Here are 10 places you should go outside of Birmingham with your mates

As second years froth at the mouth as someone claims they are bringing their car, this means we can leave the trauma of late trains. With the benefit of no leg room, a mouldy old car, and high hopes, here are the places you should go around Birmingham that will keep the seasonal affective disorder away!

Lickey Hills

Being only a 15 minute journey from Selly Oak, the Lickey Hills is a beautiful country park covering 524 acres of land!

Being the winner of the Green Flag Award since 2000, this country park holds various hike routes for all abilities. With 13 official walks around the Licky Hills, there are suitable walks for those with disabilities, new hikers, and experienced walkers.

One great recommendation is a walk towards Beacon Hill which gives 360 degree views of the countryside. For those that geek at a bit of history, this place used to be where watchmen stood to alert the country of invasion.

Warwick Castle

Tickets are only £16 for students, compared to the original price of £39!

This castle has a history of over 1,000 years and holds various mysteries.

Warwick Castle was originally a wooden fort developed by William the Conqueror in 1068 (very old innit). With tours throughout the castle, the dungeons and also live action archery and jousting, there is truly a lot to see from this site!

You can buy your student tickets to Warwick Castle here.

Walsall Ninja Warrior

Most Read

The hardest Russell group unis to get into, based on offer rate – and it’s not just Oxbridge

This video of Lacey from MAFS and her mum at the club has leaked and I don’t know how to feel

Um, leaks have confirmed which couples get married on Love Is Blind and I am NOT okay

Fancy becoming a HYROX athlete on a budget? Walsall’s Ninja Warrior will be a perfect place to begin your dreams in athleticism. Being around a 40 minute drive from Selly Oak, this place would be amazing after a day of draining lectures to get your anger out.

With one hour entry being only £13.95, and also having child-free options, this is a great place to truly measure your strength without knocking out any kids along the way.

Woolhouse Factory in Warwickshire

For those that need a new hobby in 2025, crochet or knitting is the one for you! Sick of the clubs? Nah I’m not really but, this is a great hangover activity to take away the sicky feeling on a Sunday morning.

Located in Leamington Spa, one the poshest areas in the West Midlands, it’s only a 40 minute drive towards yarn heaven!

Ordering from this area myself online, the staff are incredibly helpful in understanding which yarn may be best for your future projects. Not only this, its also a small business which is always amazing to support in these trying times.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Being a cheeky hour away on the train, this place is the best place to flex your knowledge of William Shakespeare

Whilst Stratford can get spenny fast, it is a great place you at least have to go once during your years at university.

With the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company putting on shows, to visiting Shakespeare’s classroom, this place brings to life a lot of the Tudor period!

As a history girl myself, I’m surprised I didn’t drop on the floor and cry when I saw William Shakespeare’s house. I’m warning you now though, Shakespeare’s house is £30 to enter.

Woodgate Valley Country Park

For those of you that saw everyone doing the London marathon and thought that would be fun, this may be a great place to actually get started with your training!

Woodgate Valley Country Park, located in Bartley Green, holds park runs weekly for all levels. This park is 450 acres in size and holds various different trails to waddle through. This may be a great area to reconnect with nature after a bad night out on Broad Street. With over 250 species of plants and 90 species of birds, you can truly feel like you’re not in Birmingham anymore.

Birmingham Hippodrome

Being the centre for musicals, ballet, opera, dance and much more, the Birmingham Hippodrome is a great place to look out for future events that may align with your interests.

It’s only a quick ride by train and approximately ten minutes by car, and is a great place to go if you no longer fancy watching movies and rotting with your housemates. To make it a little more interesting, go to something you never would go to usually, you may surprise yourself!

Drayton Manor

The peak of West-Midlands life, this baby is great for those that don’t want to feel like they are going to die on a rollercoaster but still want to have fun. As someone who has been to this park myself, and as one that doesn’t like to feel anxiety in the line, this is a great area for those junkies and ten-toes-on-the-ground people. With various different attractions from log flumes, to scarier rides like Maelstrom, this place is amazing for those that don’t want to spend £60 on fuel.

Being 40 minutes away from Smelly Oak, it’s a great place to go this summer if you’re running out of ideas and want to live “life on the edge”.

Alton Towers

If you’re a posho with a bit too much on your pocket this summer, this is truly the pinnacle of “fun”. Being an hour and thirty minutes from Smelly Oak, this is the place to truly get real thrills.

Student tickets here are only £21 so this is a must-have this summer! With this theme park holding the Smiler, the world’s first vertical drop rollercoaster, and various other thrills, you can truly conquer your three years at university if you go on these rides.

Gloucester Services

Why is this on the list? If you are from the south, you know how rich and boujie this service is. With every design in this services being of wood, and all food being baked goods, this is the pinnacle of the rich southern life I wanna live. I think the fact this services holds a farm shop says enough about the people this services attracts.