Parking in Birmingham...

Parking in Birmingham...

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Dibble

Original Poster:

12,925 posts

239 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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First off, please can the mods leave this in The Lounge, so it gets seen and I hopefully get some useful replies? Ta.


I’m in that there Birmingham on Monday night, at the Alexandra Theatre, which Google maps shows as being right next to New Street railway station. This was ideal, as the original plan was to get the train to Birmingham, watch the show (a recording of Radio 4’s “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue”) and then get the train home afterwards.

Getting the train there is fine, but there isn’t a late enough train home, so we’d have to leave the theatre early and miss a chunk of the show. Staying overnight isn’t an option, as my GF has work at 8 in the morning and there isn’t a train early enough to get us back in time. That means we are driving.

Where is the best place to park for the theatre? I’m still hobbling round on crutches, so the closer, the better. We’ll also be getting some early dinner before the show, so where would people recommend, that’s also nearby? Any cuisine will do, as long as there’s either seafood or vegetarian options.

Thanks in advance.

CTO

2,649 posts

209 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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I'd probably park under the Mailbox, eat there and mooch over. Fair amount of decent food places and a champagne bar at Marco Pierre White's if you fancy gazing over the smoggy vista.

It won't be mega cheap and worth checking if/when the car park closes. But, it's well lit and secure when you return to the car and easy access to the main route out of the city

HTH

MikeM6

4,985 posts

101 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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I've used snow hill carpark, was large with good sized spaces and I think reasonable prices for a major city centre. Getting around the car park itself was quite easy.

Location was good so sub 10min walk to new street.

dontfollowme

1,158 posts

232 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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If on crutches I'd park at NEw Street train station or the Mailbox.

DaveH23

3,230 posts

169 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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https://en.parkopedia.com

This is really useful for parking when visiting areas you aren't familiar with.

bitchstewie

50,781 posts

209 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
https://www.ncp.co.uk/parking-solutions/leisure-pa... or there's a car park literally 2 minutes walk (without crutches) on Navigation Street.

I haven't been to Birmingham in the car for a while but last time there were a lot of roadworks and closures in that area so maybe call the Alex and ask them to be sure about access.

Pothole

34,367 posts

281 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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New Street NCP, St Jude's passage. it's on the same side of the road as the theatre, not too horrible a walk. Mailbox is the other side of the dual carriageway and the ramp up to the theatre is pretty steep for crutch work, I reckon. (I work next door to the Mailbox)

Dibble

Original Poster:

12,925 posts

239 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
Thanks all for the suggestions, really helpful and I’ll have a look see on Google maps etc where they all are in relation to the theatre and our route in/out.

Virtual pint for you all.

beer

Grebby

116 posts

202 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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I live in Sutton Coldfield. If you want to avoid driving into Brum centre you are more than welcome to park at mine and get the train in and out.
I'll drop/collect you to/from the station to save you hobbling.

Carl_Manchester

12,103 posts

261 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
Dibble said:
First off, please can the mods leave this in The Lounge, so it gets seen and I hopefully get some useful replies? Ta.


I’m in that there Birmingham on Monday night, at the Alexandra Theatre, which Google maps shows as being right next to New Street railway station. This was ideal, as the original plan was to get the train to Birmingham, watch the show (a recording of Radio 4’s “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue”) and then get the train home afterwards.

Getting the train there is fine, but there isn’t a late enough train home, so we’d have to leave the theatre early and miss a chunk of the show. Staying overnight isn’t an option, as my GF has work at 8 in the morning and there isn’t a train early enough to get us back in time. That means we are driving.

Where is the best place to park for the theatre? I’m still hobbling round on crutches, so the closer, the better. We’ll also be getting some early dinner before the show, so where would people recommend, that’s also nearby? Any cuisine will do, as long as there’s either seafood or vegetarian options.

Thanks in advance.
As per previous replies the best place to park the car will be the mailbox, the lift is decent out of the car park and the walk to the theatre will be fairly flat.

In terms of food, ignoring your crutches, you have loads of options, my missus is veggie so excuse the waffle.

