art, comfy chairs and eclectic acts at working man’s boozer-turned-hip haunt The Rainbow (160 High Street). Or for a taste of old Digbeth (and affordable ale) visit the kitsch Irish Centre (14-20 High Street).

Shop til you drop – Stock up on retro clobber at the whimsically curated Cow Vintage (82-85 Digbeth High Street).

HANDSWORTH

Notorious for race riots in the 1980s, today’s Handsworth is a pleasing mix of balti houses and Caribbean eateries.

Culture vultures – Work it off with a Bengali dance lesson at the Handsworth Asian Dance Centre (Fire Station, Rookery Road, tel. , book in advance). For evidence of a very different past, the elegant neoclassical Soho House (5 Soho Avenue) has been restored to its 18th-century glory, when it was home to Birmingham industrial pioneer Matthew Boulton.

Must eat – The chief reason to visit this quarter is the grub – from the authentic northern Indian classics at Chandni Chowk (125 Soho Road, ) to the delectable Caribbean marinated meats at Flavour Flame (393- 395 Soho Road, tel. ).

THE TOLKIEN TRAIL

The author of The Lord of the Rings lived in Birmingham from the age of three to 19, and many extant city sights are woven into his fictional worlds.

Culture vultures – Tolkien spent four years in a house opposite 18th-century Sarehole Mill (Cole Bank Road), and its red-brick building and gloomy lake inspired him – Sandyman’s Mill in The Hobbit bears a resemblance to Sarehole (then a small hamlet). Other must-sees include the baroque Oratory Church (Hagley Road, Edgbaston), whose school Tolkien attended, and the curious castellated tower of Perrott’s Folly (Waterworks Road, Edgbaston); the inspiration for The Two Towers.

Compiled by Sally Howard