Birmingham Christmas Market 2024

This time last weekend, I was in Birmingham catching up with another of my best friends whom I haven’t seen for a few years.  I’ve done my best to persuade my closest friends that they need to live a bit nearer to me, but 30 years later, my suggestions are still falling on deaf ears – and they would probably say that their suggestions that we move closer to them have fallen on deaf ears as well! 🙂

Anyway, it turns out that with this particular friend, the train travel time to Birmingham is the same for both of us and as the Christmas market is on now too, we thought that might be a good opportunity for us to have a fun weekend somewhere different.  I thought you might like to see too!

Now, as you know, I live in Winwick which is a semi-rural village in the north west of England, so heading to any city is always quite an adventure.  I realised that I’ve never actually been to Birmingham before – it’s in the middle of the country so you go past it on the motorway whenever you’re travelling north or south, and the state of the traffic will dictate how fast or slow you go past – but I’ve never been into the city centre (or if I have, I don’t remember).  My husband has been much more recently and said that there’s been a lot of development work done and he thought we would really like it.

A lot of the development work is still ongoing – Birmingham City Council has ambitious plans for city living and working, and we walked past a lot of construction sites to get to the apartment that we’d rented about 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre.  It’s so easy these days not to stay in a hotel, isn’t it?  We chose a two bedroom apartment with a kitchen and sitting room area because we thought that would be more comfortable than sitting in hotel rooms or bars, and we were really happy with our choice in a quiet residential block.  The apartment had an upstairs which I thought was fabulous – but not as fabulous as the view across to the city!

A view across trees with autumn leaves to a cityA view across a city a night with buildings lit up with lights

Semi-rural house dweller here.  Seven floors up in a city apartment is quite the novelty!

Once we’d done the walk to and from the station once, it was easy enough to get our bearings and walk in and out of the city.    By the time we got there on the first night, it was about 5pm and it was quite dark.  Not so at the Christmas market!

A view across a busy square to Christmas market stalls light up with lights.  A huge windmill is on the roof of the stalls.

Goodness, it was busy!  I don’t think either of us had expected there to be such big crowds, although it was the opening weekend so that did explain it.  The Christmas market is divided across a couple of locations so there’s plenty to see – and even more to eat and drink!

A moose head on a wooden Christmas market stall

Alcholic, non-alcoholic, warm and cold drinks were readily available although we decided to forgo the Glühwein as much as we both like it, as you had to buy the cup or glass as well and that made it much more expensive.  I think if you’re planning on more drinks or more visits than we had in mind it would be fine, but we decided not to.   It’s classed as a deposit and I think the idea is that you can take the cup or glass back for a refund, but the organisers are banking on the fact that you’re not going to do that 🙂

Two large stein glasses half-full of beer on a wooden table

These weren’t the biggest Stein glasses either!

What we did decide to spend our money on over the weekend, however, was the food, filling ourselves up for lunch and after dinner with hot and cold treats.   We checked out all the food stands and I don’t know what it’s like at other markets, but we felt that the food here was very good value for the money.  It was all freshly cooked, turning over quickly and there were big queues at all of the stands which is always a good sign!

We ate trays of crispy potatoes and mushrooms …

Two cardboard trays filled with fried potatoes and mushrooms on a wooden table

Poffertjes … little Dutch pancakes that look a bit like the rice paper sherbet-filled flying saucer sweets that used to be in the sweetie shops when I was little.  I never liked the flying saucers, but I LOVE these!  I’ve never seen them before and we watched the lady on the stand flick them out of a pan and into cardboard trays, and we couldn’t resist!  The closest I can come to pronouncing the name is “poffertures”, and I hope any Dutch readers will forgive me!

Two cardboard trays filled with small round pancakes.  One has sugar and cinnamon on them, the other has chocolate sauce

Huge falafel wraps stuffed with hummus, salad and falafels (honestly, this was nearly bigger than my head!) …

A large wrap sandwich on waxed paper

and this wasn’t in the market but in a coffee shop … the biggest almond croissant I think I have ever seen!

