Visit Birmingham

Birmingham, in the West Midlands, is Britain's second largest city (by local authority district). Known in the Victorian era, as the "City of a 1000 Trades" and the "Workshop of the World", Brum as locals call the city, is enjoying a 21st century resurgence as a great shopping and cultural destination.

Birmingham (the h is silent, and, in the local dialect, the g is hard, as in Birming-gum) was at the heart of the UK's industrial revolution, and its wealth was built upon the multitude of trades that were spawned. This led to a massive canal network, with more miles of canals than Venice or Amsterdam (though they're very different types of canal).