Coal in Birmingham
As we had a wander around we saw this beautiful pagoda in the middle of a traffic roundabout and later walked into Chinatown and the shops brought back so many memories for Paul who had spent quite a lot of time in China before retiring and moving onto the boat. Saturday there is going to be a procession in and around the Bull Ring to celebrate Chinese New Year.
This year is the Year of the WATER TIGER
Our dining out experience tonight was GBK - fabulous burgers and lots of memories to reminisce on. We hadn’t been in this GBK before but many years ago my lovely brother Dave introduced us to the GBK that had opened in London, where he lived. We have alot to thank our Dave for - it was him that introduced us to boating life and took us on our first boating holiday many years ago! Sadly he is no longer with us and although we miss him every day, he is still with us in spirit and we talk to him all the time.
The Roundhouse is a crescent shaped Grade II listed building, it was built in 1874 and was originally stables and stores for the Birmingham Corporation. It was also used as a base in the late 1800s for Night Shift workers - the lamplighters and night soil workers! The lamplighters would walk around the city when the sun went down, lighting the lamps with a flames torch and the night soil workers would collect human waste during the night as in those times there were no underground systems for city sewage removal! But enough of talk about toilets!
Boaters are well known to wax lyrical about toilets far too much!!!
St Thomas’ Peace Garden was designed around the ruined tower of St Thomas’ Church. The tower was the only part to survive the Birmingham Blitz of 1940.
We didn’t go shopping in the Bull Ring, which was the site of the medieval town of Birmingham’s weekly Market but we did visit the amazing fish market and bought some sea bream which Paul pan-fried and served with mashed up new potatoes and veg - and was extremely delicious!
St Martin’s Church was the town’s original parish church and dates from at least 1263.
We had some amazing sunsets over the city while we were out and the canal and bars alongside look beautiful when they’re all lit up at night.
People often ask us about our boating lifstyle, a common question is,,, “Where do you get your coal, gas and wood etc.” There are a number of places you can get this sort of stuff, from marinas to shops, however our preferred option are COALBOATS as they deliver door to door, or boat to boat. We also have a saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” These are narrowboats that cruise the canals, often they look like the old working boats but minus the horses, stuffed to the gunnels with all sorts of goodies. The Lady & The Captain contacted coal boat Roach on Facebook, to both our delights he was in the area and promised to be with us the following day. Rich was an extremely nice fellow, so we stocked up on coal and gas, 6 bags for us and a bottle of gas. Happy Days and now prepared for any cold spell 😊
One of our favourite bars has to be the Sommar Brewery and Tap Room. They have loads of different beers to try and on a Thursday you get 20% off a flight of 4 beers (one third of a pint in each glass). It would have been so rude not to partake 😉. This bar soon became one of favourites in Birmingham and the food is nice as well.. They brew a beer called FOAMY BANANA MILKSHAKE PALE ALE… Very Dangerous beer as its simply just too nice 👌
Trust me, this is not intended to be a GOOD BEER GUIDE to Birmingham, neither did we spend all our time in bars,,, HONEST… well not all the time. Like we have said before “if someone goes to all that trouble making the stuff, its simply rude not to partake”, no matter how challenging the task might be. 😂 Another great boozer with a good selection of real ales is The Old Contemptibles! “A UNIQUE CITY CENTRE PUB WITH A RICH HISTORY”, the name being associated with First World War heroes.
Friday took us on a stroll around the famous Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham. This contains Europe’s largest concentration of manufacturing jewellers, producing more than 40% of the UK jewellery output! Until the late 1970s it was a closed community and there were no jewellery shops there until that time, when the economic recession forced some of the manufacturers to open up to retail customers. After more regeneration in the area The Jewellery Quarter has one of the highest concentrations of listed buildings in the UK and is described by English Heritage as a “national treasure”.
We also visited Warstone Lane Cemetery to see the Catacombs. Catacombs are a type of burial vault and were usually organised so that families could be buried together in one area. A final resting place here was usually reserved for rich and influential individuals!
Restoration work began here in 2019-2020 and the catacombs circle is now used for events including film screenings, theatre and yoga, thanks to the great acoustics and shelter from the wind.
Our walk took us down Ludgate Hill - the site of the last public hanging in Birmingham and through St Paul’s Square and past St Paul’s Church.
On Saturday night we had an Indian meal at Barajee - a restaurant with an amazing view over Gas Street Basin - it was a good meal - not the best Indian meal we’ve ever had - and it was expensive! We did however get a smile from one of the waiters when Paul asked for more after dinner chocolates after the meal 😉 which he did provide. “You don’t ask you don’t get” Another great evening in Birmingham.
We have had an amazing time in Birmingham - spent a fortune! But totally worth it - so much to do and see and free parking and hotel!! (OUR BOAT). We have been lucky enough to spend a week in Venice an few years ago. When you hear people say that Birmingham has more canals than Venice, you build a mental picture in you head that it just can’t be as amazing but maybe we were wrong. Like any large city Birmingham has its challenges, however we met some lovely people, saw some amazing sights and we did feel safe with all the surveillance cameras. One Day we hope the cameras are no longer required but for now maybe they are…. Simply Loved IT 😍
Having said all that, we are ready for a cruise again now and a little more peace and quiet, so tomorrow we will be on our way to explore more of the Birmingham Canal Network.