Useful Information

Travel

Birmingham has an International Airport (BHX), with train connections to the city centre (Birmingham New Street), but delegates may find it easier to fly to Heathrow (LHR) or Manchester (MAN) depending upon which airline you use.

Colin's preferred route from Heathrow is the Piccadilly Underground line (purple) to London King's Cross (maybe take a selfie on Platform 9 3/4!), a short 10min walk west to London Euston trains station (takes around 50-55min), then an Avanti West Coast train or West Midands train to Birmingham New Street. NB Avanti is an inter-city train (approx 1hr 25min), West Midlands is more commuter style (2hr 20min). You can use any of the train company website to book trains.

The routing from Manchester, which is good for many European cities, is very easy with trains from Manchester Airport via Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham New Street (Cross Country Trains).

Visa entry Requirements

For information on entry to the UK go to the UK Visa and Immigration website and please contact Colin if you need a letter of invite

Birmingham Entertainment

Food

Birmingham and greater Birmingham has five Michelin Star restaurants and many restaurants and bars within the city centre.  A map with some of the museums' staff favourite places can be found here: Map of favourite places

Culture:

Birmingham is renowned for its culture, with many theatres (at least five) and two main concert halls. This is in addition to all the museums (not just Birmingham Museums' nine venues) 

Further afield

Britain has many historical and culturally significant places and buildings, many of which are run by National Trust and English Heritage.  

For those who are driving and hiring a car:

Remember cars drive on the left in the UK!  The use of mobile [cell] phones is not allowed when driving or engine running, and seat belts must be worn at all times by all passengers.

Know your road signs - useful info on what all the different road signs you may encounter mean

National Speed limits - the standard speed limits in the UK. Note some speeds are different in Scotland and Wales

Parkiopedia - A useful website to find car parking anywhere in the UK