Location
Wherever you go in the West Midlands, you will find the hard-working, forward-thinking energy that sets us apart.
The West Midlands isa unique three-city metropolitan region in the heart of the UK. Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton have distinct personalities and individual history but are tied together as one region. All have something different to offer the people that live there and the millions of tourists that visit every year.
Birmingham: A world-class hub of culture, fine cuisine and contemporary living
Birmingham is the UK’s second-largest city, and brings with it all the amenities, services and benefits you would expect from a busy, fast-growing, energetic and internationally renowned conurbation.
In fact, the Mercer 2019 Liveability Report ranked Birmingham as one of the world’s top 50 most liveable cities. This puts it on an equal ranking with Tokyo, and placed it above international capital cities like Washington DC, Rome, Belfast, Hong Kong and Prague.
Birmingham is also where you’ll find the world-famous City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the busiest UK theatre outside the West End, Europe’s biggest library and the continent’s largest leisure and entertainment complex.
The city also has over 300 miles of canals (which can be used for commuting if you’ve got a canoe or kayak), more public parks than anywhere in Europe, a train station busier than London Euston and five Michelin-starred restaurants – as well as one of the UK’s most popular shopping centres.
But if you should ever want or need to go elsewhere (which can happen, apparently), it’s only a short train journey to Birmingham International Airport and an hour and 20 minutes by train to London.
Coventry: a city of incredible regeneration and reinvention
Since being heavily bombed during the Second World War over 80 years ago – and as a recognised International City of Peace – Coventry’s social, commercial and cultural renaissance has been a truly remarkable ‘phoenix from the flames’ story.
While the ruins of its 14th-century Gothic cathedral still stand (albeit in the shadow of the city’s magnificent ‘new’ cathedral which opened in 1962), Coventry continues to constantly reinvent itself to meet the ever-changing demands of the 21st century.
For example, it’s one of the top five locations in the UK for fast and ultrafast full-fibre and broadband, on the road to becoming the UK’s first all-electric busy city by 2025. Coventry was recently ranked as being the best place in the UK to own an electric car.
Coventry is home to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre providing UK manufacturing scale-up and skills to commercialise advanced technologies in the battery sector.
The city is also on a mission to transform old commercial buildings into stunning contemporary cultural, leisure and residential spaces (check out the plans for the IKEA building, Fargo Village and what’s been achieved with The Telegraph Hotel).
Millions are being invested in green, low-carbon and net-zero technologies. But this doesn’t mean Coventry neglects its rich and fascinating heritage.
The famous 11th-century legend of Lady Godiva lives on through what has grown to become the UK’s biggest free family festival, and the city’s council recently transferred the ownership of over 20 historic buildings to a preservation society to ensure their long-term protection.
If that wasn’t enough, the city is only an hour from London by train, boasts two of the best universities in the county, is home to both a professional football club and a Premiership rugby union team, has one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK, and in 2021 became the UK’s official City of Culture.
It also gave birth to Two-Tone, one of the most celebrated and multi-cultural music scenes in the world and whose immense influence can still be felt (and heard) today.
Wolverhampton: a place full of options, originality and opportunity
Wolverhampton was ranked by MoneySupermarket.com as being the second-best place in the UK to raise a family. The fantastic schools, colleges and university, and great-value housing are only some of the reasons Wolverhampton is a modern urban gem. It is also bursting with history, creativity and originality.
For example, its art gallery houses one of the finest collections of Pop Art in the world, its Premier League football club (Wolverhampton Wanderers) has launched its own international record label, and in 2022 the city hosted the globally acclaimed British Art Show.
In addition, Wolverhampton is home to the award-winning Halfpenny Green vineyard and winery, the famous Civic Halls live music venue, a beautifully preserved (and fully working) traditional Victorian theatre, and the stunning 19th-century Wightwick Manor.
If you’re a fan of Thomas Shelby and his clan, you’ll be delighted to discover much of the BBC’s blockbuster show Peaky Blinders was filmed around Wolverhampton (as were episodes of Steve McQueen’s acclaimed Small Axe TV drama series).
So, whether it’s locally made wine, wonderful Warhols, or the mighty (and now music-making) Wanderers which pique your interest, Wolverhampton undoubtedly lives up to its reputation as the City of Opportunity in lots of different, interesting and surprising ways.
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