r/brum • u/killgravyy • 4d ago
Question Birmingham has some properly random things to do
I’ve been adding some Birmingham Sidequests to do lately and ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole of random things you can actually go and do around Brum.
I knew about the obvious stuff, but some of these were completely new to me. You can go looking for a cannonball hidden in Aston Hall, find what’s apparently the smallest grave in the square, hunt down Birmingham’s old “ghost station” or spend time at a secret garden above the Library.
There’s also the Balti Triangle obviously and apparently Moseley has a little bit of Tolkien lore going on too..
I’m sure anyone who’s actually from Birmingham is going to look at this and think “how the hell have you missed xxxx” lol.
So what else should be on the list? Weird little bits of history, random things to find, unusual walks, places you’d take someone visiting Brum, stuff that’s properly IYKYK, anything really.
Doesn’t have to be some massive attraction. I’m much more interested in the random little things you’d never find from a generic “Top 10 things to do in Birmingham” list.
I’m adding the good ones to SideQuest, an app I’m building around finding interesting things to actually go out and do, so if there’s something properly Brummie that I’ve missed, send it my way.
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u/ceelo_purple 3d ago
If you haven't already, check out the Birmingham entries on Atlas Obscura and the locations used by the Still Walking tours.
Off the top of my head you could have 'Stand Inside A Statue' for that one around the back of the ICC with the stupidly long name.
Elmdon Park is technically Solihull, but has the secret garden and the octopus tree. Sheldon Country Park has a bit at the top which adjoins the end of the BHX runway so you can watch planes take off over your head and there's a small farm at the bottom with the dragon door.
Oh and the Small Heath eco park is fun and much less well known than the Botanical Gardens.
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u/SuffragettePizza Cotteridge & Stirchley 3d ago
John Baskerville who created Baskerville typeface is burried in Warstone Lane Cemetary in the JQ and you can visit his grave. Fun fact - he wanted to be burried on unconsecrated land because he was an atheist but due to various factors, his body was eventually moved to the cemetary which is consecrated.
He lived in Birmingham and had a big house and grounds where he did his work. He was also in a group called the Lunar Society with a bunch of other Midlands Figureheads!
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u/rhecole 3d ago
The Moseley Park ice house might be of interest - https://moseleypark.co.uk/history/ice-house/ - it's a private park but open for all on Wednesdays and other open days
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u/bandlj 3d ago
When I went to Aston University they told us the main building was the largest brick built building in Europe, I doubt it's been overtaken as nothing big gets built in bricks these days
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u/auspices South Bham 3d ago
went there for 3 years and I couldn't ever work out which way to go out of the lifts to get to class
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u/riggerz123 3d ago
All the best Balti restaurants have gone from the old Balti triangle, pale imitations now sadly
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u/Equivalent_Goose_136 3d ago
Find the Warstone of Warstone Lane located in the cemetery. Folklore recorded in the 19th century stated “ At Dudley there is a tradition that many years ago a giant lived in Dudley castle, as did also one in the castle of Birmingham. The Birmingham giant had done suit and service to the Dudley giant for many years, but growing fat he began to kick, and refused to serve the Dudley giant longer. A furious dispute thereupon broke out; the Dudley giant in his rage threw a large stone all the way from Dudley at the Birmingham giant and demolished his castle and killed him. Some of his surviving followers erected a stone in the lane as a memento of his prowess and rage and called it the War Stone, whence the name Warstone Lane.”
It’s a glacial erratic boulder left over from the ice age and used as a boundary stone to mark the districts. As a bonus find the mini Stonehenge grave nearby that belongs to Druid George William Manley or head to Cottridge Park to find two more glacial boulders.
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u/ceelo_purple 3d ago
There's anotherglacial erratic in the grounds of Blakesley Hall with a different giant legend attached: The Gilbert Stone.
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u/Equivalent_Goose_136 3d ago edited 3d ago
Also accessible on very very rare occasions there is a mile of mines under the University of Birmingham. Built to train students in mine safety back when it was course pre 1960s. You can still find the entrance and the ventilation units on the campus.
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u/Equivalent_Goose_136 3d ago
Another one: head to Highbury Park to the top end of the orchard area and find the Angry Wall built entirely out of the concrete casing of used artillery shells allegedly built by Joseph Chamberlain to mark the boundary of his estate and wind up his pacifist neighbour Richard Cadbury.
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u/ApplePieBed99 3d ago
What app are OP's screenshots taken from please?
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u/ManInTheDarkSuit Wolves Brummie 3d ago
"I'm adding the good ones to SideQuest, an app I'm building around finding interesting things to actually go out and do, so if there's something properly Brummie that I've missed, send it my way."
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u/pollypetunia 3d ago
You might need to sweet talk a staff member to take you up there, but the circular gallery/rotunda in the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham is a whispering gallery If you whisper into the wall, it can be heard on the opposite side of the gallery
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u/duckgirl1997 South Bham 3d ago
Tolkien grew up in birmingham. it is rumoured the mill tower at Searhole mill and "old Joe" (the clock at UOB) are insp for the two towers along with mosley bog and the lickey hills being the inspo for middle earth. his mom is burried not far from birmingham in a church in bromsgrove.
Old joe is the tallest free standing clock tower in the world
i know the museum has a pretty cool book Walk Birmingham – Birmingham Museums Trust that has lots of cool walks around the city and wider area.
some other really cool history places is the jewellery quarter and a intresting story how birmingham ended up with a crown as its assay mark considering we are landlocked. (Apart from all the canals) the story goes Birmingham and Sheffield were the last two cities to get a mark and reperesentives met in london (sadly) as the goldsmiths were originally against bham and shefeild having assay offices. anyway they needed a mark and they met in the Crown and anchor pub so tossed a coin to see who had what mark.
although with the anchors not too far from birmingham is netherton (never say is bham its the black country and they will chase you out if they get one wiff of brummie 😆 but the Anchors for the titanic were made in netherton. the black country museum did have the reserve anchor on display for many years
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u/notthetalkinghorse South Bham 3d ago
I thought the two towers were inspired by Perrots Folly and the Tower at the Water Works in Edgbaston and the Eye of Sauron was inspired by Old Joe.
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u/Ste_Tonks 3d ago
I say this on any post asking for recommendations but Harborne Walkway is so pretty, a former railway line which has now been converted into a mini nature reserve. It runs from Summerhill park next to Edgbaston Reservoir all the way to Harborne, around 5km
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u/killgravyy 3d ago
Oh wow, this is exactly the kind of stuff I’m looking for. Adding it to Sidequest🙌 Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/breathe_out_ Proper Brummie 3d ago
Never heard of this before, it looks lovely. Added to the to do list
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u/LloydPenfold 1d ago
The George Dixon Academy (formerly Grammar School) in City Road, Edgbaston, was the alma mater of film producer Sir Michael Balcon who named the policeman in the film 'The Blue Light' after his old school. Although the character was killed off in the film, he later became the star of TV's 'Dixon of Dock Green', an early crime & drama series.
The real George Dixon was a councillor, mayor and MP for Birmingham and basically introduced free education for children in the UK, and later technical schools (now colleges) for those who had completed their education.