Tours

TOUR 1: Birmingham Children & Chocolate Morning Birmingham is definitely a city that caters for children, striving to educate them in a way that is fun and enjoyable. A superb place to take the children is Birmingham Botanical Gardens; marvel at the pagodas or rest on the benches and inhale the roses. There are rock pools and garden walks, historical gardens and 19th century glass houses and a cottage garden with its own museum (to name but a few sights!). You'll smile with delight as you see your children gaze in wonder for the first time at the tiny trees in the Bonsai collection; you probably won't want to leave.

Cannon Hill Park off Pershore and Edgbaston Road is the most famous park in Birmingham. There's a bandstand and concert area, a boating lake, and the Midland Arts Centre, which has a cinema, a theatre and regular exhibitions. There's a nature centre with animals, spiders and snakes and often there are activities for children during the summer including an excellent puppet theatre. If you have access to a bike, then you can ride through the park and Rea Valley. Great all-round entertainment.

Lunch This can be had in the park itself. There's a cafe bar where you can sit inside watching the world go by, or you can be adventurous, taking one of the much coveted outside tables and feel as though you are experiencing first hand the fun of the boating lake. Many people like to take a picnic, so the park has thoughtfully provided benches and picnic tables, and trees! If you are in the Botanic Gardens, there is a sun trap where you can relax in the warmth and "Eat your butties" as we say in Brum.

Afternoon Birmingham, Bournville specifically, is the home of Cadbury's and CHOCOLATE! Cadbury World is a great place to "take the children" (that would be my excuse anyway). There's an organised tour on which you can learn about the history of Cadbury's, the purpose of their Quaker village and the part the Cadbury family played in Birmingham's social reforms. You can also learn about the history of cocoa and chocolate and the chocolate-making process. However, the most enjoyable part of the tour for most is the opportunity to try free samples of chocolate and a discount shop (very popular at Easter and Christmas). Here you can buy your favourite choccies at greatly reduced prices. Cadbury World is a definite winner of a place for everybody and a great way to bribe the children to be good first thing in the morning. It's easy to get to, just hop on a train or bus to Bournville Station and signs will direct you from there.

It's strange, but true that some children don't actually like chocolate! Take them instead to the National Sea Life Centre in Brindleyplace, which is just off Broad Street. Sea Life Centres are always a great way to introduce children to the Big Blue and sea-life. The centre cost around 5 million pounds to build and has an aquarium, touch pools and feeding demonstrations. There are tanks filled with sting-rays, flat fish, cod etc (to some people cod are exotic fish!). The showcase of the centre, however, is the 360° glass tunnel which makes you feel as if you are actually standing in the middle of the ocean, while sharks swim above your head, to the side of you and underneath you too. Many buses pass along Broad Street on the way to the city centre or Five Ways, just ask the driver to put you off at the stop nearest the Sea Life Centre.

Dinner Take the children into town for dinner, well, just off Broad Street anyway. The Fiddle & Bone, on Sheepcote Street, is just a short walk from the Sea Life Centre. Broad Street should be in front of you as you leave the Centre. Head towards Five Ways and after about five minutes you will see the Novotel on your right. Turn right on the street at the side of Novotel and you'll find that you are on Sheepcote Street and close to being fed. Friendly staff and continental pub grub awaits you and your offspring in the restaurant, as well as live music which can be classical, jazz or folk. For something with a more transatlantic feel, T.G.I Fridays is an American restaurant that will also suit most needs. Although by no means peculiar to Birmingham, it offers a varied selection of burgers, steaks, steak sandwiches and Mexican cuisine; it also "makes it their business" to look after your children. Kids will love the atmosphere, and you'll love the personal attention that you get from your waiter/waitress. You can take a bus from Bournville or the city centre and find it easily, since it's on the Hagley Road — one of the most well known thoroughfares in the city.

The great thing about having dinner off Broad Street is that you can take an evening stroll down by the canal. This can either be a romantic time — just the two of you strolling hand in hand watching the barges and evening revellers — or it can be a time to really enjoy the company of your children. Either way you can take stock of the day and perhaps plan your next adventure for tomorrow, if you have the energy.