The Geography Department
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The Geography Department |
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Birmingham 3 June 2007
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Birmingham |
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Something to smile about in Birmingham!
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Star City, visited before, is almost in the shadow of Spaghetti Junction, and can provide a good car park for some of the party to go to town by bus. Unfortunately a local marathon put paid to that so the rigours of driving central Birmingham were undertaken - no pun intended! With the political controversy about the siting of Britain's first supercasino still rumbling, I thought some pictures of a real-life British casino might be in order! |
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Aston Street passes by the Aston University and you can walk into the centre via Gosta Green and its excellent tipping water bucket feature, before joining the James Watt Queensway towards the centre. |
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From the James Watt Queensway, which has good signage for forms of transport other than the car, you can walk along Dale End, showing some wear and tear outside a nightclub, and a low pedestrian count. |
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After the concrete of the night club scene you approach the High Street and a higher pedestrian count. At least, with a large glass tower to guide you, you have an idea where the centre is! Buses were streaming into this area on a Sunday morning. |
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High Street |
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High Street and the pedestrianised areas around the Bull Ring Centre. |
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The open spaces in front of the Bullring; few dawdled, most people were on retail recharge! The area is, however, striking and probably well-known and understood by those who choose not to accompany the shoppers of shoes! |
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The bull itself, all 6 tonnes of bronze, looks out over the Sunday shoppers. Inside is an airy entrance with views up to the Rotunda and right, the levels and escalators take over! |
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The Plaza outside the Bull Ring and Selfridges's Store ... and the extraordinary building itself! |
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On the left a photo of Birmingham's New Street railway station, and simply turning around you get, in the centre the Rotunda, whilst on the right its back to the flower-seller outside the main entrance to the Bullring Centre. |
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To the south of the Bullring is a zone of change, with a colourful street of Chinese restaurants having inner city office blocks as a backdrop, but over the road is a nondescript car park .. and, similar to the northern margin, large numbers of buses. |
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A little further down Pershore Street there is land awaiting redevelopment, and on the site of the old wholesale market area a bustling Sunday market was doing good trade. I wonder which retail area was doing better, the market traders or the' CBD retailers symbolised by the high rise buildings behind. The garment market was nearer the Bullring, just opposite the Selfridges building. |
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