Bookish Walking Tour of Birmingham

Bookish Walking Tour of Birmingham. Credit: Martin Pettitt

Bookish Walking Tour of Birmingham

This tour is 10.1 km (6.3 miles) which can give you a good day’s worth of sightseeing if you take your time at each stop. Some of these stops require you to buy tickets to get the full experience. However, if you’re simply after a selfie in front of the literary sites, this route is ideal. We’ll walk from the Custard factory to Birmingham’s back-to-backs, the Pen Museum, and sights that may have inspired J.R.R Tolkien’s writing.

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Custard Factory.

Custard Factory. Credit: Helen Cobain

Part 1 of the Bookish walking tour from Custard Factory to Digbeth road

Part 1 of the Bookish walking tour

This tour starts at the Custard Factory (marked A on the map). Yes, as the name suggests, this used to be a custard factory but now serves as a much more creative venue. Filled with fifteen acres of independent stores, music studios, cafes, art displays, bars, and more. Once you’re filled with good food and drinks, you can head down High Street Deritend towards the South and City College of Birmingham (on your right).

Part 2 of the Bookish walking tour down High Street Deritend towards the South and City College of Birmingham

Part 2 of the Bookish walking tour

When you reach the big intersection, continue straight down Digbeth Road. Walk for a little bit until you see The Prince’s Trust on your right. To your left, you’ll see a short passageway between two buildings (marked 5 on the map) which you pass through into Moat Lane.

Part 3 of the Bookish walking tour onto Upper Dean Street

Part 3 of the Bookish walking tour

Cross Moat Lane into Upper Dean Street. Continuing down Upper Dean Street, you’ll reach a building on a corner with “Bullring” written on it.

Part 4 of the Bookish walking tour down Ladywell Walk towards Bullring passed the Hippodrome

Part 4 of the Bookish walking tour

Cross the intersection into Ladywell Walk towards China Town. Continue straight until you reach a three-way where you turn left passed the Hippodrome. To your immediate right, you will see Birmingham’s Back-to-Backs in Hurst Street where you will also find Court 15 Books.

Birmingham Back-to-Backs.

Birmingham Back-to-Backs. Credit: Stephan Boisvert

To view the Back-to-Backs, you will need to buy tickets. However, there is a free exhibition space above the bookshop.

Part 5 of the Bookish walking tour at Court 15 Books

Part 5 of the Bookish walking tour

Court 15 Books (9 on the map) is a second-hand bookshop whose funds go towards preserving and caring for these buildings. These houses were built in the 1800s in a back-to-back fashion to save time and money. Being built in such a crammed manner, the courts became extremely unsanitary in the 1900s as large families were sharing the houses as well as the communal privies and laundry washing areas.

Continue back the way you came towards the Hippodrome and continue under the bridge. Follow Hurst Street until it becomes Hill Street (10 on the map).

Part 6 of the Bookish walking tour through Bullring and Grand Central

Part 6 of the Bookish walking tour

Turn right into Station Street (12 on the map. You will see “The Crown” on your right). To your left, you will see Bullring and Grand Central which you walk straight through to exit on the other side.

Part 6.1 of the Bookish walking tour down Station Street into Hill Street

Part 6.1 of the Bookish walking tour

Part 7 of the Bookish walking tour Grand Central Station

Part 7 of the Bookish walking tour

On Stephenson Street, follow the tram rails until the street becomes Corporation Street. Turn left at HSBC UK into New Street. Just before Tesco’s, turn right where you will see the Needless Alley sign.

Part 8 of the Bookish walking tour Needless Alley

Part 8 of the Bookish walking tour

Needless Alley.

Needless Alley. Credit: Anne

“Needless by name and Needless by nature”. Needless Alley still stands today with its infamous history attached. This was an alley for the “disorderly” and their clients… Hence the alley was needless as other routes were better preferred. However, for our tour, Needless Alley is not so needless.

