The Royal Botanical Gardens, Birmingham - NOT in Alabama!
Written: Dec 11 '06 (Updated Dec 12 '06)
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Pros: Nice set-up, reasonable prices, very restful
Cons: A bit on the small side
The Bottom Line: Th Royal Botanical Gardens in Birmingham is a very nice place to visit, but don't expect to stay your whole day there.
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| captaind's Full Review: Birmingham Botanical Gardens, United Kingdom |
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Birmingham (that’s Birmingham England, not Birmingham Alabama – where there is also a Royal Botanical Gardens, I believe!) is situated close to the Birmingham University. They have relatively small grounds (15 acres) in comparison to Kew Gardens or The Eden Project, but it’s still well worth a visit if you’re a nature lover – or just want somewhere to relax.
There’s a decent amount of parking for the number of visitors it gets, though finding your way from the A38 can seem a bit of a mission. (There are quite a few signs on the way though so you’re unlikely to get lost!) Parking is free, which is a very nice start to your trip. There are numerous bus routes that get you close to the gardens too. Prices initially look a little steep – £6.10 for adults and £3.0 for children – for a rather small place. However, children under 5 are free, and senior citizens or those with disabilities and their helpers get in for the child rate. We actually managed to get (at the staff member’s suggestion) a family ticket for £19, with three adults and two senior citizens, so our tickets worked out at just under £4 each on average, which was quite good. There are also group booking discounts available on weekdays. (Various membership options are available, including a year’s family membership at 54. These memberships seem to run up to then end of March not a year from your purchase date, so if you did want to do this your best off doing so in April.)
** My pound signs keep being converted to squares and I don't know why... if you see a square with numbers after it in this review, read them as pound sterling! **
From the entrance you can either go to the souvenir shop and garden centre (which are not too badly priced for such things but otherwise pretty much what you’d expect from any souvenir shop and garden centre), or do the sensible thing and go first through the main entrance. To the left you can go to the gallery, which features some art of varying styles (and quality, it has to be said) and the prize-winning nature photographs from the Royal Botanical Society’s competition – some of these were absolutely stunning. But of course what you wanted to see was the real thing, so follow me into the glass houses…
There are many weird, wonderful, and exotic plants on display in these houses and so many staff tending to them that there actually appear to be more staff than visitors at times. The displays are set up interestingly with brief but enlightening notes about the plants and their habitats. The conference centre is to the left but obviously I didn’t go in as I wasn’t invited to the National Rheumatology conference that was being held that day. (The venue also hosts conferences, banquets, and even weddings.) Getting some cooler air outside the glass houses we come to the upper gardens, which are beautifully kept and arranged. There are a few statues dotted around (which, unlike the statues at some national parks and gardens, aren’t hideous!), and a stream with a small waterfall being the logical dividing line between the upper and lower gardens. There is a playground for the smaller kids next to a small aviary, and it was difficult to tell where the louder noises were coming from. The birds’ cages seemed rather cramped there, which wasn’t at all in keeping with the larger aviary further along, and hopefully this is something they’ll enlarge in the future.
Close to this there is a small Victorian cottage and herb garden, the garden being authentically kept as the Victorian’s would have done. (There weren’t any Victorians around at the time to ask, but I trust it genuinely was authentic.) The cottage was preserved from the outside, with the inside being inhabited by some rather strange relics from different countries – evidently these particular Victorians had been great travelers!? Going to the other extremity of the gardens, past the bandstand where concerts are occasionally held, are the two main aviaries, with several very exotic species of birds from the tropics. The resident artist was also there with some of her works.
Going slightly uphill again we come to a small cafeteria, which surprised me no end by not only having some nice things but also being very reasonably priced. Though small this cafeteria, like the whole set up at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, tried very hard to be accessible to people with disabilities.
If I were to describe the gardens in a single word, that word would have to be relaxing. Strolling through the gardens (even with the occasional outbursts of noise from a nearby primary school) was extremely restful, and (this will sound corny I know) produce a great sense of well-being. It’s not really the sort of place you can stay the whole day at (unless you become so rested that you actually fall asleep for a few hours, perhaps), but it certainly makes a nice morning or afternoon out. Personally I prefer to visit in the morning as the peaceful attitude that comes over you sets you up for the rest of the day, but either would work.
Overall then, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Birmingham (England not Alabama, remember!) is a very pleasant place to visit and it’s not going to bust your bank balance too badly. Recommended, but it could do with being a bit bigger.
They host events of various kinds throughout the year - check the website for details.
(It might be kind of expensive, but if you wanted a whole day out for the family you could combine a visit to the Botanical Gardens with going to the nearby Cadbury World.)
Official website: http://www.birminghambotanicalalgardens.org.uk/
Photos (mine and my wife’s): http://www.darscom.net/royal_botanical_gardens.html
Thanks Chris (CR01) for adding this to the database for me.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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