Luminate at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Another lights trail at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, on Westbourne Road in Edgbaston. During the Christmas 2022 season. Tickets need to be bought in advance. I went with a group on Tuesday 6th December 2022 between 7pm and 8pm in the evening. The trail was a bit different to the Magical Lantern Festival I'd previously seen here. At least it wasn't raining. But it was cold.

LUMINATE, BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS, CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TRAIL 2022

Arriving at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Westbourne Road in Edgbaston. We didn't park here, so we had a bit of a walk from Frederick Road via Calthorpe Road.

The main entrance of the Botanical Gardens, with Christmas trees, where we waited for other members of our group to arrive.

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There was several Christmas trees in the foyer, these ones, near the exit to the shop.

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Later on near the end of the visit was the #BBG hashtag in the foyer and one of the Christmas trees. These are more to do with the Botanical Gardens than Luminate.

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After the group tickets were shown, one of the first things you see is this Luminate sign.

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On the main lawn was these lights that kept changing colours.

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There was a full moon that evening over the Botanical Gardens. The Cold Moon apparently. It was still full two nights later.

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The rainbow ribbon suspension bridge.

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The enchanted fairyland.

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The Glitterball Solar System.

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The rainbow light path.

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The Square light tunnel.

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Spotlights from the Viewpoint near the Refreshments area.

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The Globe lights canopy above a path.

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Bright white reindeer trail.

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The warped light tunnel. This was popular.

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The light bulb beads, you had to walk through these.

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Near the end. The Alpine Yard with lit up greenhouses.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Cathedral Square from above: Views from 103 Colmore Row

Key to the City gave you the chance to see Cathedral Square from above, from the 18th floor balcony at 103 Colmore Row, between June and August 2022. From October 2022, you can go up to the 24th floor, at Orelle Restaurant for an even higher view! Best to go during the day, and not at night. Photography by Elliott Brown.

Key to the City - June to August 2022

View from the 18th floor balcony at 103 Colmore Row

11th June 2022

The first opportunity to see Birmingham Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of St Philip) and Cathedral Square, along with the Colmore BID from this vantage point.

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16th July 2022

An attempt to zoom down to Cofton Nursery's floral piece for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which won Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show.

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The House of Fraser and 43 Temple Row. Sadly, Lloyds Bank closed down in this building in September 2022. The nearby NatWest branch also closed down at the opposite corner. Horatio Nelson once stayed in a hotel on this site back in 1802, it is marked by a Birmingham Civic Society blue plaque on the former NatWest building (1 St Philip's Place).

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6th August 2022

The last weekend of Key to the City, so one last opportunity to see Cathedral Square from the 18th floor balcony of 103 Colmore Row. The grass was a bit dry at the time, due to the summer heatwave.

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Orelle Restaurant

Views from the 24th floor of 103 Colmore Row

8th October 2022

Much higher vantage point here, but as was inside of Orelle Restaurant, there was glass windows in the way, so sometimes a bit of glare from the lights inside and out. This is a month after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II. And around a month befor the return of the Christmas Market here.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Welcome to / Thank You for Visiting Birmingham sign on the Coventry Road near Sheldon Country Park

Drivers or people on buses might see this sign on the A45 Coventry Road, between Solihull and Birmingham. Having just passed Birmingham Airport, and heading into Sheldon. Birmingham City Council in recent years has been using it to advertise athletics sporting events. Comparison from summer 2017 to autumn 2022.

You can get to the Welcome to Birmingham / Thank you for visiting Birmingham sign on the Coventry Road in Sheldon, by either walking down from the Hobs Moat Road / Sheaf Lane junction, or exiting from the Sheldon Country Park (the path from the perimeter walk near Birmingham Airport). The X1 bus also stops near here. You can of course also see it from a car on travelling on the bus, or coach. You would probably have come off the M42 at Junction 6 (for Birmingham Airport and NEC), and heading for the Swan Island on the Coventry Road, or to Birmingham City Centre via the Smal Heath Highway?

Birmingham Athletics

Birmingham Athletics adverts seen in July 2017. Five years after London 2012, Team USA once again trained at the Alexander Stadium, while Team Jamaica trained again at the University of Birmingham. This was ahead of the London World Athletics Championships 2017.

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Be Bold Be Birmingham

The Be Bold Be Birmingham poster from Birmingham City Council, seen on the Welcome to / Thank you for visiting Birmingham sign, seen during October 2022, with an image of the Bullring bull. A couple of months before it had an image relating to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, but only saw it from a car. I had caught a 72 bus from Sheaf Lane, Sheldon to Marston Green Station Interchange, walked through the Sheldon Country Park, past the Airport Viewing Area, to the Coventry Road exit near the sign. Would have caught an X1 bus from here, but too long a wait, so just walked back up to catch a X2 back to Solihull Town Centre.

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Photos by Elliott Brown

Birmingham Bus Bash at Birmingham Moseley Rugby - 4th September 2022

The Birmingham Bus Bash for 2022 was held at Birmingham Mosely Rugby, at Billesley Common, on Sunday 4th September 2022 (near Yardley Wood Road). Elliott popped along on Sunday afternoon around half an hour before it finished for the day. Not as many buses here like the 2017 Bus Bash at Cannon Hill Park. Was also free bus rides to The Transport Museum, Wythall. 

