National Trust - Birmingham Back to Backs — Attraction in Birmingham

So I thought I would raise my thoughts on the tour I received.

Overall, the site is great, what the Trust have done to restore the properties is amazing. However, I have to consider all aspects of the experience.

The Tour host was a knowledgeable expert. It was hard for me to detach myself from professional mode to real life mode. By this I mean, I design and train tours and tour hosts all over the world, so its hard to not look at this without looking at what I would change.

Being a knowledgeable expert is all very well. But if you are unable to deliver that with conviction, you fail. Our host was great, but sometimes failed to deliver his knowledge with conviction. Using a lot of words like probably and changing opinion when challenged on his aspect of the story.

He was a host who did not stand still, rocking back an for in a dance like movement, which is distracting. Stand still, use your hands to gesture, or move with purpose.

There was several moments where there were involuntary pulls at his crotch, which he seemed oblivious to. But the rest of the group were very aware he had just adjusted himself. Remember you are always on show.

I just wish there were more levels to the delivery of the content. Everything seemed a bit of a script delivery, lacked passion, but had the content to be amazing.

Kept mentioning about how the NT has a lack of volunteers. Mentioned this more than once on the tour, which seemed irrelevant to the tour, and somehow shed a cloud over the experience.

Overall, it can be improved with a few tweaks, maybe some work with tour hosts and their delivery. Don't get me wrong, a great day out, but with some guidance and some refinement, it could be amazing.

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My wife and I are Brummies born and bread and have often said that we do nothing on our own doorstep so have decided to do something about it so we booked a tour at the back to back houses based in Hurst Street (opposite the Hippodrome) and we were not disappointed.

We booked on line and chose the full tour which lasts around 90 minutes. You can either do the full tour which includes climbing and descending very step and narrow stair cases so if you are elderly or inform you can choose to book just for the ground floor tour which is shorter (around 60 minutes) but still worth it but all the information you want is on their website.

The full tour costs £11.90 per adult and thoroughly worth the every penny, again all the prices are on the website.

All the tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and will welcome any questions you may ask. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they a willing to help.

They also have a second hand bookshop on site which is extremely well run and very cheap with some wonderful books.

I would give this attraction 10/10 and wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it.

We went on a Saturday and our tour started at 11am and left plenty of time to do afterwards so whatever you have planned you have time to do it. We decided to take a quick walk around China town and the Arcadian before choosing to have a meal at a very nearby Greek restaurant, if you choose to take this option I would definitely recommend booking especially on a weekend during the kids school holidays or...

5 minutes walk from New Street Station, in the Chinese quarter, there is a small group of terraced houses, the only remaining original back-to-backs in Birmingham, if not the UK. I didn't know what a back-to-back house was. I heard of them and thought it was rows of Victorian terraced houses with back yards backing onto a similar row of houses on the other side of a ginnel. Think Coronation Street. Wrong. It's much more sinister than that. The visit to the houses must be booked in advanced. Small parties are shown around the properties from three periods of history. There are many flights of very narrow, steep stairs to negotiate, hence the reason for a guide. My guide, John, was very knowledgeable and humorous in his approach to giving the history of the houses. Fascinating stuff. There's a book shop and a small photographic (temporary?) exhibition on site. An enjoyable 90 minutes. There is a Wetherspoon's opposite for refreshments and lavatories if needed...