inspirational UK: Focus on Birmingham

  

UK government figures show health and manufacturing are the biggest job markets for relocators to the region (car manufacturers Jaguar and MG Land Rover are both based there). The city is also a major international commercial centre with a thriving services industry.

It is the city’s cultural offer which really catches the imagination, however –you may also have spotted Birmingham as the setting for popular British television drama Peaky Blinders which follows the fortunes of a crime gang in the aftermath of the First World War.

So, what can you expect if you move to England’s ‘Second City’?

One thing’s for certain, you’ll find it very different to life in Peaky Blinders!

Here we pick out highlights of a region only 120 miles from London, which will benefit from a new high-speed railway link by 2029 – reducing the journey time to just 52 minutes from the UK capital:

The Birmingham region has a rich sporting history, and you may not be aware of all of it!

Football giants Aston Villa (who won the European Cup in 1982) and Birmingham City are both based there, with Wolverhampton 

Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion up the road.

It boasts a famous international cricket ground at Edgbaston (which first held a Test match against Australia as long ago as 1902). If you’d rather play than watch, The Birmingham & District Cricket League is the oldest in the world, formed in 1888.

A newly developed athletics arena, the Alexander Stadium, was the focal point for the Commonwealth Games – and The Belfry golf course in Sutton Coldfield has hosted more Ryder Cups than any other venue.

Birmingham can even claim to be the home of lawn tennis. It was invented by Major Harry Gem in a back garden in the suburb of Edgbaston 150 years ago! Not surprisingly, the Edgbaston Archery & Lawn Tennis Association is the oldest tennis club in existence.

The city has a link to sporting silverware, too. The Wimbledon men’s and women’s tennis trophies, The FA Cup and boxing’s Lonsdale belts are all made there.

So, whether you’re playing, watching or looking for sporting history, there’s plenty going on!

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts offers pieces by Monet, Manet, Rubens, Renoir and van Gogh – and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery specialises in pre-Raphaelite paintings (as well as a very fine Edwardian tea-room).

If that’s not your thing, then the Ikon Gallery is the home of more contemporary art.

The iconic Bull Ring shopping centre (which looks rather like a giant UFO has landed) needs to be seen to be believed, with Selfridges its signature store. Across town, Mailbox is home to Harvey Nichols and Emporio Armani – and The Great Western Arcades is a go-to destination for lovers of independent shops.

Smithfield, a £1.9bn city centre development which is already underway, shows the extent of ambition in Birmingham.

It will be the home to the city's historic Bull Ring markets as well as boasting new leisure and cultural spaces. The site hosted beach volleyball at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

Birmingham is full of museums, from steam engines and talking robots at the Science Museum to 28 acres of reconstructed shops, houses and industrial areas at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. 

The city’s famous Jewellery Quarter (which features 200 listed buildings) hosts many of them, as well as offering a bewildering range of jewellery shops. Museum highlights include the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, the Pen Museum and the Newman Brothers Coffin Works.

Birmingham Cathedral, meanwhile, features Pre-Raphaelite windows by painter Edward Burne-Jones.

Cadbury World, based at the original Cadbury chocolate factory in Bournville, features high on Birmingham’s ‘must do’ list.

Nearby Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare should be included, too, along with Land Rover’s manufacturing tour in Solihull.

Birmingham’s vibrant canal quarter is home to some of the city’s best bars, cafes, and restaurants, all nestled by the water.

In fact, there are more Michelin-starred restaurants in the region than any other city in the UK, outside of London. Look out for Purnell’s, Simpsons, Adam’s, Carters and Opheem. 

A vibrant music and nightlife scene, including a Gay Village, are part and parcel of a city which knows how to have fun.

But for those who like to be more refined, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Birmingham Rep Theatre are equally highly rated.