| With a city as densely populated as Birmingham you can expect a few poofs about the place. In fact Birmingham has always been a hotbed of trade, with a sizable gay scene and great pride. | |
| The pioneers of the Industrial Revolution formed the Lunar Society here - a scientific forum that spawned the world's first ever purpose built factory, the invention of gas lighting and the mass production of the steam engine. Now OutUK's Adrian Gillan gives the gay low-down on Birmingham - capital of the West Midlands; and England’s “second city”. |
Courtesy: Marketing Birmingham
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| With its abundance of renovated canals, parks, imposing industrial and civic buildings and squares, Birmingham’s definitely undergone a first rate face-lift in recent years. | |
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From the revamped Bullring Shopping Centre, complete with its space-age Selfridges flagship building, to the popular Farmers' Markets near main civic hub, Victoria Square,
there is a wide variety of shopping experiences to be had in Brum; as well as many interesting areas to visit - from modern developments like Millennium Point to heritage-steeped zones
like industrial-era Digbeth.
Other attractions include the mouth-watering Cadbury’s tour and other equally mouth-watering cultural treats like the Birmingham Royal Ballet, oft spied at the Hippodrome, down near the gay area; the world-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in its own fabulous Symphony Hall; plus the Birmingham Rep theatre, where Laurence Olivier started his career. |
Selfridges in Birmingham.Courtesy: Marketing Birmingham |
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And - with one of the most compact, constantly re-invigorated, easily accessible and sizeable gay scenes in the land - get over the accent and you’ll soon succumb to Brum, and all those manly Midlands men! Dozens of venues vie for attentions in a queer cluster mere yards from New Street Station. Hurst Street is surely up there with those other UK world-class queer streets, Canal and Old Compton. DrinkStalwart and anchor of the scene is undoubtedly the habitually rejuvenating Village Inn in Hurst Street itself, an upmarket, friendly gay pub pumping out music and drag into the wee small hours in its busy dance area.The trenchantly traditional Wellington Hotel which is in Bristol Street is an extremely welcoming pub-cum-cabaret joint. Nearby in Wrentham Street Fountain is also a hit with the older, albeit slightly cruisier, set. Glamourous back on Hurst Street is open again, and recently refurbished. It has a Mooch bar and loads of drag acts - who could ask for more? |
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Sidewalk Bar is making a name for itself with people talking about brilliant and rather hot staff to match their amazing hot food, and
good music too. The outside seating is lovely for chilling on a warm summers evening.
Equator is an airy lounge bar for the full-on style set. Equally, the Loft Lounge round the corner in Bromsgrove Street is also very popular with fab food. |
 Goku in his Supersaiyen Blue form from Dragon Ball Photo: ColobusYeti |
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Missing is worth visiting as it's a true Brum favourite and packs ‘em in -
all ages, all nights - with its busy disco and dizzy shows.
Other favourite bars on or around Hurst Street include friendly, earthy Eden Bar in Sherlock Street,
right down the end; The Fox in Lower Essex Street, or
check out nearby cruisy Boltz Club in it's new location at 16 Kent St, Lower Essex St.
Boltz is the place to explore your every fetish. From a drink at the bar, progressing to a spot of voyeurism to taking full
advantage of their many spaces. Boltz offers a safe, pressure free, sexy and fun atmosphere.
Birmingham Pride celebrates both pride and protest in one of the biggest of the UK Pride events over the last weekend of September each year. It kicks off on the Saturday with a Carnival Parade through the city centre, starting from Centenary Square from 11am and the parade starts making its way through the city from 12 noon to the LGBTQ+ village. More: birminghampride.com | |
Dance, Steam, ShopTime for some full-on clubbing! Kent Street's Nightingale or “The Gale” as it is affectionately known - now spans more than four full decades and has recently undergone a major redevelopment. It now has a capacity of almost 2000 across three levels with an outside garden and artists such as Boney M and Boyzone have appeared there.Birmingham's gay sauna is Spartan a little out of town on George Road. It's about 2 minutes from M6 Junction 6. Facilities include a sauna, steam room, multi-gym, sunbed and private cabins. They are open 7 days a week and it's a good place to start if you are new to saunas or just curious and want to blend in, and not feel self conscious! For boy toys, books, dvds and so much more it has to be Clone Zone at 84 Hurst Street - don't miss it. Stay and EatBang in the middle of Birmingham, a mere 10 minutes’ walk from the gay scene, the converted former eye hospital that is now the 66-room Hotel du Vin & Bistro Birmingham shows off its early Victorian red-brick splendour. | |
| It's a true gem in the city’s revitalised Jewellery Quarter. Enter, and the old-world foyer tugs and pulls you in various directions – left into the plush champagne and wine bar, amidst cork pops and fizz; down into the local-real-ale Pub Du Vin basement where pewter tankards clunk and clink; or through into the light and airy courtyard; or the spa and gym. |
 Hotel du Vin | |
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And that’s before you’ve even ascended the grand lift or plush stairways to your bedroom or roomy suite - all featuring luxurious mattresses, fine Egyptian linen,
vast baths and invigorating drench showers, not to mention plasma TVs and DVDs. That’s before you’ve got comfy at the spacious, elegant Bistro du Vin, the hotel’s
beating heart – offering a classic, French-styled, elegant-yet-informal setting for lunch or dinner, biz or pleasure. Dine on the freshest local Midlands produce,
washed down with fine wines selected by highly skilled sommeliers attuned to your every dish and wish.
You can book the Hotel du Vin at our hotel partners Booking.com. For more information about visiting Birmingham go to www.visitbirmingham.com. Birmingham New Street station is just 1 hour 20 minutes away from London Euston, and even closer from other major UK cities, by West Midlands Railway.
Revised August 2022. |