By train

Eight local rail lines criss-cross the city to ensure quick links to all attractions and venues (as well as connecting to services to other UK cities and towns).
Midland Metro is the latest addition. This state-of-the-art light rail system whisks passengers between Snow Hill Station in Birmingham city centre and Wolverhampton.
For easy day trips out of Birmingham to Solihull, The Black Country, Warwick Castle, Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon, Bicester Village Shopping, the Severn Valley Steam Railway and many other nearby attractions head down to Moor Street station (by the Bullring).
Network West Midlands provides online timetables, fares including day tickets and passes, ticket purchase and route planning. To visit the Centro website use www.centro.org.uk or pop into the Centro store at New Street Station. For National Rail Enquiries call 08457 48 49 50

By bus and Metro

Birmingham is brilliant for buses. There’s a huge network linking everyone to everything.
Network West Midlands has all the online timetables and fare information you need with easy ticket buying and route planning. Alternatively call 0871 200 22 33 for timetable information (Calls from landlines cast 10p per minute) or visit Centro’s many information points around the city.
More and more local buses have facilities such as low floors for easy access for wheelchair users and pushchairs. Birmingham buses can’t be hailed to be stopped; passengers wishing to board or leave a bus, should do so at an official bus stop.

Please remember that you need to give the exact fare to the driver as you board.

By taxi
Birmingham’s well regulated taxis are especially convenient for those with heavy luggage or returning late from a night out.
TOA taxis are Birmingham’s black cab operators. They can be hailed in the street or reached at one of the many taxi ranks in the city centre; the main ones are at New Street Station, Stephenson Street and Digbeth Coach Station.
Make a booking with TOA’s app

Download for iPhone here
Download for Android here
ComCab – The Professional Choice in Birmingham. Taxis represent the quickest, most convenient option for travelling in and around Birmingham and Computer Cab is the leading licensed taxi operator in the city. Computer Cab operates all across Birmingham with a large fleet of taxis available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every one of our taxis is fully licensed and our fares are regulated by Birmingham City Council. The drivers are also fully licensed with excellent geographical knowledge of the city.
It’s wise to pre-book for journeys of a longer distance or at particularly busy hours. Private hire cars should always be pre-booked and an estimate of the fare secured beforehand.
T.C. Cars private hire taxi company has 300 vehicles, open 24/7. Running for over 25 years they are one of the largest most experienced cab firms around. With the airport at their doorstep they are also ideally situated between Birmingham City Centre and Solihull. Their fleet of NVQ Customer Service qualified, dress coded drivers will pick-up and take you to whereever you need to go. From their 4 passenger saloon cars through to their wheelchair access vehicles and 6-16 passenger minibuses their fleet is fully computerised, metered and GPS tracked. Their drivers also have access to the latest flight arrival times. Call them on 0121 770 2000 for an estimate or advice and when and where to book.

Europcar car hire

Great deals on UK car and van hire. No need to book, just walk in to Europcar Birmingham: 18-20 Bristol Street, B5 7AA.
or call: 0871 384 1127
quoting promotional code: 51758951 for 10% off
• Over 250 UK branches
• Wide range of quality cars and vans
• Free Delivery & Collection (T&Cs)
• One way, hourly, month+ and more
• Clear, honest pricing
Visit the website here

Sixt Car Hire

You can now hire a Sixt car at Birmingham Airport, where they provide a vast range of up to date cars giving customers a great choice of vehicles for all their needs. You can visit them at, Birmingham Airport, B26 3QJ, Birmingham.

By canal

Fancy stepping back in time and letting the rush hour simply rush on by? Then Birmingham’s canals are the way to travel.
With a top speed of three miles per hour, longboats aren’t the fastest way to explore the area. But they certainly give a better insight into our unique heritage.
Head for Gas Street Basin near Brindleyplace. It’s the heartbeat of the busy network; the turning point for narrow boats using the Grand Union, Stratford-upon-Avon and Worcester and Birmingham Canals. There are many ways to enjoy over 200 miles of local canal. Take a leisurely cycle ride or stroll along the towpath (of course, with regular stop-offs at any of the picturesque canalside cafes or Brindleyplace’s floating cafe. Better still, take a short summer trip; starting daily from Brindleyplace. You can even start a relaxing narrow boat holidays from here. Find out more about Birmingham and the regional canals.

