Blogs from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 3

Current mood: Feeling Loved. Since 2006 when I left the UK I’ve travelled through and wrote about towns and countries spreading from Beijing in China to Bali in Indonesia. I have Looped Australia and Quaked in NZ but I’ve never had the opportunity to travel or write about any adventures in my good old Home Country. So after a few visits from my family to me in Australia I thought it time to get off my arse, onto a Qantas Business class flight to the UK and get about exploring good old Birmingham and its distant surrounds. The Business class flights are officially the end of my being able to travel haha. We have to try it once in our lives though I guess. Typically the simplicity of packing up my scuba gear and jumping on ... read more

Ollie is sitting on the drive snoozing away while we have started to plan and organise our next phase of travelling , the ferry is booked , Ollie is booked for a check-up, we know what currencies we need to order and we have to get our International Driving Permits. Woolly says – This meant a trip out to the second capital, Birmingham. It’s amazing how many people you meet when travelling that think we come from Birmingham, living nine miles away it seems that they club us together, I am a Yam Yam. The Black Country is proud of it’s traditions in glass and industry, having made the anchor for the ill-fated Titanic which set it clearly on the map, it is also known for its diverse accents and dialects. They are something to behold, ... read more

The 'onwards and upwards' trajectory leads us to the 3rd and final full day of the trip, and the last of the 3 rhythmically-sounding blog entry titles. An overnight stay in the cathedral town of Gloucester proved to be a strategic choice, as I was indeed creeping homewards in various short hops, and the challenge here was to see the best of Gloucester in the space of just short of half a day. The cathedral is far and away Gloucester's most single prominent feature, and its grounds offer the visitor ample scope for viewing this magnificent building from virtually any angle. A few representative photos later, and I was back in the thick of the town's shopping streets, realizing that there was more substance to the town than originally meets the eye. Finishing the trek at ... read more

Welcome to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens ! I discovered these gems of Botanical Gardens two years ago after attending a fair at the Birmingham NEC and was I in for a pleasant surprise ! They are of course much smaller in scale and variety than places such as Kew Gardens, though 15 acres in size, but they are definitely well worth a visit especially at Springtime. They are located in Edgbaston, a few miles away from Birmingham in a very leafy residential area. They were created by leading Gardener J. C. Loudon and opened to the public in 1832. At the time of my visit, the Botanical Gardens were holding a very interesting exhibition on the life and work of Charles Darwin. Here are a few pictures of my visit to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in ... read more

What a week. The past 7 days have been both amazing and emotional. I'm down to the final preparations, which have been a lot more complicated than they should have been. For starters, it has only recently occured to me that I am taking a rucksack, not a suitcase, and that my luggage padlocks have nowhere to attach. I have therefore spent much time agonising over other options. The very helpful man working in Mountain Warehouse recommended a "drybag". This is essentially a posh and thicker bin bag to put your rucksack into. This can then be secured with the normal padlocks. Downside: all is takes is a thief with a pair of scissors and the contents of my bag is all theirs. Option 2 - discovered in Blacks - a wire "mesh" that covers the ... read more