Day 1 - 30th October

TMI Convention Tours

STUDY TOUR OPTION 1
HERITAGE: OLD AND OLDER
BLACK COUNTRY LIVING MUSEUM
& UNESCO GEOPARK (Includes return
coach travel)
Wednesday 30th October 2024, 12 midday – 5pm

Study Tours will meet at Bloc Hotel, Birmingham 

Visit the award-winning Black Country Living Museum and experience 300 years of history.
• 12 midday – 1pm: Travel from Birmingham to BCLM
• 1pm – 1:30pm: Begin with a fish and chip lunch from the chippy which uses traditional fryers – we’d
recommend a pint from the Elephant & Castle pub too, to wash it down nicely.

• 1:30pm – 3pm:
Through a personalised tour you’ll understand the immense achievements of the team and their
approach to building an investment of £30 million for their ‘Forging Ahead’ development project,
taking the Museum’s story into living memory and the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
 Learn how their audience strategy is evolving to retain local visitors and broaden to specific
international market segments.
 And how they balance the core open air museum offer alongside filming and evening events, like
their popular Peaky Blinders Nights.
An amazing place at the geological and industrial heart of England.

• 3pm – 3:30pm: The Black Country is a special place where the minerals on our doorstep and the
geology beneath our feet helped shape the industrial revolution and the world. Meet Dudley’s
Keeper of Geology who spearheaded the UNESCO Geopark accreditation. Hear about how they are
working on bringing the park to national and international attention and learn how this new UNESCO
designation – just winning its annual reindorsement – is bringing together new ways to talk to visitors
about the Black Country.
• 3:30pm – 3:50pm: Exit through the gift shop.
• 4pm – 5pm: Return travel from BCLM to Birmingham

NOTE: Spaces for this tour are fully booked.

STUDY TOUR OPTION 2
DISCOVER BIRMINGHAM’S JEWELLERY QUARTER
EXPLORE THE GEMS OF THE
JEWELLERY QUARTER BY FOOT
Wednesday 30 October 2024, 12 midday – 5pm

Explore the history of Birmingham’s world-famous Jewellery Quarter with a narrated walking tour from one of the local Blue Badge Guides to some of the area’s key attractions.
• 12:15pm – 1pm: Begin with lunch at the Hive café and bakery – a gold award winner for sustainability, serving delicious, organic and freshly made food, featuring ingredients from the rooftop garden.
• 1pm – 1:30pm: Stop off at the School of Jewellery
• 1:40pm – 2:10pm: Enjoy some free time to browse the local shops.
• 2:30pm – 3pm: Enjoy a tour of the Pen Museum - discover a wide range of fascinating objects and details that help tell the story of Birmingham’s pen trade with exhibits and machinery, plus an introduction to pen nib making.
• 3:10pm – 3:40pm: RBSA Gallery - a chance to see the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists art gallery.
• 3:50pm – 4:20pm: Visit the Grade I listed St Paul’s Church with its beautifully painted windows. Set in a Georgian square surrounded by top bars and restaurants, St Pauls has been at the heart of the Jewellery Quarter since 1779.
• 4:30pm – 5pm: Tour of the Coffin Works – explore this historic coffin furniture manufactory, brought back to life in a unique time-capsule museum, and see the coffin works stamp room tour with machinery demos.

Please note that we are limited to 15 spaces per tour, so bookings are on a first come, first serve basis.

If you would like to book on to any of these tours, please contact Graham Haynes secretary@tmi.org.uk