The Black Sabbath bench in the heart of Westside is proving to be a popular destination for groups of walkers attracted to the centre of Birmingham.
The renowned seat, on the appropriately named Black Sabbath Bridge over the canal, is among the attractions luring people from all over the country to enjoy a street-view tour of the Broad Street and Brindleyplace area and beyond.
Positively Birmingham Walking Tours have seemingly never been more popular as the country continues to open up after lockdown, with groups of up to 20 people taking part.
The tours restarted when Covid-19 restrictions allowed and have kept going right through the winter.
In particular, the Saturday afternoon tour from the Library of Birmingham has become increasingly popular as people have ventured back into the city.
Jonathan Berg, the author of the book Positively Birmingham on which the tours are based, said: “We are increasingly seeing groups travelling from cities such as London, Bristol and Manchester and base their visit on one of our public tours or arrange a private tour.
“They are often celebrating a birthday and book an overnight stay and celebratory meal in a city restaurant.”
Jonathan said they were enjoying excellent bookings with 18 people on each of their last weekend tours.
“People are happy to find something to do in the city, so it’s going really well.”
Weekend public tours are available to book right through until August, while additional weekday public tours are being put on during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Added Jonathan: “Restarting the tours after another Covid lockdown has been interesting and sometimes we did the tours for groups as small as two or three.
“The Library of Birmingham, ICC Mall and Brindleyplace were all still closed for the first few months, and many of our six guides and assistants had moved on. It was a bit like starting all over again.”
Jonathan, who personally guides most of the tours at present, said the Sunday afternoon ‘Discovering Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter’ tour restarts in March.
A new book, ‘Invention & Design; Elkington of Birmingham’, which tells the story of electroplating, was published as a direct result of the tour. Other tours focus on Victorian life, the city’s canals, and public art.
During April and May, Positively Birmingham Walking Tours are offering free VIP places for front of house staff from local hotels and tourism-related businesses.
Further details on this, and the walking tours in general, can be found by visiting www.positivelybirmingham.co.uk
Main picture: The Black Sabbath seat is a popular location for the tour photo
Inset picture above: Launch of new book based on the Sunday walking tour, ‘Invention & Design, Elkington of Birmingham’, by author and tour guide Jonathan Berg. Left to right Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Muhammad Afzal, Stephen Heartland of Birmingham Civic Society, Jonathan Berg.
