The Waterways Of Birmingham

Birmingham’s canals have been at the centrepiece of the city’s renaissance over the last ten to fifteen years. A lot of money has been spent cleaning up the towpaths and making them accessible to visitors. Old warehouses have been converted into loft appartments, standing side by side with new developments like these in Sherborne Wharf. It is essentially a boat maintenance yard, servicing the many barges that have permanent moorings here or those that pass through the city, in need of refuelling as they navigate the inland waterways of central England.

A short walk from here leads to Brindley Place, which is teeming with bars and restaurants.

Walk through the tunnel and emerge in Gas Street Basin, and one of the best watering holes in Birmingham.

A short walk alomg the towpath brings you to the Mailbox development, so called beacause it used to be a huge Royal Mail sorting office. Now it's home to fashionable bars and restaurants and a very up-market shopping centre featuring Harvey Nicholls and many designer boutiques way out of most peoples' price league. The BBC also operates its Midlands base out of here, operating on just two floors, tiny compared to its former Pebble Mill base which has now been demolished.

It does look pretty...

A Walk In The Park

This is my local park, Cannon Hill in Birmingham. It's a lovely place for a walk at anytime of year, but especially in autumn. Let's go for a walk...

Watch out for puddles...

Ponder the leaves underfoot...

And those still hanging to the trees...

Deserted bandstand .

Boer War Memorial.

A few morcels for my feathered friends before I leave...
These canada geese don't take no for an answer... Final Impressions...

Morning Breaks Over Birmingham

I awoke this morning to to find the most beautiful sunrise...tired as I was I grabbed my camera and went downstairs to take a picture of it. Voila...

Pub Crawl - The Final Leg - Bull Ring and Digbeth

A snapshot of the Birmingham skyline which reveals the changing nature of the city over the years. To the left of the picture the 1960's Rotunda building towering over the new Bull Ring shopping centre. In the centre St Martins church which has been beautifully restored, contrasting sharply with Selfridges just behind it. In the foreground, Birmingham open markets which date back to the 13th century, if I've done my reserach right.
Lord Nelson's statue, the Bull Ring complex. After taking the photo I felt a pang of conscience and picked up the wreath on the left which had been blown over due to very strong winds. It was heavy! The statue also serves as a war memorial, hence the flowers.
Ok, no more Selfridges shots, I realise it's becoming Birmingham's Eiffel Tower, or Big Ben, no one ever takes pictures of anything else. I wasn't sure when I saw the original designs but i must say I do think it is a spectacular building, especially when the thousands of silver discs catch the sun's rays, you can see it shimmering from miles away like a beacon. And I love the way it contrasts with St Martins church and the old Birmingham - they compliment eachother rather than clash. But I didn't even take a picture of the bull! That's for another post...
And so to Digbeth, dusty, dirty, noisy Digbeth. The white building is the police station. There are lots of pubs around here, and they're all Irish. No bad thing.
The flash went after this photo and my battery died...

More Pubs

This is the Old Fox in Birmingham City Centre. It is a very famous old pub which stands opposite
the Hippodrome Theatre. Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin were among some of the famous people who supped an ale or two inbetween performances. The Green Room is the bar next door and highlights the difference to me between a bar and a good old fashioned pub. It looks nice in there but I've never been in because it looks too posh. I'm much more at home in the Fox.

Both these fine establishments are located on Hurst Street, which is simultaneously Birminghams Chinese Quarter and Gay Village! I am neither Chinese nor gay but I like the eclectic feel of the place. And if only you could smell the food, your mouth would be watering...

Also on Hurst Street, the National Trust have restored Birmingham's only surviving back-to-back houses and made them a museum attraction with period shopfronts such as these. And they sell wonderful old fashioned sweets.

Walking In Moseley

Moseley is leafy and green, it even has its own private park. I wish this was my house...

The sun shines on the righteous...I tried to walk the beer off...

Nearing home, the city skyline emerges, the houses become smaller, the streets narrower...

I wandered lonely as a cloud...

The Prince Of Wales

Another of my favourites, a stones throw from the Fighting Cocks, more poular with the older drinker. It even has a seating area outside. However the landlady was a little suspicious of my photo-taking, I told her I was just a blogger but she looked at me like I had just dropped from Mars!

Why are you taking a picture of a Moose's head?

Because it's there...