UK Trip Pt 5 -Birmingham City

In between of the parties and wedding stuff, I had a chance to visit Birmingham. Initially I wanted to go for a day trip to London, but changed my mind. Buckingham, Trafalgar Square still look the same whereas Birmingham went through a major facelift since my last trip. So, i thought i might as well go check it out.

Birmingham is a city in the West Midlands county of England. According to wiki, it is the most populous British city outside London. It and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the United Kingdom's second most populous Urban Area.

From my observation, the fact is so true!

Half of my family in UK live in Birmingham so i had to do the visiting and walk around town within 1 day. To save time, i took a train from Leicester. I did the same thing 9 years ago and i must say the best way to see England is via train.

My eyes were hooked to the window throughout the 40mins journey as i enjoyed the postcard-alike view.

The station at Birmingham is right at their city centre. It was so convenient.

At the St Martin Church near the Bull Ring Centre. It is the original parish church of Birmingham. It stands between the Bull Ring shopping centre and the markets.

Bull Ring @ Birmingham

The Bull Ring is a major commercial area of Birmingham. It has been an important feature of Birmingham since the market was first held. It has been developed into a shopping centre twice; first in the 1960s, and then in the 2000s. the last time I came in 2001, the entire place was a major construction site.

Its been completed for about 7-8 years now but it looked brand new! Well, to me at least. If your trip is all about shopping, Bull Ring would be heaven.

The Bull Ring icon

The beautiful design of Bull Ring Centre. According to my dad, "Panadol Building"

~Cheers!