Part 9 of the Bookish walking tour from Temple Row to Colmore Row

Part 9 of the Bookish walking tour

Walk through the alley until you reach Temple Row where you turn left. At the fork in the road, keep right and continue straight. Turn left into Colmore Row then right into Newhall Street.

Part 10 of the Bookish walking tour into Graham Street to the Pen Museum and onto Newhall Hill

Part 10 of the Bookish walking tour

Continue straight to turn left into Graham Street then right at Frederick Street where you will see the Pen Museum (16 on the map). The Pen Museum, situated in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, stands as a symbol of Birmingham’s booming steel pen nibs industry during the Victorian era.

It is estimated that Birmingham contributed three-quarters of the world’s pens in the mid to late 19th century. In the museum, you can have a go at calligraphy, write with a quill and ink, or make your own nib using the same 19th-century machinery as before. Once you’re done, turn right from the Pen Museum down Newhall Hill.

Part 11 of the Bookish walking tour up Newhall Hill

Part 11 of the Bookish walking tour

At the roundabout, stay left down Parade Street until you reach Fleet Street.

Part 12 of the Bookish walking tour onto Fleet Street towards the Newman Brothers Coffin Museum

Part 12 of the Bookish walking tour

Turn left into Fleet Street. You will see the Newman Brothers Coffins Furniture Manufactory on your right (19 on the map).

Newman Brothers Coffins Furniture Manufactory was originally built in 1894 and is a Grade II listed building. The factory has been fully restored since its closure in 1998. The Newman Brother’s products were used in some royal and non-royal burials such as the Queen Mother, Princess Diana, Winston Churchill, and the Queen Mary.

Newman Brothers Coffin Works.

Newman Brothers Coffin Works. Credit: Tony Hisgett

Part 13 of the Bookish walking tour from Newman Brothers Coffins Furniture Manufactory towards James Brindley Walk

Part 13 of the Bookish walking tour

Head back the way you came and turn right at the intersection to walk down James Brindley Walk along the canal (you’ll see a small sign on a fence). Walk up the steps at the end and walk through the pathway between the trees keeping left. Continue down Brindley Drive where you will see the Library of Birmingham on your right. The entrance is in Centenary Square up ahead.

Library of Birmingham.

Library of Birmingham. Credit: Tony Hisgett

The Library of Birmingham is an architectural marvel with its net-like transparent glass exterior. The library also hosts outdoor garden terraces and views as one of the highest points in the city.

Inside Library of Birmingham.

Inside Library of Birmingham. Credit: Martin Pettitt

In the Rotunda rooftop house, you will find the Shakespeare Memorial Room which is lined with wood from the first Birmingham Central Library.

Part 13.1 of the Bookish walking tour through the International Convention Centre building

Part 13.1 of the Bookish walking tour- through the ICC building

Exiting the library, head towards the ICC building and walk through to exit on the other side at a canal. Turn right at the canal and climb the stairs at Brewmasters Bridge to get to the other side. At the other end, turn right and down the stairs following the canal. Cross the bridge at the Birmingham Contemporary Art Gallery then turn left to follow along the canal again (Part 14).

Part 14 of the Bookish walking tour along the Birmingham Canal Main Line passed Gas Street Basin

Part 14 of the Bookish walking tour

Part 15 of the Bookish walking tour down St Vincent Street Walk

Part 15 of the Bookish walking tour

Head up the ramp at St Vincent Street then turn left down St Vincent Street. When you reach the green area, walk straight through it to get back to St Vincent Street West (24 on the map).

Part 16 of the Bookish walking tour through Chamberlain Gardens onto Monument Road

Part 16 of the Bookish walking tour

Follow St Vincent Street until you reach Ladywood Middleway to turn left and cross over. You will see another green area with a pathway to cut through to Ladywood Drive (25 on the map) and turn right. Continue down this road through Chamberlain Gardens.

