Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Every city need its green spaces. The architecture may be spectacular and the shops fantastic, but finding a place to escape the traffic and bustle is a necessity for most city dwellers. Picture Birmingham and what do you see? The Bullring, New Street Station and Spaghetti Junction would be the first things that come to my mind. Although I've never lived in Birmingham itself, I worked there for several years. During that time I went to the Botanical Gardens regularly, but for the purposes of this review I will focus on my most recent visit which was August 2008. A Brief History Celebrity ... more

If you’re hunting for somewhere to spend a summer’s day in the West Midlands, that both you and the kids will enjoy, look no further than Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Opened back in 1832, this was originally a place for the gentile folk of Edgbaston to soak up the sun and see some green places during a time when both industrial and family housing seemed to be taking over what was once a lush area. According to staff at the Botanical Gardens, it’s pretty much the same in 2006 as it was then. The proprietors of the nineteenth century gardens made it their life long work to source as many exotic ... more

Edbaston is the area of the Bimringham Botanical Gardens. This is now a venue for evening dinner dances - particularly around the Christmas season. I went there a couple of Christmasses ago and it was a stunning evenin. There is a great atmosphere with all the tropical plants underlit and the ambience is of somewhere in the tropics. This makes it a real getaway evening. During the day children enjoy the activities available from walking outside where they keep birds and from trying to speak to the birds inside the hothouses. The shop is popular and full of goodies to entice the little ones ... more

The New Year events here are excellent value for money based in a fabulous setting. The evening started with a complimentary glass of bubbly, which was followed by a succulent four course meal. There were plenty of parifinalia on the tables to keep us occupied in between meals. There was also complimentary white and red wine of each table. The bar drinks were averagely priced, which is what we expected for this type of venue of New Years Eve. The meal was followed by entertainment provided by a band, which was the followed on by a disco. The service thorughout the whole night was very good ... more