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Birmingham, Warwickshire (Pictorial Index)
Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom and is located in Warwickshire and within the administration area known as the West Midlands. It was, originally, a medieval market town but grew significantly in the 18th century and, by 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". The Watt steam engine was invented here in Birmingham.
This picture shows the Birmingham Library Building, opened in September 2013, in the area known as Centenary Square.
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The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery dates from 1829 but seven galleries had to be rebuilt, immediately after world war II, after being bombed in 1940. This shows just one of the many galleries.
Entry is free and a visit is very worth while. The main entrance is located in Chamberlain Square below the clock-tower.
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Not far from New Street Station is Piccadilly Arcade near the north-eastern end of Navigation Street. Piccadilly Arcade connects New Street and Stephenson Street and is home to a number of shops some with original shopfronts dating from the 1920s.
The Arcade itself was built as a Picture House (Cinema) in 1910 and is one of, if not the first, purpose-built cinemas in Birmingham. It was converted to a shopping arcade in 1926.
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This 20 storey cylindrical building, 265 feet high, was built in 1965 as an office building but was later converted into a residential building. The Rotunda forms part of the Bullring which is a large shopping centre.
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The Mailbox Shopping Centre opened in 1998. It was the redevelopment of the former Royal Mail sorting office in Birmingham City Centre and also includes two hotels.
What we found interesting was that, having walked in from Suffolk Street Queensway, we were able to walk out the far end onto the Canalside area shown below.
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Having emerged from the Mailbox Shopping Centre we found ourselves at the Worcester and Birminham Canal. Although hidden by buildings the canal comes in from the right and makes a sharp turn to move out near the centre of the picture by the blue building, under the raised walkway, travelling south-west towards the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (an easy walk, along the canal towpath, of about 1.5 miles.
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The Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a 15-acre botanical garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham located 1.5 miles south-west of Birmingham city centre. Designed in 1829 the gardens are Grade II listed and are notable for the range of glasshouses and gardens displaying a wide variety of plants and birds.
The gardens are open daily to the public with paid admission and, we have to say, are worth every penny.
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