The absolute best sushi and saki in town is run by two polish blokes in a small resturant outside a bus stop on the same, long road as the theatre, but it is quite a walk for crutches, it is nice and quiet but you need to book its called - Gaijin Sushi. There are black cabs outside mailbox i would hop in one, I had a warm white saki in there last year from my birthday, highly recommended but you will blow a reasonable amount of dollar, worth it though and don't be put off by its location

If you want it a bit more lively and a nice flat walk from the car park then Shogun inside the Cube is also a regular visit for me, it has a nice atmosphere but it depends what mood the missus is in as you will sit with strangers. You can really get fed in that place but you can't taxi it, you need to walk through the Mailbox to get to it

The best place for general seafood is Bank in Brindley place, the service can be a bit patchy but the menu is extensive, you wont be able to walk there.

If you want to drop a load of dollar on a fancy hotspot which will get you laid then Tattu on Barwick steet is the one, its over the other side of town so it will be a taxi. It can be style over substance but it is the only place in town that I know of outside of the michelin guide that serves black cod.

The Birmingham Ivy is also decent, it is a chain but we have had plenty of meals in there and the cocktails are superb, it is an Uber.

Skint and on a budget? The all you can eat menu at Kyoto Sushi & Grill in the Arcadian is around the corner, walkable sure but its a stretch on crutches from the mailbox

There is also a live Jazz option (1000 trades) where we usually have a veggie sunday roast. They appear to have a Caribbean special on which starts on Monday and we will be checking out when next in town. http://1000trades.org.uk/1kt/wp-content/uploads/20...

Dolf Stoppard

1,318 posts

121 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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Be warned, there are lots of roadworks in the centre of Birmingham at the moment and they seem to appear at night. Even those that know the town well can have real problems finding their way through.

It's no better on foot either. We could see the Barclaycard Arena last year but could not for the life of us work out how to get to it! We ended up running back to the station and getting a taxi.

Rewe

1,016 posts

91 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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Have you got the JustPark app? If you get lucky someone may have a driveway close by and it will be much cheaper.

Court_S

12,764 posts

176 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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Rewe said:
Have you got the JustPark app? If you get lucky someone may have a driveway close by and it will be much cheaper.
This. I’m a convert to this having booked a drive last time we went to London but I don’t really think there will be many drives close to the theatre.

Mailbox would get my vote too.

Pothole

34,367 posts

281 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
Here's the view from the Mailbox car park exit. You'd need to walk under the flyover, over the busiest pedestrian crossing in town and up that ramp to get to the theatre.

I would not want to be doing that on crutches.

zsdom

759 posts

119 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
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If you're parking in the Mailbox dont park actually in their own car park, it's crazy expensive, drive a little further & there's a council car park, its a big red thing (I call it the red cage) It's closer to walk to the Alex, you literally cross the road & its a striaght walk about 300m but there's no lift though

Town hall car park is its official name https://goo.gl/maps/87YuxUUtf81UM35A8

Rewe

1,016 posts

91 months

Saturday 11th January 2020
quotequote all
Court_S said:
Rewe said:
Have you got the JustPark app? If you get lucky someone may have a driveway close by and it will be much cheaper.
This. I’m a convert to this having booked a drive last time we went to London but I don’t really think there will be many drives close to the theatre.

Mailbox would get my vote too.
Just had a quick look. The closest parking space that can be reserved looks to be seven minutes walk and will cost £6.50. Doable on crutches?

Alternatively, why not park in the outskirts and take an Uber from your car. That way if your leg plays up during the evening you can be collected from the front doors.

Carl_Manchester

12,103 posts

261 months

Sunday 12th January 2020
quotequote all
Pothole said:
Here's the view from the Mailbox car park exit. You'd need to walk under the flyover, over the busiest pedestrian crossing in town and up that ramp to get to the theatre.

I would not want to be doing that on crutches.
it will be fine, it’s busy but people are not complete a-holes smile

gutbobs

76 posts

173 months

Sunday 12th January 2020
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I've been to the Alex tonight, we parked at the town hall multistory and it cost £6 for 4 hours. Just a couple of minutes walk away

Dibble

Original Poster:

12,925 posts

239 months

Friday 17th January 2020
quotequote all
Apologies for my very late reply, had a hectic week or so since I posted.

