531 awesome Birmingham

I'm not sure you'll get bathams in Birmingham, you'll need to go to the black country for that.

Sure, but as they're riding from Birmingham, I'm sure one of these is worth a small detour: https://bathams.co.uk/pubs/

I used to buy it by the case, from the outstanding Wine Stop in Selly Oak: whole wall of interesting beer.

A friend's brother runs this award winning craft beer/real ale place. Highly recommended.

https://1000trades.org.uk/

Good call on the bathams, I add Bankss mild as it will soon disappear.

Apart from bathams pubs, there were quite a few pubs that had bathams as a guest ale.

@n3il was never just a black country ale, but the pubs were iirc.

Ride a few of the canal paths in the centre, Aston Hall is nice. If you can get out that far then ride through the middle of Sutton Park.

Funny how an innocent question by hippy about Beermingham immediately turns into a discussion about beer.

For balance, the municipal art gallery has an excellent collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and the Ikon gallery punches above its weight for contemporary art (and is celebrating its 60th anniversary).

Heading out of the centre, the MAC in Cannon Hill Park is a lovely little arts centre and the university's Barber Institute is another very tight but well-curated art collection.

the Ikon gallery punches above its weight

Yes, but not above hippy's weight.

Yeah, I'm definitely more interested in the beer discussion.

Weight Class: Hors Catégorie

If geographical oddities tickle your pickle, you could ride through the village of Meriden, between Brum and Coventry, which has long claimed to be the centre of England and has a monument proclaiming as much.

On centre of gravity it definitely isn't, but as the furthest place from a coast it has a better shout.

It probably has, erm, pubs and beer and stuff too.

Meriden

My 5min route almost went there. I'll add it. Ta

Can't find the 'centre' thing but has a cyclist memorial in the village green.

Ah, it's in the same green

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Meriden+Green/@52.4379438,-1.6567658,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4870b38b1c495d25:0x5f789a72ba1a9821!8m2!3d52.4379438!4d-1.6492694!16s%2Fg%2F11f1j3btv0!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Argh, how did I forget the cyclist memorial.

Resigns forum membership

I hear hippy's planning a tour to E11. What's good there? :)

Very little. Despite my username's implication to the contrary.

There's a bunch of good places in stirchley to the south - cycle route 6 goes from the city centre through stirchley - there are three breweries and a few craft beer bars too, as well as pizza and other good food.

I've got tiles to score there.

Wanstead Tap, Pretty Decent Beer Co and Singburi are all on my todo list

I was planning getting train and smashing my way back to Lundun in the day so I wasn't planning on stopping but I guess I could do something like this in the summer instead and make a mini tour out of it.

Last time I cycled to London (at least 15 years ago) I went Birmingham-Warwick - Bicester-then somehow over the Chilterns to high Wycombe and into London. Roughly the canal way but on accompanying b roads. That's not much help sorry...

Both those taprooms are just in E7, although you could throw a bottle cap and hit E11.

Do visit the Leytonstone Mini Mart, though, with a fantastic selection of beers and run by the two nicest people in the whole of East London.

Actually, partly answering my own question:

The North Star is the best-regarded pub there. What's Cookin', where @owl has played, is also good. There's a lovely local music scene. Just outside E11, the Holly Tree has a model railway in the garden.

Anyone done the whole route on canal towpath? Is possible in a day. I imagine the path is a bit rough in places.

I used to commute from Bournville to the College of Law in Birmingham back in the day. I still have my British Waterways licence to cycle the towpath although I believe the requirement to hold one has long since passed