A large almond-encrusted croissant on a wooden cafe table next to a cardboard takeaway cup of tea

We were stuffed!

The market was sooo busy.  Birmingham itself was so busy – I don’t think I’ve ever been into a city centre where people were queuing to get into the shops and cafes on the main streets; not just the odd one but many of them, and they all had rope systems outside to contain the queues so it’s obviously a common occurrence there.

There’s a limit to how long you can (or might want to) spend in the shopping areas so although we found ourselves drawn back there every night (the siren call of those food stalls is very loud! 🙂 ), we spent most of Saturday walking along by the canal and chatting.

According to the Canal and River Trust, Birmingham has over 100 miles of canals within the network of waterways and even in the bustling city centre, you are not that far from the water and the mode of transport that will have contributed to the city’s wealth in years gone by.

We could get onto the towpath at the end of the road where we were staying and after a leisurely start (oh, the joys of leaving family at home in charge of pets!), we found ourselves suddenly in a completely different world.   You wouldn’t believe that we were less than a mile from the city centre!

A sunny towpath next to a canal Reflections of autumn leaves and trees under a canal bridge A towpath next to a canal covered in autumn leaves

You can walk for miles down both sides of the canal both towards and away from the city.  We headed towards and eventually, we found ourselves at the Gas Street Basin where the canal meets the city …

Canal boats moored in next to high rise office blocks

and stopped for lunch in a lovely pub there – just in time as it started to rain.  We had been ready to leave, but saw the rain had got heavier and opted to have another brew and a cream scone instead 🙂

Two plates with scones with cream and jam on a table next to cups of tea and a white jug of milk

I don’t know where I’ve got this sudden urge to eat all the scones from, but that was my cake of choice last time I was with a friend too!

I think what surprised us most about Birmingham is how many faces it has.  The busy shopping centres and streets, the quiet canals and regenerated areas such as around the Custard Factory

A narrow alleyway with shops painted in different colours

This was once a factory where Bird’s Custard Powder was made but is now a home for independent shops and art galleries, and also an area where you can see the most amazing graffiti.

On the walk back to our apartment, we walked past these pictures on the wall of an underpass.  Can you recognise the characters in the pictures?  They amused us no end!

Three pictures of well-known cartoon characters silhouetted on an underpass wall Three pictures of well-known cartoon characters silhouetted on an underpass wall

We had such a good time and would definitely think about coming back here again as it was easy for us to get to and get around. Before I finish for today, I must just show you the sculpture at the railway station … this is Ozzy the Bull!

A giant metal bull sculpture in a railway station A giant metal bull sculpture with purple eyes in a railway station

You can see from the people around just how tall he is, and every hour his eyes light up and he moves his head, bellows and wags his tail.  There’s a long (and not always kind) tradition around bulls in Birmingham and in particular in this area of the city so that may be why Ozzy looks a little bit cross, but he is certainly not a bull to be trifled with these days – and I thought he was fantastic!

It’s seemed like a very quiet week at home this week after all that excitement, but I so appreciated being able to see my friend and for us to take our time and do what we felt like doing All Weekend!  I hope you’ve enjoyed looking round with us! xx

 

 

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24 Responses

  1. Jeanette K says:

    Wow, Birmingham looks like a lovely place for a visit! I have a friend here (South Carolina, USA) who came over from Birmingham when her husband’s corporate job moved. We met in a Kindermusik class when our girls were 3 or 4. The canal towpaths are such a nice place for a walk. Thanks so much for sharing all the photos (especially the food ones, lol)!

    • winwickmum says:

      Does your friend still have the Brummie (Birmingham) accent if she ever had one, or has she lost it now? It’s very distinctive! Birmingham had so much more to it than we expected, we loved it! 🙂 xx

      • Angela says:

        I was born and bred in Birmingham and I loathed the Brummie accent – still do : (
        I now live in South Australia….but traces still linger, although I don’t think that I was very broad. My dad came from Northampton and his dad came from Northern Ireland and my husband comes from Hull – wow! what a combination.