By bike

What better way to explore Birmingham and the Midlands than by bike? There are cycle lanes or paths on many of the major routes into and across the city that take in some of the city’s beautiful parks and waterways en route. Information can be found here

By foot

A stroll is a great way to discover Birmingham. There’s so much to see. The city is now full of open and inviting pedestrianised areas. So it’s easy to take a relaxed and safe saunter around the compact centre with attractions, shops and places to eat and drink always close by if the whim takes you.
There’s also a great choice of great guided walking tours or self-guided trails to explore. See our Tours & Sightseeing section for the details.

Mobility for all

Whatever your level of mobility, you’ll find Birmingham a welcoming destination with a high standard of accessibility, helpful people and clear signposting to the majority of attractions, shops and venues.
For further information about assistance for disabled visitors, visit our Accessible Birmingham page.

The post Getting around Birmingham appeared first on Living In Birmingham.

Heroic, surprising, ingenious – just a few minutes west of Birmingham is the beautiful Black Country, cradle of the Industrial Revolution and home to many talented artists and craftsmen.

Including towns such as Wolverhampton, Dudley, Smethwick and Walsall as well as the surrounding countryside and villages, The Black Country might have earned its name from its history as the original home of British heavy industry and manufacturing, but it is a surprisingly beautiful breath of fresh air to visit.

Dudley Arts Gallery

Dudley Museum and Art Gallery provides a glimpse into Dudley’s varied history and heritage, which also includes work by J.M.W. Turner, to historic houses with William Morris interiors to creative industry venues packed with the world’s best crystal and glassware.  Local heroes like football legend Duncan Edwards can be seen alongside the Museum’s geological collection, which includes over 15,000 fossil, rock and mineral specimens.

There is a multitude of things to do in the Black Country, if you are looking for a day out during your visit to Birmingham. If you’re into your history and sight-seeing, then you’ll be pleased to hear that a  number of stunning historic buildings are waiting to be explored in the Black Country.

There is something for everyone at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery.

For teachers they have fun, interactive school visits

For art lovers they have frequently changing art exhibitions

For budding geologists, they have a huge collection of fossils

For families they have Juniors At Museums

Admission is Free for everybody.

Geology Collection

The most important collection at Dudley Museum is Geology.

There are currently two galleries displaying some of the collection, telling the very important part that Dudley occupies in the story of the discovery of the science of Geology in the United Kingdom.

The Museum houses an interesting collection of 19th and 20th century oil paintings, drawings and watercolours, including collections of work by Percy Shakespeare; whilst also providing an important platform for new artists, community groups and societies to exhibit work.

The New Art Gallery Walsall

The New Art Gallery Walsall is an exciting and architecturally outstanding multimillion-pound landmark building. It is home to the prestigious Garman Ryan collection as well as works by artists as diverse as William Blake, Van Gogh and Picasso. With the largest collection of contemporary Pop Art outside London, Wolverhampton Art Gallery is a must to visit.

Wolverhampton Race Course

If sport’s is your thing, visit Wolverhampton Racecourse – Britain’s first floodlit horse racing track bringing you the thrills of racing, day and night or check whether Wolverhampton Wanderers, one of the region’s best known football teams is playing at home.

Woverhampton Art Gallery

A Brief History of Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Funded and built by local contractor Philip Horsman from designs by Birmingham architect Julius Chatwin, Wolverhampton Art Gallery opened in May 1884.

A Grade II* Listed building, the sculptural frieze on the outside features 16 characters each representing an element of arts and crafts, from painting and pottery to architecture and metalworking. Science is also represented. The School Of Art, built to the rear of the new building, was opened at the same time and has since been incorporated into the gallery.

From early donations of art by several leading local figures, including industrialist Sidney Cartwright and Horsman, whose contributions to Wolverhampton are marked by a fountain next to the gallery, in St Peter’s gardens, the collection quickly grew in size and reputation. A new extension in 2007 included a dedicated Pop Art gallery and additional space for special exhibitions, while the Victorian Gallery was refurbished in 2009.

