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See | Stay | Eat | Drink | Buy | Unwind
See
Birmingham has a cavalier attitude to its buildings, even the brutalist 1973 Central Library by architect John Madin – a huge inverted ziggurat, envisioned to gleam white across town but never quite finished – is scheduled for demolition very soon. So, while a walk past that (next door are the more traditional Council House and Town Hall) and its horrific metal replacement on nearby Broad Street, is worthwhile, take a trip out of the city centre to find the real history.
Three miles away to the north is Aston Hall, a Jacobean mansion that survived Roundhead onslaught in the civil war and has held out against puritan city planners ever since. It's buffered by some well manicured gardens and lawns, but is now bordered by the A38(M) Aston Expressway and dwarfed by Villa Park, home to one of the city's two underperforming football teams. Once home to the royalist Holte family, it was badly damaged by Parliamentary troops in 1643. Visitors can see the cannonball that made holes in the staircase, and also the holes that haven't been repaired since. Bracebridge Hall by Washington Irving is a collection of short stories based on life at Aston Hall, describing a wedding during its last days as a home.
• Aston Hall, 0121 675 4722, bmag.org.uk/aston-hall, closed until 30 March, entry £4, under-16s free, free entry on first Sunday of each month
Stay
The iconic Rotunda in the city centre ("more cylindrical than the gherkin" claims a T-shirt) has now been converted from offices into stylish flats. Although some are privately owned, it's possible to book into the penthouse and other serviced accommodation in what calls itself a "boutique apartment hotel". Rooms are decorated in pop-art style to match the building's 1960s modernism, with deafening colours and large prints on what walls there are.
But no pictures or design are a match for the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows all around the balcony on the top floor. On a clear day you can almost see forever. The building is Grade II-listed, but stood almost empty and rundown during the demolition and rebuilding of the nearby Bullring at the turn of the century. It almost feels historic in the context of its gleaming surroundings. Refurbished and renovated by Urban Splash, it towers over the main shopping streets of the city and is a fantastically central place to stay.
• 150 New Street, 0121-285 1290, stayingcool.com/birmingham, doubles from about £95 a night, weekend deals available
Eat
Across from New Street railway station, through the Bullring shopping centre and indoor markets, past chain outlets such as Café Rouge and Jamie's Italian, you'll find Café Soya. Formerly run out of a small kiosk in Chinatown, Soya is now a favourite place for birthdays and other occasions when only a table for 10 or more will do. It's fantastic for authentic south-east Asian food: steamed pancakes, noodle soups and very hot curries. The food has been known to appear in a seemingly random order, and it takes an age to do things like pay – but don't be afraid to ask the staff to hurry up, or they may just assume that, like many others, you're happy to linger all evening.
In nearby Digbeth is another hidden eatery, this one exclusively vegetarian and vegan (although Cafe Soya is also good for these). The Warehouse Cafe is above a health food shop and the headquarters of the local Friends of the Earth chapter. It's healthy and organic as possible, with a wide selection of soft drinks so refreshing you could forget it's not licensed.
• Cafe Soya (Unit 2, Upper Dean Street, 0121 622 3888, cafesoya.co.uk) and The Warehouse Cafe (54-57 Allison Street, 0121 633 0261, thewarehousecafe.com)
Drink
It doesn't offer great views, for in the great tradition of Birmingham city centre pubs the Post Office Vaults is literally as well as figuratively underground. It's small and cosy, but has perhaps the widest selection of specialist beers and micro-brewed ales in the city. According to the ebullient host, who will gladly play a game to show you the rules, it also has the only bar billiards table in the West Midlands. Tucked under New Street, where it meets the civic expanse of Victoria Square, the bar is a witty respite from the rush above. During the run up to Christmas, when Birmingham is turned into the largest German market "outside Germany" and people are squashed and assaulted by the smell of sausages, the landlord entices people in with the promise of "stress busting kits" (sheets of bubble wrap) as well as the usual imported and local brews. Salopian Brewery's Oracle, from just up the road in Shropshire, is a permanent fixture, and local ale experts have recommended Sierra Nevada, Nøgne and Flying Dog as well as the "lethal" Yellow Snow IPA, while they were still upright.
Fans of ale can also check out the newly opened BrewDog bar (81 John Bright Street, brewdog.com/bars/birmingham) which stocks a contoversial beer bottled within a stuffed squirrel, or, for a less self-consciously trendy experience, the high-ceilinged and bright Old Joint Stock (4 Temple Row West, oldjointstocktheatre.co.uk), a bank converted into a pub and theatre.
• Post Office Vaults, 84 New Street, postofficevaults.co.uk
Buy
Birmingham's main trades were always rather industrial, but in the Jewellery Quarter, just west of the city centre, talented and bespoke craftsmen's workshops sit alongside "vintage" jewellery bought and sold by weight. For something uniquely Birmingham, however, you might, again, venture a little further out of the centre. King's Heath has long been overshadowed by its neighbour, Tolkien's famous bohemian suburb of Moseley, but a combination of property prices and licensing law changes have pushed artists and accompanying wastrels about half a mile up the road, and "the Heath" is now brimming with bars, bands and indie boutiques.
The People Shop is the best of the area's outlets, offering chatty service with locally made art and craft of the sort every Brummie hipster snaps up then snaps with Instagram. Designer in residence Mr Christian (mr-christian.com) produces bespoke tailored dresses, consulting and sketching on the shop floor as well as blogging the results. He is fast gaining a reputation across Europe, so snap up an original while you can still afford it.
If you're not in the market for a dress, try a drink and some live music (several nights a week) round the corner in the Hare and Hounds (106 High Street, hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk). Here you may be seated at almost random heights around the tables due to the retro and vintage furniture, but even if you don't fancy a pint you will get to sample some real local heritage. Like a significant (though sadly dwindling) number of Birmingham pubs, the "hairy mound" is still decorated with Victoria tile work and masterful stained glass.
• The People Shop, 50 Poplar Road, 0121-444 3444, thepeopleshop.co.uk
Unwind
For such a concrete city, Birmingham is surprisingly green in places. Its municipal parks are spread over the conurbation like patches of calm, but most offer not much more than grass, the odd flower bed and overweight amateur sportsmen on a Sunday morning. Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston is different. It has a boating lake, wild areas by the River Rea, a miniature golf course and even Brum's oldest pub. That the pub is long closed is a disappointment, but there's plenty more to do.
Set against the river is the Midlands Arts centre (macarts.co.uk), known as the mac, with cinema, cafe and bar too. The gallery is well embedded in a thriving Birmingham art scene, where photography, performance, sound and multi-modal artists all do interesting work, often concerning local culture.
In spring or summer, nothing beats the Nature Centre on the edge of the park (entrance on Pershore Road). Built to educate the city-bound schoolchild in animals and flora they'd not be likely to encounter, in recent years it has expanded its animal conservation work and now houses more exotic breeds like meerkats, lemurs and famously – thanks to one escapee – red pandas. It's perfect for those with young children, or slightly hungover loved-up couples.
• Cannon Hill Park: entrance off Edgbaston Road, birmingham.gov.uk/cannonhillpark
Jon Bounds is the founder of birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk
