Day Out in Birmingham

Friday 25^th September

New Street Station

We are off to Birmingham today on the train.  The train station is about a 10 minute walk from the canal.  We walked up to the station and got the train.  You can either change at Nuneaton or Tamworth for Birmingham New Street which is strange because they are in opposite directions, but that is what we have to do!! We changed at Nuneaton and within 45 minutes we were at Birmingham New Street and what a transformation the station was from when we were last there.  All the renovations are now done and it is really good. There is a floor upstairs with lots of bars/restaurants/shops and new shops downstairs and the outside is very impressive, so much nicer than before.  

The Floating Market

We had a look around the outdoor market by the Bull Ring and then made our way to the floating market on the Canal by Brindley Place as that is what we had come to see, but we were very disappointed. There was about 15 or so boats selling different things, but unfortunately it was not what we had expected as we have seen plenty of trading boats on our travels and they have been clean and bright and the people friendly and they make you want to go and have a look and buy something from them, but it didn’t give us quite that feel!

The Floosy in the Jacuzzi!

We then went for lunch at the Handmade Burger Company on the canal, the burgers are really good.

The Owls and the Council House

Suitably full, we wandered back up to the station through Victoria Square where the council house is and what a magnificent building that is.  In front of the council house there is a statue of a lady and according to Terry Wogan and Mason McQueen she is called “The Floosy in the Jacuzzi” by the locals!  There was also four owls in front of the Council House.   They are dotted around the city and will be sold off for charity in October.

Inside New Street Station

We then had a look around New Street Station, it is really impressive and a much nicer place to go now and if you have to wait between trains, there are lots of nice shops to look around and bars/restaurants/cafes to get a drink or a bite to eat.

We got the train back to Atherstone and walked back to the boat.  We had a nice day in Birmingham and the sun shone all day, but next time would give the floating market a miss.