Introduction
After my ‘flying visit’ to Bristol, Bruce and I continued to England’s second city on a horribly busy CrossCountry train. At 1hr 20mins, the main leg of the journey wasn’t exactly a major expedition, but it felt longer than it should have, thanks to the crowded, noisy conditions and pandemic-denying conduct of some of the passengers. Our base for the weekend was the Holiday Inn Express Birmingham City Centre, which somewhat strangely, is situated on Holliday Street.
It didn’t take us long to realise that if mask compliance in London was shaky, in Birmingham it was close to non-existent. Nevertheless, we were determined to have a good time while sticking to public health measures appropriate to the continuing pandemic.
City of Canals
Birmingham has 35 miles of canals, a total said to exceed that of Venice. (The two networks – and the two cities – are completely different in nature, of course.) Once a major catalyst for the Industrial Revolution in the West Midlands, Birmingham’s canals are now almost entirely turned over to leisure use.
Birmingham Pride
Our visit to the city overlapped with Birmingham Pride, one of very few such events to go ahead in 2021. The main parade on Saturday was a well organised affair that was especially notable for the participation of so many public service bodies, such as emergency services and transport operators.
Back to Backs (NT)
The Birmingham ‘Back to Backs’ is a restored 19th-century courtyard of working people’s houses, now in the care of the National Trust. Visits are by guided tour only, but this should be seen as an advantage, as the guides bring the subject matter to life.
City Centre Miscellany
Finally, here are some remaining pictorial highlights of the weekend.
