Destination: Birmingham

Airports

Birmingham Airport, located six miles east of the city centre in the neighbouring borough of Solihull, is the sixth busiest by passenger traffic in the United Kingdom, and the second busiest outside the London area.  It is a major base for airlines including Flybe, Ryanair, Bmibaby, Monarch Airlines and Thomson Airways; and is connected to major international hubs including Dubai, New York-Newark, Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam.              

Climate

Background

Birmingham is in the West Midlands and is Britain's second largest city. Birmingham was at the heart of the UK's industrial revolution, and its wealth was built upon the multitude of trades that were spawned. This led to a massive canal network, with more miles of canals than Venice. Much of the city centre was destroyed during the Second World War, and the replacement buildings added little to the city. However, since the 1990s, Birmingham has been undergoing a radical change and many of the post war buildings have been replaced. The majority of the city centre is now pedestrianised, and the canals cleaned up to make for attractive walkways. Birmingham has many literary associations - not only JRR Tolkien, but also Washington Irving, who wrote Rip Van Winkle while lodging here with his sister's family, and Conan Doyle, who bought a violin in Sherlock Street while a medical student in Birmingham. The authors Jim Crace, Judith Cutler and David Lodge are also residents. The nearby locations of Shropshire, Warwick, and Stratford-Upon-Avon provide more of the stereotypical images of "olde" England. However, Birmingham has many of its own tourist attractions, has an extremely lively night life, and the shopping is arguably one of the best outside of London.               

website design by