Visiting Birmingham: Exploring the Jewellery Quarter

Time for another post about my trip to Birmingham (finally!).

On the first day (well, afternoon really) of my visit to the city I mostly just walked around oohing over the architecture and photographing owls.

The next morning I headed to the Jewellery Quarter: a historic area of the city which has been home to goldsmiths and silversmiths for over 200 years.

 

 
If you're visiting Birmingham and are at all interested in history this part of the city is an absolute must-see.

I recommend picking up a copy of the Jewellery Quarter Heritage Trail leaflet (PDF) from the tourist info office - it gives you an easy to follow walking route around the area and lots of interesting information to read along the way. There's a lot to see, including some really rather gorgeous buildings.

After following the trail I visited the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, about which I'd heard great things - and it did not disappoint!

The museum is based in the former factory of a jewellery manufacturing firm, Smith & Pepper. When the owners of the firm retired they just ceased trading and locked up the building, creating a fascinating time capsule of a place.

Upstairs in the museum there are galleries devoted to the history of the Jewellery Quarter, and to jewellery made from natural materials around the world, but the highlight is by far the guided factory tour. It's hugely entertaining, packed with interesting facts and amusing anecdotes, and you get to look around this incredible place!

I'll share more photos from my Birmingham adventure soon. In the meantime...

You can read about day one of my trip to Birmingham here, and read about my previous short visit to the city here. For more city breaks filled with interesting museums and fabulous architecture, click here to read about my trip to Manchester and here to read about my trip to Leeds.

A Trip to Seville: The Cathedral

One of the highlights of our trip to Seville a couple of years ago was the gothic Cathedral.

 

 

 

It's a beautiful building - and a huge one!

The story goes that the local clergy said "let us build a church so beautiful and so grand that those who see it finished will think we are mad". The end result is the third-largest church in the world and it impresses with scale and detail. I've visited a lot of churches and cathedrals over the years but I've never been anywhere quite like this.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's me and my mum by one of the huge doors:

 

The Cathedral was built on the site of a former mosque, and the minaret was converted into a bell tower. The tower - know locally as La Giralda ("she who turns"), after the weather vane at its top - can be spotted from all over the city.

 

There's a replica of the weather vane in the courtyard as you enter the Cathedral:

The outside of the building is pretty amazing, but it's well worth paying to go inside - there's just so much to see, it is a really special space.

We spent ages exploring the (vast! spectacular!) interior of the Cathedral and dropping our jaws at all the treasures and incredible craftsmanship, then we climbed the bell tower...

... for wonderful views over the rest of the building...

... and out over the city.

It's a long climb, but a gentle one and - when we visited, at least - a slow one as it's so busy. It's also it's quite a wide space so doesn't feel claustrophobic in the slightest (unlike some towers I have climbed!!).

And of course, once you've climbed to the top and back down you'll definitely deserve to treat yourself to a delicious coffee or an ice cream from one of Seville's many cafes.

Planning a trip to Seville? You might also enjoy my posts about the Mushrooms, the Plaza de España, and the Alcázar.

A Trip to Seville: The Alcázar

My mum and I spent a few days in Spain a couple of years ago, exploring the city of Seville. I was slightly overwhelmed by how beautiful the city was and took a lot of photos. I finally edited them a few months ago (to make a photo book for my mum) and am slowly blogging about all the wonderful stuff we saw on our trip.

Today I'm sharing some photos from our visit to the Real Alcázar - a palace that's a World Heritage Site but still in use today by the Spanish royal family.



Parts of the palace were built in the 1300s, and it's been added to over the centuries. Between the gorgeous buildings and courtyards of the palace itself and the extensive gardens there is so much to see!

   
This is one of those places where you keep saying "wow" under your breath every time you enter a room, or turn a corner. The palace is filled with beautiful detail...

... and the gardens overflow with lush greenery.

 

   
If you're a Game of Thrones fan, you might recognise the Alcázar as one of the locations used in one of the recent series!

You can see why they chose it, can't you? It's like something straight out of a storybook.

It was really wonderful exploring the rooms, courtyards and gardens of the Alcázar and imagining all the people that have lived in and visited this special place over the centuries.

My photos hardly captured how gorgeous it was, and just looking at them again is making me want to book another flight to Seville.

Want to read more about my trip to Seville? Check out my posts about visiting the Metropol Parasol (aka "the mushrooms") and the Plaza de España.

The Farnham Heritage Trail

Last week I took a trip to Farnham to visit knitting festival Unravel. I was meeting a friend at 1pm to explore the festival, but I wanted to make the most of my Nice Day Out so I got an early train to give myself some time to explore the town itself.

On my previous visit to Farnham (for the textile festival Thread) I picked up a couple of tourism leaflets, including a guide to the Farnham Heritage Trail. I love it when towns have trails like this. A ready-made walking route round a new place, with lots of interesting things to see and fun facts to discover along the way? Yes please!

Farnham is a very pretty place, with a lot of interesting old buildings...

 

 

... little courtyards...

 

... ghost signs...

 

 

... plus lots of nice doors! (You know I like a nice door).

 

I sadly didn't have time to follow the whole trail (or to visit the local castle) as my train was rather delayed in the morning (boo) but I was lucky with the weather. It was a lovely, sunny morning - perfect for a walk around town!

I loved the weathervane of the Golden Hinde on the top of the Town Hall Buildings, and the quirky arcade of shops of shops below.

 

 

 

Who could resist the charm of these old almshouses? (Again, I am a sucker for quirky doors).

 

 

I also visited a peaceful little park, built on the site of a former open-air swimming baths.

 

 

Those circular marks in the bricks were made with pennies, by generations of children queuing up to swim.

They're exactly the sort of detail that you'd miss if you were just strolling by, but they're so evocative of what the baths would have been like when they were in use. A teeny glimpse into the past! Delightful.

I'll be blogging about my visit to Unravel itself later this week, so brace yourselves for lots of photos of lovely yarn :)