Regularly changing exhibitions and displays reveal trends and themes, with contributions from major UK and international artists, both historic and contemporary. Work included ranges from painting, printing, drawing, photography and sculpture, to digital and installation art.

Travel Directions

Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the City Archives – Both the Art Gallery and the City Archives are situated in the centre of Wolverhampton.

Just 5 (the Art Gallery) or 10 (the City Archives) minutes walk from the bus, train and tram stations.

Wolverhampton is well served with bus, train and tram links to Birmingham and other towns in the West Midlands.

If you are coming by car, follow the signs for Wolverhampton from the M5, M6 and M54, Wolverhampton Art Gallery is signposted off the city ring road. There are several car parks nearby. The Civic Centre car park is the closest for the Art Gallery.  the City Archives has a small number of car parking spaces on site, to gain entry to the car park use the Whitmore Hill entrance.

Bantock House is located approximately one mile from Wolverhampton city centre.

Buses 3 and 4 from Wolverhampton stop close to Bantock Park and run regularly throughout the day. The journey time from Wolverhampton city centre is about 7 minutes.

If you are coming by car, follow the signs for Wolverhampton from the M5, M6 and M54, Bantock House is signposted off the city ring road. There is ample free parking at Bantock House and Park, including two coach spaces and six disabled spaces.

Bilston Craft Gallery is located 3 miles outside of Wolverhampton and 5 minutes walk from Bilston town centre.

We have disabled and limited parking spaces at the front of the building. There is free parking within 200 yards.

Bilston Central tram stop is 5 minutes walk from the gallery and trams run between Wolverhampton St Georges and Birmingham Snow Hill every 8 minutes. Journey time from Wolverhampton is approximately 10 minutes and 30 minutes from Birmingham Snow Hill.

Buses 79 Wolverhampton to West Bromwich and 39 Wolverhampton to Walsall both go from Wolverhampton Bus Station and stop on the Wellington Road in Bilston close to the Craft Gallery.

The Black Country Living Museum

There is an abundance of nature and countryside throughout the Black Country. Despite its abundant industrial heritage the Black Country is surprisingly a peaceful haven for walkers and much of the countryside can be seen from the canals.

No visit to the Black Country would be complete without a visit to the Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley, where costumed demonstrators and working craftsmen bring Britain’s industrial heyday back to life with their local knowledge, practical skills and unique Black Country humour.

Discover a fascinating world when you visit this urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle at the heart of the Black Country.

Historic buildings from all around the Black Country have been moved and authentically rebuilt at the Museum to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain

It’s a rare opportunity to step right back in time. Historic buildings from all around the Black Country have been moved and authentically rebuilt at the Museum, to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain.

Zoological Gardens – Dudley

Dudley Zoological Gardens has long been home to some of the world’s biggest rarest and most exotic animals. Apart from all the animals there are lots of other events throughout the years so please check out www.dudleyzoo.org.uk to see what’s going on throughout the year and come see us soon.

Also in Dudley is the fantastic Dudley Zoological Gardens and Castle, which has been welcoming visitors since 1937 and is home to some of the world’s rarest and most exotic animals. The castle was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Canal Trust- Dudley

The Black Country and Birmingham Canals have a unique place in the history of the Industrial Revolution. The first successful Newcomen steam engine was used to pump water from coalmines near Dudley Castle in 1712 and John Wilkinson, another iron pioneer, introduced coke to his Bradley Furnace at Bilston in around 1758. However it was the emergence of the canal system, which made industrialisation develop extremely rapidly in the Black Country.

Dudley Canal TrustAt the Canal Trust you can experience over 420 million years of history in 45 minutes on a canal trip into Dudley’s limestone caverns. Marvel at the impressive limestone caverns carved by men to access raw material to power the industrial revolution.

You can actually run, cycle or walk from Birmingham to the Black Country along the canals, starting from Gas Street in the centre of the city and on to Dudley and Wolverhampton though Galton Valley.

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