Many thanks for the poster offering their driveway, it was extremely kind. We drove in and it was a nightmare to get to anywhere, even trying a variety of navigation options - Google, Co-Pilot, Waze - so we ended up parking in a multi-storey near to the new Paradise development and hoofing it through the city centre, which seemed remarkably devoid of people.

The show was great, so worth the trek. Unfortunately, I dropped my wallet in the loo and only noticed when we’d almost slogged all the way back to the car park. My fantastic GF went back to the Alex but there was no sign of my wallet, even after I’d checked the bin in the loo.

We got back to the car eventually and because of where we were parked, when I’d been getting out, my wallet had slipped out of my pocket and down the side of my seat. So the to-ing and fro-ing was in vain, but on the plus side, I hadn’t lost my wallet and fortunately, I’d only “frozen” my cards on my phone app, rather than calling the bank straight away and getting them blocked.

Because of our laps of the city centre roadworks, we didn’t have enough time to eat, so it was a good job I’d thrown some “emergency rations” in the car. Thankfully, the trip home was completely uneventful, the only item of note was seeing quite a few people setting off the cameras on the northbound M6 in the smart motorway bit where there’s about ten miles of roadworks/contra flow.

We’d just stuck the cruise control on and bimbled through at a GPS indicated 50(ish) without incident.

We are going to be back in Birmingham in April as my GF has a veterinary conference she’s attending, so we will try and get to at least one of the restaurants that were suggested.

Now we just need to find a decent silversmith so we can get a silver ringer repaired. We don’t want to risk posting it and it getting lost because of the sentimental value, so we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone while we are in Birmingham.

Actually, I’ll have a day or two of kicking my heels in the city centre while my GF is at the conference. Which galleries/museums/stuff is worth a look at?

Grebby

116 posts

202 months

Friday 17th January 2020
quotequote all
Dibble said:
Apologies for my very late reply, had a hectic week or so since I posted.

Many thanks for the poster offering their driveway, it was extremely kind. We drove in and it was a nightmare to get to anywhere, even trying a variety of navigation options - Google, Co-Pilot, Waze - so we ended up parking in a multi-storey near to the new Paradise development and hoofing it through the city centre, which seemed remarkably devoid of people.

The show was great, so worth the trek. Unfortunately, I dropped my wallet in the loo and only noticed when we’d almost slogged all the way back to the car park. My fantastic GF went back to the Alex but there was no sign of my wallet, even after I’d checked the bin in the loo.

We got back to the car eventually and because of where we were parked, when I’d been getting out, my wallet had slipped out of my pocket and down the side of my seat. So the to-ing and fro-ing was in vain, but on the plus side, I hadn’t lost my wallet and fortunately, I’d only “frozen” my cards on my phone app, rather than calling the bank straight away and getting them blocked.

Because of our laps of the city centre roadworks, we didn’t have enough time to eat, so it was a good job I’d thrown some “emergency rations” in the car. Thankfully, the trip home was completely uneventful, the only item of note was seeing quite a few people setting off the cameras on the northbound M6 in the smart motorway bit where there’s about ten miles of roadworks/contra flow.

We’d just stuck the cruise control on and bimbled through at a GPS indicated 50(ish) without incident.

We are going to be back in Birmingham in April as my GF has a veterinary conference she’s attending, so we will try and get to at least one of the restaurants that were suggested.

Now we just need to find a decent silversmith so we can get a silver ringer repaired. We don’t want to risk posting it and it getting lost because of the sentimental value, so we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone while we are in Birmingham.

Actually, I’ll have a day or two of kicking my heels in the city centre while my GF is at the conference. Which galleries/museums/stuff is worth a look at?
The offer is still there if you want.

As to silversmiths, my God Father did it as a hobby. I have my Grandma's silver teapot that needs a new pin in the handle. I asked my God Father's Widow who would be best to go and see about this and she recommended Regent Silver or Crescent Silver. I haven't used or contacted either because I'm useless at getting round to these sort of things.