West Midlands film and TV itinerary

Digbeth has culinary delights to suit every taste. Check out 670 Grams, the restaurant helmed by Kray Treadwell, named Best Young Chef at the Michelin Guide awards 2021. Or head to Ball Park for street food, Instagrammable cocktails and a giant ball pit and slide. Filming for the upcoming Peaky Blinders film, The Immortal Man, has taken place in this hip district, so look out for it on the big screen in 2026. 

The centrepiece of this grand square, home to Birmingham Town Hall and Council House, is The River water feature. Spot Victoria Square in 2017's Kingsman: The Golden Circle during a dramatic car chase. It’s also the gateway to Birmingham’s bustling shopping quarter, where the stars of the show are The Bullring and Grand Central malls.

Where does a world-renowned Pre-Raphaelite art collection rub shoulders with the world’s first exhibition dedicated to Ozzy Osbourne’s solo achievements? That’s right: at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which honours the city’s eclectic creative and industrial output. So, whether you’re into history or heavy metal, there’s plenty to see and do here.  

Love everything that glitters? This historic district is home to over 700 jewellery boutiques, dealers and studios, where you’ll find everything from contemporary style necklaces to dazzling traditional tiaras – alongside great restaurants, cafes and bars too. 

 

Immerse yourself in the world of Peaky Blinders (2013–2022) in these brain-bending escape rooms. In The Raid, you’re the gang’s newest recruits and must remove all evidence of criminality from Tommy Shelby’s bookies before Major Campbell raids it. Double Cross sees you summoned by London crime boss Alfie Solomons to his ‘Bakery’ in Camden. 

Hear that? It’s the sound of glasses clinking at Grain and Glass, Birmingham’s go-to bar for whisky lovers. Forget books – these guys have a whisky library, where you can sample more than 300 open whiskies. Try a curated whisky flight, or whet your whistle with a whisky cocktail. If you’re feeling peckish, there are sharing boards to devour too. Do check out the events calendar for guided tastings and other whisky-fuelled experiences.  

Known as the ‘Black Country’ for the soot produced by its many iron foundries, this open-air museum brings local history to life. It’s designed as a real-life community, with actors revealing what life was like in 19th-century Britain, complete with traditional food and street games. This is your chance to step into Tommy Shelby’s Birmingham – the Black Country Living Museum was a key filming location for Peaky Blinders (2013–2022).

A modern architectural icon, this striking building features a theatre space, observation deck and peaceful wildlife gardens – as well as the city’s main library. It is free to visit, and the exhibition space showcases photography and art from around Birmingham.

Visit Bullring & Grand Central for top-notch shopping and dining, with leading fashion brands and restaurants galore. This is Birmingham’s flagship retail complex, so look out for live music, entertainment and eye-catching street performances too. Grand Central was transformed into Abu Dhabi International Airport for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2023).

Fancy yourself as the next Sir Lewis Hamilton? Make a pit-stop at the F1 Arcade, where you’ll get a feel for speed on the cutting-edge racing simulators, tackling some of the sport’s iconic tracks. Refuel at the cocktail bar, a super spot to watch live Formula 1 races while sipping on themed drinks: think the ‘Slipstreamer’, ‘Formation Lap’ or ‘Pole Position’ cocktails. Oh, and you can’t miss the full-sized F1 car strapped to the ceiling.  

Hot, spicy and utterly moreish, the balti is Birmingham's signature dish. It was invented in the 1970s by a Pakistani-British chef, who blended the flavours and ingredients of the two nations. In the south of the city, this district is the best place to try it!

Tour around the bombed-out ruins of Coventry’s old cathedral, left as a reminder of the waste of war. Take the 180-step tower climb and be rewarded by breath-taking 360˚ view from the roof of this Gothic masterpiece. Visit the new cathedral – regarded as a supreme example of Brutalist architecture, with its stark and beautifully haunting ceiling stained glass that creates an amazing wall of colour.

Packed with feats of British engineering, this museum boasts the two fastest cars in the world, the Thrust SSC and Thrust 2. See the earliest cycles including the Penny Farthings and the nightmarish boneshakers, and more than 250 cars and commercial vehicles – including the Daimler Limousine and 1975 cool E-Type Jaguar, and much more.

From ghost stories and art exhibitions, to coffee and cake in the Tales of Tea cafe – there are many ways to explore this medieval marvel, in the heart of Coventry’s Cathedral Quarter. It is a Grade One Listed building, with some sections dating back to the 1300s and a tapestry from the early 1500s. Stained glass windows, gleaming suits of armour, and centuries of royal portraits: enjoy them up-close, alongside tours featuring interactive exhibits and augmented reality. 

This toe-tapping museum puts Coventry’s rich musical heritage in the spotlight – from rock and pop, to ska and punk. It is jam-packed with vinyl records, memorabilia, artwork and ephemera, and tells the story of the city through its many musical passions, including home-grown bands and labels. A treat for music lovers, with a cafe and memorabilia shop too. 

Only eating a plant-based menu? This thriving creative quarter is full of great pop-up restaurants and food stalls, many of which are 100% vegan. For towering burgers and ​​crispy fried chick'n, check out Dirty Kitch – while The Green Unicorn sells everything from vegan pick ‘n’ mix sweets to plant-based cakes, cheese and snacks. Look out for FarGo’s Vegan Festival too, for all-natural street food and deli bites. Delicious!