Part 17 of the Bookish walking tour up Waterworks Road towards Edgbaston Waterworks Towers

Part 17 of the Bookish walking tour

Walk through the park to reach Monument Road and turn left then right into Noel Road (26 on the map). At the end of the road, turn left into Harold Road. Continue to Waterworks Road and turn right towards Edgbaston Waterworks Tower (28 on the map).

Part 18 of the Bookish walking tour towards Plough and Harrow Road

Part 18 of the Bookish walking tour

Edgbaston Waterworks Towers.

Edgbaston Waterworks Towers. Credit: Elliott Brown

J.R.R. Tolkien lived near Perrott’s Folly and the Edgbaston Waterworks Towers as a child, and it is suggested that the towers were the inspiration for Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith respectively in “The Two Towers” in his Lord of the Rings series. Perrott’s Folly (29 on the map) is on the same road, just head back down the road where you came from. There are plans to restore Perrott’s Folly to serve as a community centre for the area. Continue down Waterworks Road away from Perrott’s Folly until you reach an intersection to continue straight onto Plough and Harrow Road (30 on the map).

Perrot's Folly in front of Waterworks Tower.

Perrot’s Folly in front of Waterworks Tower. Credit: diamond geezer

Part 19 of the Bookish walking tour passed the Plough and Harrow Hotel

Part 19 of the Bookish walking tour

Plough and Harrow Hotel.

Plough and Harrow Hotel. Credit: Elliott Brown

Plough and Harrow Road is home to Plough and Harrow Hotel (at the end of the road on your left at the corner) which J.R.R. Tolkien visited frequently when he was young. In June 1916, he stayed in this hotel with his wife before he had to leave for France to join the British Forces. You can see plaques displayed within the hotel presented by the Tolkien Society, a great photo opportunity!

Part 20 of the Bookish walking tour from the Plough and Harrow Hotel towards Five Ways Island

Part 20 of the Bookish walking tour

Part 20.1 of the Bookish walking tour from Five Ways Island towards Islington Row Middleway

Part 20.1 of the Bookish walking tour

Turn left into Hagley Road and cross over when it is safe to do so and head towards the Five Ways Roundabout (Part 20). You will stay to the left to walk under a bridge and through a grassy area. After going under the bridge, turn right towards the standalone tall building where you’ll go under another bridge to your right. Turn left immediately onto Islington Row (33 on the map). Continue following Islington Row Middleway until it becomes Lee Bank Middleway. At the Islington Row Five Ways Station Bus stop turn left towards Bell Barn Road.

Part 21 of the Bookish walking tour through Bell Barn Road

Part 21 of the Bookish walking tour

Continue along the road to turn left into Chatsworth Way (34-35 on the map). Walk straight until you reach Alfred Knight Way which will lead you into Sunset Park (36 on the map).

Part 22 of the Bookish walking tour from Sunset Park to Moonlit Park

Part 22 of the Bookish walking tour

Moonlit Park (37 on the map) is to the right of Sunset Park. At the very end of Moonlit Park is Bell Barn Road.

Part 23 of the Bookish walking tour from Moonlit Park to Bell Barn Road

Part 23 of the Bookish walking tour

Turn left and continue straight down Rickman Drive (38 on the map). Cross over Bristol Street where and when it is safe to do so, turn left onto the pedestrian section of Belgrave Middleway. At the next big intersection, turn slightly left to walk into Sherlock Street.

Part 24 of the Bookish walking tour into Sherlock Street

Part 24 of the Bookish walking tour

The author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Conan Doyle, lived in Aston. Sherlock Street is thus rumoured to be the inspiration behind the famous fictional detective’s name. Try to find a street sign for a great photo opportunity!

Sherlock Street.

Sherlock Street. Credit: Elliott Brown

The start of our tour is not far from here, should you wish to return. Follow the map below (from B to A) as well as the signs towards the Custard Factory.

Part 25 of the Bookish walking tour back to start at Custard Factory

Part 25 of the Bookish walking tour back to start

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Resources:

For more walking routes in Birmingham, check out the Stourbridge Canal Walk in Birmingham.

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