Thanks to our daughter heading to Birmingham to watch Charli xcx and the Brat tour, we thought we would take the opportunity to finally visit leafy, Solihull for a whistle stop tour.
After a four-hour drive down from our home in Gateshead, with a quick pit stop at Leeds Skelton to break up the never-ending stream of 50 mph zones on the M1, we arrived in Solihull in the late afternoon. After searching through a scarcity of suitable accommodation we found a stunning 4-bedroom property in leafy Monastery Drive to spend the evening.
This was our first time visiting the BP Pulse Arena adjacent to Resorts World at the NEC in Birmingham. It was a short drive from our accommodation, however it was quite chaotic driving in, after being directed to a car park a fair walk from the arena and baulking at the £14 car park costs, we drove towards the venue. Somehow, we managed to find our way to the Resorts World multi storey car park, after the initial shock of the £17 car parking charge, it was sign posted that if you spent £20 on food and drink in the venue you could validate your ticket and parking would be £3.
The food area was packed, with it being Friday night and Charli xcx, comic con and a busy cinema all in one spot, we found a seat in a busy Five Guys and easily spent the £20 required to validate the parking.
After we ate, we headed over to the venue and after a short queue we quickly passed though the in-depth security checks and made our way into the impressive foyer of the venue. With plenty of food and drink options, we grabbed an ice cream each to satisfy our sweet tooths and had a browse round the merchandise stalls.
The main hall was impressive in size and holds over 15000 people, as one of the dates on a four-date arena tour, it was always going to be packed. The gig was great, and our daughter loved it and thankfully it was straightforward getting out of the car park and back to our accommodation. However, the car parks seemed quite chaotic in other areas and appeared like it was quite a traffic jam to get out.
The next morning, we headed to Smithtons, a local deli situated on Prospect Lane which was close to our accommodation. They offered a wide range of bakery goods and the option to eat in or takeaway. We grabbed a couple of bacon sandwiches, even a gluten free one for Leanne which was a bonus.