The countdown is on until Birmingham Heritage Week returns on Thursday 10 September, with one week to go until 80 unique events and activities begin.
Get ready to explore and celebrate the second city and its fascinating people and history across 11 days with everything from online talks with Brummie historian Carl Chinn to the chance to explore one of Mosley’s hidden treasures, Moseley Park and Pool. Discover all the events and pre-book at birminghamheritageweek.co.uk.
For the first time during Birmingham Heritage Week, you’ll be able to explore the city via walking, running and cycling tours!
Hosted by Flatpack Festival the ‘Cycling Tour of Late 60s Birmingham’ is a 15-mile self-led bike tour which guides you around some of the key locations that played an important role in the rapid development of the city in the 50s and 60s. On your tour see the ‘best club in the world’, which hosted everyone from John Lee Hooker to Pink Floyd above a furniture shop on Erdington High Street, and the spot where anti-racist protesters marched against Enoch Powell in late 1968. Taking place throughout Birmingham Heritage Week, find out more at birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/10-sept/cycling-tour-of-late-60s-birmingham/.
Join the ‘Best of Birmingham’ running tour which will quite literally run through 1620 years of Birmingham’s history on Thursday 10, Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. You’ll hear about amazing inventions that changed the world, be inspired by the development of Birmingham’s gay scene and discover what happened to the FA Cup that was lost here. Refreshments and digital photos are included in the ticket price birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/20-sept/the-best-of-birmingham-running-tour-2/.
There’s also a choice of walking tours covering the rich history of Bournville and Birmingham’s main city central squares, along with more.
You can also build a picture of Birmingham’s history with the Birmingham Heritage Week Postbox Challenge. Take a closer look at your local post box or take a walk to another part of the city and see what you can find. Identify when the postbox dates back to and who was on the throne at the time. Take a photo and post it on social media with the street location and tag #BHeritageWeek and your record will be uploaded to help create a map of the city’s postboxes from the reign of Queen Victoria to Elizabeth II.
Birmingham Heritage Week 2020 is sponsored by Birmingham City Council and organised by Birmingham Museums Trust.
Hear from Councillor Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Culture, and Councillor Philip M Davis, Cabinet Adviser for Heritage, about why they are excited about Birmingham Heritage Week returning to fly the flag for the city during these difficult times at birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/welcome.
The priority at all in-person events is to keep attendees and event organisers safe. All activities will take place within government guidelines. There will be limited space at pre-booked events so if you are unable to attend because of symptoms please let event organisers know so the space can be used.
Visit the Birmingham Heritage Week website and social media pages to find out more about this year’s festival.
#BHeritageWeek