        BTW thanks for the trip down memory lane but there weren’t any lovely Christmas markets when I grew up post WW2.

        Angela X

  2. Stephanie says:

    Hi Christine,
    You had a fantastic time. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. xxx

  3. Julie G. says:

    I love seeing all these places you visit. As I don’t have the resources to visit in far away places, this is my way of traveling. Thank you so much for all the pictures you post.

    • winwickmum says:

      There are so many places in the world that you could visit too … I love getting my travel fix through other people’s blogs! At this time of year, it’s all about the snow fix for me because we don’t much of that 🙂 xx

  4. Cathy Fischer says:

    Wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing your trip with us. I so enjoyed reading about it.

  5. Mary Aldred says:

    Ozzy appeared in the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
    Birmingham always surprises – it has so many facets!

  6. Judith Davis says:

    Thanks for the tour of Birmingham. We are entering the season of Christmas Bazaars in Montana. Nothing like a Christmas Market but still good food and lots of treasures (homemade) to buy.

    • winwickmum says:

      The Christmas markets are quite a tradition here now, and are modelled on the European ones which have been around for a long time. This particular market is linked with Frankfurt in Germany, although I know there are markets right across Europe. I hope you enjoy visiting yours too! 🙂 xx

  7. Susan Rayner says:

    Well I really think I must head for Birmingham – we have friends who live in Olton, Solihull – but we have never visited – actually they hardly ever go into Birmingham as they both worked in the QE Hospital and have avoided the city since retirement.
    I am amazed that you have so much energy for walking after all that food. I do love scones too – but my husband would love the Dutch flying saucers.
    Lovely photos – really festive and the canal walk just looks like heaven. Was that one that Julia Bradbury did a while back?

  8. Wendy Johnson says:

    Thank you Christine for the blog. I do so enjoy your chatter and pictures. From the other side of the world it is a wonderful insight your world. We in southern Australia are heading into a very dry summer, so bush fires will be a worry. I live in the country on 20 acres and do enjoy clean air and the birds. Yes the bull is awesome xx

    • winwickmum says:

      I have a friend that I met through the blog who lives in Australia and she sometimes sends me photos of the kangaroos and birds in her garden – absolutely nothing like what I would see here! I think it’s wonderful that we can connect with the other side of the world through the internet – I have “travelled” so much more than I would have done otherwise! 🙂 xx

  9. Gillian says:

    So enjoyed reading about your experience in Birmingham. The market looks very vibrant, then the tranquility of the canal walk. Then there was all that food………Wow.
    My experiences of Birmingham is going on courses for work years ago. Never had the urge to visit again until I read this blog. Lovely photos. Thankyou xxx

  10. Brenda says:

    What a fantastic Christmas market! Wow!
    I really love reading your blogs. You seem to be such a busy person I don’t know how you find the time.

    • winwickmum says:

      Neither do I, sometimes! 🤣 I guess we can all find the time for what’s important and it was important to spend time with my friend last weekend as that’s what fitted into her schedule – and it was definitely worth it! 🙂 xx

  11. Sarah says:

    Wow Birmingham Christmas Markets look amazing! I have never been there either to date, looks like I will need to visit some time. I’m looking forward to my annual trek around my local (Manchester) Christmas markets with my university friends. We do this every year and meet up for a catch up over cocktails first. Thanks for the lovely photo’s. I’m stuffed just looking at all that lovely food, I love pofferjes. Canal walk looks very lovely too! xxx

  12. laura miller says:

    This took me back. I used to go to Birmingham in the ’80s with work and it looked very different then. It looks amazing now. Not sure I could handle those crowds tho! xx

    • winwickmum says:

      I think there’s been an awful lot of change in the city centre, I bet you’d find it really interesting to go back! The crowds were something else – like football match crowds, I’ve never experienced that in a city centre shopping environment before! 🙂 xx

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