Exploring Birmingham Day 2
Tuesday 1st February 2022
For the next few days we have divided our time between wandering round and exploring Birmingham, trying out different pubs and eating out far too much! It’s like we’ve been on holiday!! But there’s just so many great pubs and places to eat you just have to experience as much as you can while you’re here! That’s our excuse anyway and as soon as we leave we will be back on a BUDGET as we are pensioners you know :)
Today we visited the Birmingham Library, which was amazing. Steph went in as we had Tilly and Winston with us and we didn’t think dogs were allowed in.
Steph went to the very top of the library to get a great view over the city.
The best bit to visit is The Secret Garden - where you can get an even better all round view - and you can see the canal!!! “Heaven knows why I find that quite so exciting when I see it every day”
Also the Shakespeare Memorial Room is worth visiting - I mean, I must admit I’m not very well educated when it comes to William, but it was still worth seeing!
It is a library like no other I’ve seen - both outside and inside!
This building is the Hall of Memory, complete in 1924. It was built to commemorate the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died during the First World War.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery was opened in 1885 and is apparently a must see venue if you want to learn more about the history of the city - unfortunately it was closed while we were here.
Outside the main entrance of the museum is the Chamberlain Memorial Fountain celebrating the achievements of MP and former mayor Joseph Chamberlain.
Nearby is the Grade I listed Birmingham than Town Hall, opened in 1834 and it was the city’s first public concert hall and auditorium.
Birmingham Cathedral is not the most spectacular cathedral we have ever visited! However it has four amazing stained glass windows that were designed by local artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, these windows were removed and taken into safe storage in a Welsh slate mine, and so were almost certainly saved from destruction when the cathedral suffers severe damage during the Birmingham blitz!
Hope you have enjoyed this little blog
