Day trips from Birmingham for a chilled out weekend

If you’re in the Birmingham area for a few days, you might want to spend a little bit of time exploring the locality. Two towns that I can recommend adding to your list are Royal Leamington Spa, and Warwick.

The former was particularly famous during Victorian times as a spa destination (hence the name), and was granted the title “Royal” by Queen Victoria herself, who enjoyed visiting the town and taking the waters.

Warwick is a beautiful town featuring a gorgeous 11th century castle, medieval buildings and a fantastic church. Let’s look at how you might spend a bit of time on a trip to cover both these destination, which are easily accessible from Birmingham either by car or public transport.

Royal Leamington Spa: Pump Rooms

Image courtesy of Amanda Slater.

As mentioned above, Leamington Spa was a famous place in Victorian times for the well to do to come and take the waters, as well as have a full on spa experience, which included various treatments, exercises and dietary controls.

A good deal of this activity took place in the Royal Pump Rooms, where some of the most famous people of the Victorian era came to “take the waters”.

Nowadays, the Royal Pump Rooms have been transformed into a cultural complex, including the tourism information centre, library and, of most interest to the visitor, the informative and free Art Gallery and Museum, which tells the history of this spa town.

Royal Leamington Spa: Jephson Gardens

Just over the road from the Pump Rooms is this lovely formal garden, where visitors to the town would come to “take the air”, as well as to be seen doing so. They are still worth visiting today, with gorgeous floral displays, as well as fountains, a number of memorials, and even a sub-tropical glasshouse.

---

Warwick: Warwick Castle

Moving on to Warwick now, and without doubt the most famous attraction in the town is the imposing edifice that is Warwick Castle. Dating from Norman times, this was a military fortification for six hundred years, before being used as a country home.

Today it’s a major attraction for the region, and it has been named as the best castle in the UK. There’s always a lot going on at the castle, from bird displays to jousting tournaments. It’s a place where you could easily spend a day, and to be honest, this is what I’d recommend, as the entrance price is a little high for a brief visit.

Warwick: Lord Leycester Hospital

A really enjoyable spot to visit in Warwick is the Lord Leycester Hospital, which, despite the name, isn’t a hospital at all. Instead, it’s traditionally a home for retired military veterans, with eight of them in residence at any time, a role it has served for 400 years. Thankfully it’s been modernised a bit!

The building itself is one of the few parts of medieval Warwick that survived the great fire in the 17th century, with the majority of it dating from the 14th century. For 200 years the buildings served as home to the Guilds of Warwick, before being turned over by Queen Elizabeth I to be used by military veterans.

Today these same veterans take care of visitors, who can wander the old timber-framed rooms, and learn about the history of the building on a self-guided tour. There’s also a museum dedicated to the Queen’s Own Hussar’s, a cavalry regiment of the British Army.

Warwick: St Mary’s Church

Image courtesy of bert knottenbeld.

I’m a big fan of climbing up things, so St. Mary’s Church was a no-brainer in my mind, as there’s a tower which you can climb to the top of to get stunning panoramic views of the surrounding town and country-side, including a birds eye view of Warwick Castle.

Of course, the church itself is more than just a tower to look off. Over 900 years old, it features a really beautiful Gothic Chapel, where Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, the Earl of Warwick, rests.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of things to see and do in the area surrounding Birmingham, and I’ve only just scratched the surface. You could easily spend a couple of weeks exploring all the castles, houses and other attractions in this area!

---

Laurence stayed with our host Eunice during his time in Birmingham. Check out her profile or browse all our Birmingham homestays to find the host that's right for you.