A nice short 1.5km loop (repeat to increase your distance!) in the quiet streets around Birmingham Cathedral, perfect in daylight or at night-time as all on lit roads/paths.
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Pictorial directions:
Start outside Council House. Run NE. Turn first left. Turn first right into Edmund St.
Continue along Edmund St. Cross over Newhall St.
Turn right into Church St. Run to Cathedral Square. Turn left onto Colmore Row.
Run one complete loop around the outer edge of Cathedral Sq.
Interestingly, the Cathedral Church of Saint Philips is not named after a saint. This land upon which the church was built was given by Elizabeth Philips, and in the family’s honour, the church was named St. Philips and consecrated in 1715. It is believed that roughly 60 000 burials are in the churchyard; however, only a few people could afford headstones and monuments. Hence, you only see about 100 of them scattered in the square. With these headstones, one can get a glimpse into the times of the fast-expanding Birmingham of the 1700s: surgeons, lawyers, craftsmen, gun makers, and artists.
Run part way round a second loop of Cathedral Sq. Turn left into Waterloo St.
Run to Victoria Square and back to start.
Victoria Square is broadly considered the centre of Birmingham; local road sign distances are measured from here. You will also notice the public art, including the “Floozie in the Jacuzzi”, the “Iron: Man”, and of course, the Square’s namesake, Queen Victoria, cast in bronze. The square hosts numerous events, markets, and festivals, making it the place-to-be for everyone wanting a bit of fun.
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Resources:
If you enjoyed this route, see our 3km run loop.
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Save the gpx file of this run to use in other running apps.
Information is from various sources including wikipedia.org
Map details © OpenStreetMap contributors