things to do in Birmingham (kids)

mrsgreenwood_2

we won tickets to cadburys world, so were going to birmingham one friday in august, staying the night, then visiting cadbury world on the saturday.

we will be leaving early fri morning and will take a couple of hours to get there, can anyone suggest something to do for the friday afternoon/evening?

i was thinking sealife centre or think tank? has anyone been to either of these before? ive looked on think tanks website, but theres not alot of info/photos on there, so would love to hear peoples views or any other ideas.

kids are 6 years and 3 years...thanks


edit: does anyone have tips on parking near the sealife centre and/or canals?

this is our 1st time visiting birmingham so would love some tips.

Guineapigsqueaks

Hello Mrs Greenwood.

Congratulations on your win .

I've visited both and enjoyed both. My children were littler when we went to the Sealife centre, a bit older when we went to Thinktank. There are bits for younger ones at Thinktank, but there is also a lot there that children need to be older for/be able to read. Also, I would say that the Sealife at Birmingham could be done in an afternoon, Thinktank probably needs longer (unless you're just doing the bits for littlies). The IMAX cinema is in the same complex as Thinktank, which was a great 3D experience, but would not have suited mine at 3 and 6 years.

Hope that helps. We did both Sealife and Thinktank with Tesco Clubcard vouchers if you have any.

Guineapigsqueaks x

NervousHomeowner

Sealife Centre is a great option for the afternoon It is also right around the corner from Brindley Place which has lots of really nice restaurants for if you want to eat out (And Brindley Place is right on the canal, so nice scenery too!)

Another option if you're willing to travel slightly outside the centre is the Mac gallery http://www.macarts.co.uk/ Depending on what is on, of course They usually have family activities on at weekends which are advertised on their website. Alternatively, if you get the train from New Street into Sutton Coldfield (Takes 15 - 20 minutes, trains run every 10 minutes), there is Sutton Park which is a Nature Reserve covering over 2000 Acres. If you go in through the Sutton town centre entrance, there is a booth which sells basic food (Ice Creams, Sandwiches, Jacket Potatoes, Drinks) and a kids play area. It's a beautiful area to wander around (It has freeroaming wildlife such as deer and cows) and makes a nice break from the concrete jungle that is Birmingham city centre.

Personally, I think the Think Tank can be a bit hit or miss depending on what their current exhibit is. It does have the Imax though, which can be fun!

mrsgreenwood_2

great, thank you both for your replies! forgot about tesco clubcard vouchers, will have a look at macarts website now.

mrsgreenwood_2

im back again....ive been thinking about a boat trip. can anyone recommend one?

zulubabe

Birmingham is not called the Venice of The North for nothing! There are loads of waterways & you can get a canal boat trip from Brindley Place http://www.away2canal.co.uk/ ! Also not sure if your older child is in to Dr Who or not but in The Mailbox which is almost at Brindley Place has the BBC - with a full sized Dalek! The last time they had a Tardis too but the doors didn't open

mrsgreenwood_2

zulubabe wrote: »

Birmingham is not called the Venice of The North for nothing! There are loads of waterways & you can get a canal boat trip from Brindley Place http://www.away2canal.co.uk/ ! Also not sure if your older child is in to Dr Who or not but in The Mailbox which is almost at Brindley Place has the BBC - with a full sized Dalek! The last time they had a Tardis too but the doors didn't open

thanks. the half hr trip sounds good. prices arent too bad either.

does anyone have tips on parking near the sealife centre and/or canals?

this is our 1st time visiting birmingham so would love some tips.

we are staying at the premier inn on hagley road (hope its a nice one?)

thanks everyone for your comments!

JoshP

Plan your trip carefully the A38 (M) tunnels are closed all summer which means navigating the city at the moment is a bit of a pita...

I love thinktank you can also do the science park bit for free after 3pm...

If you'r coming up via the M42 (or wish to avoid the city centre - recommended atm) i'd highly recommend umberslade adventure http://www.umbersladeadventure.com/ we took two kids there a couple of months back and had a wonderful day. Its a woodland playground - only opened a couple of months back and we were really impressed!

mrsgreenwood_2

JoshP wrote: »

Plan your trip carefully the A38 (M) tunnels are closed all summer which means navigating the city at the moment is a bit of a pita...

I love thinktank you can also do the science park bit for free after 3pm...

If you'r coming up via the M42 (or wish to avoid the city centre - recommended atm) i'd highly recommend umberslade adventure http://www.umbersladeadventure.com/ we took two kids there a couple of months back and had a wonderful day. Its a woodland playground - only opened a couple of months back and we were really impressed!

thanks for that. we are coming from newmarket way so will be travelling along a14/m6.

were going this wkend & have decided on sealife centre fri afternoon, then have a walk along the canals. our premier in is hagley road, then we will be going to cadbury world sat.

ive heard something about the tunnels being closed. are the tunnels on route to any of the places ive mentioned?

thanks for everyones help!

edit: am i right in thinking its a38, bristol road closed?? which i think is one of the roads we would be using?

ive had a look here http://www.amey.co.uk/BrumTunnels/WhatsHappening.aspx but as weve never visited birmingham before im not sure on the best way to re-route?

or can anyone suggest park & ride or something similar that would get us from hagley road premier inn to centre?

MrsVanderkamp

Hi,
There is a multi storey car park at rear of NIA/sea life centre, have plenty of change though if you use it, I think from memory about £8 for half a day? If you are staying on the Hagley Road, there are numerous buses that come along that will take you onto Broad St for Sea Life Centre, and into the City Centre in a matter of minutes.

The Botanical Gardens are not far from the Hagley Road and is a pleasant place to look around. My kids loved the Think Tank and there is stuff there to suit all ages.

Brindley Place and nearby area is nice to stroll around if you get a nice day, and the Handmade Burger Co is a great place for lunch and do great kids meals too.

Hope this helps, have a great time.

bylromarha

This website is your friend

http://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/

Bus routes all over Brum. Bus will be far easier and probably cheaper as it;s straight down the Hagley road to get to Broad Street - the nearest road to Sealife.

Presume you've seen this web page?


We were at Sealife a few days ago - we took the train in, so can't help with parking. However, there are brown tourist signs everywhere, so follow those for the car parks as much as the diversions allow. Head for the NIA car park is your best bet if you do decide to drive.

We ate in Slug and Lettuce. Sealife tickets mean kids eat for £1 in there - plus voucher cloud have a 25% off food voucher. 2ad, 2 kids ate for £15 including drinks.

If any of your party are teachers, don't forget this link for 2 free entries.

http://www.visitsealife.com/schools/teachers/

Have a good day.