Those choosing Birmingham for a stay will find a wide range of points of interest: the 250-year-old Sarehole Mill, which has a connection to J.R.R. Tolkien; the greenhouses at Birmingham Botanical Gardens; historic canals; and the history of the Balti Triangle. These themes represent cultural history, plant diversity, boat trips and food culture. When deciding on your trip, you can first consider which of these sides of the city interests you most. This gives you a concrete starting point before you look for hotels in Birmingham.
Sarehole Mill: mill history and Tolkien
Sarehole Mill is a 250-year-old watermill and is connected with the writer J.R.R. Tolkien. The mill’s visitor attractions also include Woodland Realm. This brings mill history and a literary connection together in one named location. The age given describes the mill, while the connection to Tolkien offers an additional perspective. If you are choosing Birmingham for its cultural appeal, you can weigh these two aspects separately when deciding on a focus, while also experiencing them in the same place.
Plant diversity in the greenhouses
The greenhouses at Birmingham Botanical Gardens are home to more than 1,000 plant species, including many exotic and unusual plants that are found nowhere else in the United Kingdom. The collection therefore combines a broad range of plants with species that stand out for their rarity in the United Kingdom. If plants are your main interest, you can make the greenhouses a focus of your Birmingham trip. This differs from the mill history at Sarehole Mill: here, the focus is on the diversity of a collection.
Narrowboat trips on historic canals
Narrowboat trips are offered on Birmingham’s historic canals, and they can start in the city centre. The focus here is on a trip on the water, rather than a visit to a single collection or historic building. The possibility of starting in the city centre may be relevant when choosing a tour. If you take this into account in your plans, check whether the departure point for the specific trip suits your preferences.
The Balti Triangle and Birmingham’s food culture
In the 1990s, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath became known as “The Balti Triangle”. Growing Kashmiri communities had contributed to the opening of numerous cafés and restaurants there. The name thus connects three named neighbourhoods with a specific history of development. If you are interested in food culture, this offers another way to explore Birmingham: the focus is on the development at the time and the connection between the name and these neighbourhoods.
Focus areas for your trip and hotel search
The type of experience can help you choose: Sarehole Mill represents a historic site with a literary connection, the Botanical Gardens a collection, the canals a possible narrowboat trip, and the Balti Triangle the history of three neighbourhoods.
Discover more destinations: Bournville, Aston.
For the main travel overview: Birmingham.