Discover the childhood home of Britain’s most famous playwright, William Shakespeare. Tour this fascinating home in the heart of town and discover the place that shaped the young bard – the third of eight children belonging to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Listen to family stories and learn how Shakespeare's legacy continues to shape Britain today. 

The 500-year-old Tudor cottage was where the young Anne was born and raised, and in later years the scribe would visit her. You can see original furniture, wander through its stunning gardens and enjoy a sculpture trail inspired by the bard’s life.

Discover what life was really like in Tudor times in this immersive experience in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon. This popular living history museum, based in a historic 16th-century building, lets you see, smell and taste Tudor life. There’s also a Shakespeare tour and spooky ghost tour which takes place after dark, when the museum shuts.

Rediscover the big kid in you at the weird and wonderful museum of kinetic art, MAD. Get hands-on with the gadgets and enjoy all things mechanical and unique. From giant marble runs to interactive mechanical art, this kinetic kaleidoscope offers everyone hands-on, tried-and-tested fun, focusing on inclusivity. 

You can't beat seeing a Shakespeare play in the hometown of the bard himself! Head to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for an unforgettable cultural experience. Explore backstage during one of its tours and discover its costume workshop.

They’re the unlikely detective duo fighting fictional crime in Stratford-upon-Avon in TV’s Shakespeare & Hathaway – and now you can join them on their undercover adventures. This self-guided Shakespeare & Hathaway locations tour with Brit Movie Tours will see you sneak around the town’s historic streets like the main characters, discovering its landmarks as seen on the show and getting the inside scoop on filming. All you need is your mobile phone and the GPS-powered SmartGuide app, which cleverly plays your tour audio at the right time and place. 

See Stratford-upon-Avon from the water on a stand-up paddleboard tour of the River Avon. The shallow river Avon is calm and slow-moving, making it perfect for stand-up paddle-boarding. As you paddle along, you can take in all the fabulous scenery of Stratford and surrounds. From beginners to more experienced paddlers, find a tour to suit with SUP Stratford.

Part-escape room (without the locking-in bit), part-boutique – Magical Alley is every bit as enchanting as its name suggests. Flex those magical muscles in the Queen’s Ransom, dubbed ‘a crime-solving, puzzle-based adventure’, where you’ll need to solve riddles and puzzles to work out who kidnapped the Tinker of Time. Then, get lost among the curios of the gift shop, packed with crystal balls, magic tricks and spells, books, toys and more. If you need a break to replenish your magic powers, there’s even a little cafe serving up magical milkshakes and butterbeer. Spellbinding stuff. 

Ready for more magic? Then get ready for Escape Live’s Chalice of Champions breakout room, inspired by Britain’s favourite fantasy films. The clock is ticking and you have 60 minutes to break the evil curse, so you’ll need all your guile (and a whiff of wizardry) to escape. Or try your luck at the Shakespeare’s Script game instead, the world’s first escape room themed around the Bard. Your task: to find Shakespeare’s missing script, hidden somewhere within this accurate recreation of his home. Game on... 

Shaken or stirred? If you’ve a taste for gin like Britain’s favourite secret agent, discover how gin and rum are made on a guided tour and tasting session of the Shakespeare Distillery. Enrol in Rum or Gin School and sign up for spirit making lessons, taking away your own special blend at the end of the session. Stratford-upon-Avon's only working distillery, the carbon-neutral Shakespeare Distillery also has a cafe and cocktail lounge on its award-winning premises. Martinis all round!  

Find out what makes Broadway the jewel of the Cotswolds. It’s a quintessential Cotswolds village, complete with honey-hued cottages constructed from local stone. Explore independent shops briming with local produce, learn about the local area at the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery and take time for tea at the Lygon Arms Hotel. 

Explore 200 acres of glorious parkland at this Cotswold landmark, the brainchild of Capability Brown. Bring your binoculars to spot the resident herd of red deer, and enjoy the wide-ranging views over the surrounding countryside. There’s also an old Cold War bunker to discover on guided tours 15ft underground, as well as a fashion and interiors shop at Tower Barn. In winter, the Morris & Brown cafe is the perfect spot for a hot chocolate in front of the log fire.  Funnily enough, there’s another famous Brown with a connection to Broadway Tower: did you know that ‘The Tower of the Lost Souls’ episode of Father Brown was filmed here?

Immerse yourself in almost 1,000 years of history at Worcester Cathedral. Construction on the present building began in 1084, and you can take a guided tour to discover more about its architecture and heritage. Keep an eye out for the tomb of King John, brother of Richard the Lionheart, who requested in his will that he was to be buried between the shrines of St Wulfstan and St Oswald. There’s a pair of nesting peregrine falcons on the roof to spot, too. 

From medieval townhouses to 1940s prefabs – they're all here at England’s first open-air museum, Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings. Buildings in the collection have been rebuilt at Avoncroft from all over the region, making it a real snapshot of architectural styles gone by. Did you know it’s also home to the National Telephone Kiosk Collection? For craft lovers, there are year-round workshops galore: think blacksmithing, basket-weaving, patchwork-making and other traditional arts. Find the museum’s traditional tearoom in the String of Horses Inn – built in the town of Shrewsbury in 1576 and relocated to Avoncroft in the 1960s. And look out for the wagon shed, transformed into a festive scene for Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012).  

Step back in time with a steam-powered journey through Worcestershire and Shropshire. There’s even the chance to drive one of the railway’s prized locomotives on a driver experience day. Spot the railway’s Kidderminster and Arley stations in Netflix thriller Enola Holmes.