This is the first Bus Bash I have been to since the Birmingham Bus Bash 2017 at Cannon Hill Park. The 2022 Bus Bash was the first one since 2019 to be in person (2020 and 2021 was online only during the pandemic). This bus bash seemed a bit smaller with less buses than before. But still had a prescence from National Express West Midlands / Coventry and The Transport Museum, Wythall. Was the usual free bus rides towards the museum from Birmingham Moseley Rugby (Billesley Common) and back.

National Express West Midlands / National Express Coventry

In the field in front of the pitch of Birmingham Moseley Rugby (while a women's rugby game was on). There was line up of modern National Express West Midlands and National Express Coventry heritage livery buses. Plus a Hydrogen and Electric bus (not heritage livery).

From left to right: National Express West Midlands 4780, 4535, 1834, 2102, 4722, 4679. National Express Coventry 4453 and 875. National Express West Midlands 4651 and National Express West Midlands Hydrogen H1013. National Express Coventry Electric E038.

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Midland Red West

I'd only see Midland Red West about 6 days before at The Transport Museum, Wythall on the August Bank Holiday Monday. But saw it again from the Maypole on Alcester Road South. I'd caught a 50 down to the Maypole to pop to the Starbucks Coffee Drive Thru, and was thinking of catching a no 2 bus to Billesley on Maypole Lane, but then remembered the 2 doesn't run to the Maypole on Sunday's, so walked back to Alcester Road South to catch a 50 to Wheelers Lane. And then would walk to Birmingham Moseley Rugby via the back entrance road.

Midland Red West 544 was taking visitors for free from Birmingham Moseley Rugby (venue of the Birmingham Bus Bash 2022) to The Transport Museum, Wythall.

I later saw it again on leaving the Bus Bash, this time it was on Yardley Wood Road and Brook Lane in Billesley (but was in a bus stop waiting to catch an 11A, and it was raining).

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Yellow Buses

At the Bus Bash, I saw this pair of yellow buses. The first on the left was the Midland Red Towing bus. To the right of that was the Children's Party Bus. Piccadilly Whip ice cream van was to the right of the Party Bus. I'd previously seen the Midland Red Towing bus at The Transport Museum, Wythall over the August Bank Holiday Monday.

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Birmingham City Transport and coaches

It's Birmingham City Transport 2222 again. I once caught that from Snow Hill Queensway to the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre back in September 2018 (four years ago). Next to the BCT bus was two coaches including: National Express XC 262 and Mighty Travels. I saw BCT 2222, JOJ 222 one last time from the bus stop on Yardley Wood Road (opposite Billesley Community Fire Station). Didn't get a photo, but it was raining, and I was in the bus stop waiting for the 11A at the time. I think it went back to Acocks Green Bus Garage.

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WMPTE / NXWM / TWM

Next up we see WM Travel 2462, National Express West Midlands 669 and Travel West Midlands 313. I'd last saw WM 2462 on car park shuttle bus duties at The Transport Museum, Wythall on the August Bank Holiday Monday, but have seen it at previous bus garage open days as well.

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Timesaver

Waiting for my bus to go home, I saw the blue Timesaver bus again. It was heading from Yardley Wood Road onto Brook Lane around the island. Was in the bus stop opposite Billesley Community Fire Station, so did not get a new photo of it. Here's one from 2013, when I rode it from Acocks Green to Yardley Wood bus garages on the Open Day.

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Photos by Elliott Brown

PoliNations coming to Victoria Square in September 2022

PoliNations is coming to Victoria Square from the 2nd to 18th September 2022. A free event. Following the end of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, this is part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, and they are putting it up in the last three weeks of August 2022. Elliott got a first glimpse on Saturday 20th August 2022 on passing through Victoria Square.

PoliNations is part of Unboxed Creativity in the UK. During the last three weeks of August 2022, after the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games things were dismantled (including Hew Locke's Foreign Exchange on the Queen Victoria statue). PoliNations moved in.

The free event is due to take place from the 2nd to 18th September 2022.

Step into a spectacular city-centre garden of magical proportions where you will be welcomed by an epic array of colour and nature.  

Giant architectural trees and thousands of plants will transform Victoria Square into an urban oasis, which will host free events, workshops and performances including live music, dance, spoken word and drag.

This supernatural wonderland uncovers the origin stories of the plants we know so well – daisies, pansies, apple trees, roses – in fact these, and most of the plants we see in our gardens are not from the UK. They tell the story of journeys, movement, dispersal, and new roots. 

PoliNations is a celebration of colour, beauty, and of natural diversity. Explore, enjoy and be your true unique self. You can experience music from around the world, an incredible light show each evening, and a grand finale like no other where the tree’s canopies will burst into a joyful cloud of confetti and colour.  

This is Carnival and Holi combined in one brilliant, messy, playful party and everyone is invited.

I first spotted the giant trees from Chamberlain Square.

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Heading into Victoria Square, the PoliNations construction is all fenced off at the moment.

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They encourage people to get public transport to PoliNations, including the West Midlands Metro, get off at Town Hall Tram Stop. Also in walking distance of the main railway stations and your bus stops.

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The statue of Queen Victoria has been returned to normal after two months as Hew Locke's Foreign Exchange.

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Key to the City ended on the 7th August, so it will no longer be possible to get views of Victoria Square from the 18th floor balcony like before.

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Heading down Pinfold Street, then catching a view of a tram heading up towards Victoria Square and the PoliNations trees.

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I will probably get more photos of PoliNations over the next couple of weekends, and probably in September as well (if time).

Photos by Elliott Brown