The first traders moved into the Bull Ring in the 12th century. The stalls are still there and still bustling with life, albeit a little further down the hill, beyond the neo-gothic church of St Martin’s. They were moved to accommodate the expansion of the “Bullring”, as the neighbouring indoor mall is known, into the largest inner-city retail development in Europe. It’s just one of the attractions that has turned Birmingham into a magnet for shoppers from all over the Midlands and beyond.
Easier to miss is the Great Western Arcade, built in the 1870s to link Temple Row with Snow Hill station in the days when it was the steaming Midlands hub of the Great Western Railway.
“The arcade is a jewel in the city centre,” says Will Johns, a former chef who moved from London to Birmingham five years ago and now runs Anderson and Hill, a delicatessen exuding all sorts of heady aromas.
There are 60 cheeses to choose from ... so far. “We’re hoping to go up to 100 soon,” says Johns. The finest cooked meats and olives jostle for attention with a range of serious jaw-stretching sandwiches.
Beyond the deli, the arcade is home to an abundance of intriguing shops. One specialises in pens, another sweets, yet another bespoke shirts. Elsewhere, you’ll find a venerable tobacconist, and a wine merchant standing cheek by jowl with The Whisky Shop. Both offer tastings.
At either end of the arcade are two very different coffee shops. One is York’s, an ultra-cool espresso bar; the other is the long-established Drucker’s, an Austrian patisserie that just about oozes whipped cream. And just across Temple Row is the House of Fraser which, believe it or not, was once the only department store in town. How times change. Selfridges landed on the edge of the Bullring in 2003, like some shiny, bulbous space craft. The Mailbox, gateway to the canal basin, is now the home of Harvey Nichols and many other designer shops.
For the bookish types, a branch of Foyle’s bookshop is slated to open as part of the new Grand Central development, while the city centre already has two branches of Waterstone’s within a few hundred yards of each other – one in the stunningly imposing setting of the former head office of the Midland Bank.
And foodies won’t be disappointed with the markets – Birmingham may be a long way from the sea, but wholesalers rush to the fish market from ports all over the UK – and, indeed, the world – while in the open market you’ll find every fruit and vegetable known to humanity.
If nothing else, remember this: Londoners would have to criss-cross town to get a style fix, a flat white and some top seafood for dinner. Brummies will find it all in a ten-minute walk.
