Big Brum Buz Tour!

During Artsfest 2012, my friend and I decided to go on the open top Buz!

It was a lovely, sunny (hot!) day – yes we did have sun last year – and the top deck of the bus was full. We set off from outside the Council House and began our tour! I was sat near the back of the bus so most of the pictures feature backs-of-heads, and any attempt at getting pictures have buildings have resulted in photos of the top storeys only.

We went along Waterloo Street and Newhall Street first – the architecture around here is amazing! I need to spend more time looking up in this City.

A little while later, we passed a building with a pelican on the top of it! The man doing the commentary on the bus said that the pelican was placed here so the delivery boys would know which building to go to – hardly anyone could read, so buildings had different identifying features on them! Very clever.

After passing through the Jewellery Quarter, we headed down towards Edgbaston via Broad Street. 

We went down the Hagley Road and saw J.R.R Tolkiens house!

On the way back into the City, we passed a delightful building just off Camp Hill Middleway – The internet tells me it is called Stratford House (because it is on Stratford Road), and it was built in 1601! You can read a bit more about it here – I hope to go back and get some better photos of it sooner rather than later!

We then came back in Birmingham via Deritend and Digbeth, where we saw even more examples of grand architecture!

I’d recommend the Big Brum Buz tour if you’re interested in the history of Birmingham – it only took about an hour so it’s not very in-depth information, but it’s enough for you to want to dig and find out more. It’s also a good whip around the city for finding new places to explore, or places to photograph. All in all it was a good way to spend some time, especially with decent weather – but watch out for the low trees!