Everything At Your Fingertips (The Bullring)

Member Name: cazkins

Product:	The Bullring
Date:	04/11/08 (235 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range of shops, cafes, restaurants, modernised & up-to-date, positive atmosphere

Disadvantages: Can get very busy & a tad stressful, ie. at Christmas

When it comes to shopping, The Bullring is a great place to go to immerse yourself in numerous shops, cafes and a great atmosphere. I live about an hour from Birmingham so tend to get the train there to save on parking and you can just walk through the station and into shopping mall heaven.

The Bullring has over 160 shops and 25 cafes which gives you a rough idea of how extensive it is. If that's not enough, being at the heart of Birmingham you only need step outside to check out other shops, attractions and things to do. The Bullring really dates way back to 1166 when the site it's built on was awarded the right to set up marketing. By the 1960s it earned recognition as a centre that inspired revolutionary 'urban planning' and stands as a landmark link between the High Street, New Street & St Martins. As the Bullring centre has upgraded, so has the area around it so there's a lot to offer and a lot to appreciate on a trip there. In case you're wondering about the name, I'm not entirely sure, but there's a big bronze bull outside the centre (guaranteed to have at least one tourist standing next to it posing for a piccy!).

The range of shops, as I've said, is extensive. From electricals, gifts, florists and travel to clothes and music stores. You shouldn't have a problem finding what you need here, or around the Bullring area. There's a lot of well-known shops & department stores catering for all needs and are too numerous to list them all but just to give you a few ideas:

Mamas & Papas / ELC / Pumpkin Patch / The Entertainer
Miss Selfridge / Debenhams/ Karen Millen / Ann Summers
New Look / Office / Schuh / River Island / TK Maxx / Wallis / Topman & Topshop / Next / H&M / Animal / Gap / La Senza
Birthdays / Whittard / Borders / Build-A-Bear Workshop / Clinton Cards
Vision Express / Jessops / Abbey
Claire's Accessories / Punkyfish/Ernest Jones
Savers / The Body Shop / Holland & Barrett
Game Shop / Phones4u / Orange / HMV etc

There's a great selection of cafes and places to eat too including:

Pret-A-Manger, Nandos, Costa, Caffe Nero, Ben & Jerrys (yum!), Druckers, Greggs, Starbucks, Burger King etc

I find that the range of shops is good enough to cover different categories, so it's not just a day spent looking at clothes or expensive designer outlets! It also makes the centre appeal to different budgets because it does have its highstreet stores, like New Look, and also the bigger branches like Next, with designer shops thrown in for those looking to splash out.

The choice of cafes is really good because there's a lot of shops to browse around and it can leave you feeling a little drained and wanting some peace! So whether you're looking for something sweet to eat (Millies Cookies, B&J's), a cup of tea (Nero), a sandwhich (Pret, Greggs) or a sit down meal (Nandos) there's something there to suit you.

The Bullring has a positive atmosphere to it so it's a really enjoyable experience all around. Bear in mind that it can get very busy, especially around Christmas time where you can expect to be queuing for the escalators. If you're not one for being around lots of people, feeling in the middle of 'bussy-ness', then you may feel a tad claustrophobic here. I did the first time I went, but I went fairly close to Christmas. It's a good idea to take plenty of cafe breaks (good excuse for a cookie or two on the side!).

The Bullring is open Monday - Friday 9.30am - 8pm, Saturday 9am - 8pm, Sunday 11am - 5pm and bank hols 10am-6pm. The later closing at 8pm during the week is really good (though you can't guarantee all shops will stay open until that time) because it gives those working until 5/6 the chance to have a quick 'mooch'.

The facilities are up-to-date as you'd expect with a modernised shopping area. The centre is now wi-fi enabled, so you can take your laptop and come on DooYoo whilst you have a cuppa in Nero! There's toilets, telephones, lockers, tourist information and parent&child facilities. All around, you should feel as if you have everything at your fingertips. There's also parking if you choose to drive rather than get the train (details available on the bullring site www.bullring.co.uk) and it's also easily accessible by bus.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Bullring because it feels like an all around 'day out'. It's an enjoyable experience with great shops, cafes and restaurants so you can feel able to take your time and enjoy!

Summary: Great for retail therapy and an enjoyable day out