One day. One family. One city that shaped a legend.

While Stratford-upon-Avon gave us the world of Shakespeare, Birmingham gave it industry, and the Peaky Blinders rose from that world. Birmingham and the Black Country aren't just a backdrop to the Peaky Blinders story, they're woven right through it. The canals, the architecture, the entrepreneurial spirit - Steven Knight didn't invent all of it. He shone a light on a city that was already remarkable.

Whether you're a devoted fan who can quote every episode or you just love a city with genuine character and a cracking story to tell, Birmingham and the Black Country will not disappoint.

Here's how to spend a brilliant day following in the Shelby family's footsteps.
 

 

09:00 | The Black Country Living Museum, Dudley

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley is one of the most extraordinary open-air museums in England, and for Peaky Blinders fans it's absolutely unmissable - several scenes from the series were actually filmed here amongst the cobbled streets and reconstructed back-to-back houses. Walking through the site, you half-expect Arthur Shelby to come rolling out of the pub in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

Wander the period streets, peer into the chainmaker's workshop, ride a trolleybus, and duck into the underground mine. The soot, the scale, the noise of working machinery makes everything you've watched on screen suddenly, vividly real. This is where the Peaky Blinders came from. This is the world that made them.

Allow a good two hours here. You'll want it.

The museum is located in Tipton Road, Dudley, and is well-signposted.

Book your visit to the Black Country Living Museum here

11:30 | Head into Birmingham: The Jewellery Quarter

🧭 Black Country Living Museum (Dudley) → Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
By car: approximately 8 miles, 20–25 minutes. By public transport: Midland Metro tram from Wednesbury to Jewellery Quarter station takes around 30–35 minutes, plus a short bus or taxi to Wednesbury from the museum.

From Dudley, it's a straightforward drive or tram ride into Birmingham city centre. Make your way to the Jewellery Quarter, one of the most characterful corners of the city and the spiritual home of Birmingham's industrial craftsmanship.

The Quarter has been producing gold and silverwork since the eighteenth century, and today it remains a working hub of independent jewellers, designers, and artisan workshops alongside cafés, bars, and independent shops. It's also deeply embedded in Peaky Blinders lore - the show has always understood that Birmingham's criminal underworld grew up alongside its industrial wealth.

Take a wander down Vyse Street and Warstone Lane, peek into the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter if it takes your fancy, and soak up the atmosphere of a neighbourhood that feels genuinely Peaky.

If you fancy something hands-on, The Quarterworkshop offers jewellery-making experiences in a beautiful studio right in the heart of the Quarter. Whether it's a wedding ring workshop for couples or a bespoke one-off session, it's the sort of experience that turns a day trip into a proper memory and feels entirely in the spirit of a neighbourhood where things have always been made by hand. Hint: Book ahead, it fills up fast.

12:45 | Lunch: A Proper Jewellery Quarter Pub

This is not the moment for a chain restaurant. This is the moment for a dark wood bar, a pint of something local (or a soft drink if you prefer), and a pie that means business. Tommy Shelby didn't build an empire on a meal deal!

The Jewellery Quarter has several excellent pubs that would do a good job of standing in for the Garrison Tavern itself. 1000 Trades on Frederick Street is a much-loved neighbourhood local with great food and proper ales, while the Rose Villa Tavern on Warstone Lane is a Victorian gem with original tiling and a welcoming atmosphere is one of the finest heritage pubs in the city.

Order something hearty, settle in, and take your time. The afternoon has plenty in store.

14:00 | The West Midlands Police Museum: The Lock-Up, Steelhouse Lane

🧭 Jewellery Quarter → Steelhouse Lane Lock-Up (West Midlands Police Museum) 
On foot: approximately 0.7 miles, 15 minutes. It's a straightforward flat walk through the city centre - very manageable after lunch.

If there's one stop on this itinerary that feels almost tailor-made for Peaky Blinders devotees, it's this one.

The West Midlands Police Museum is housed inside the Steelhouse Lane Lock-Up - a Grade II listed Victorian cell block built in 1891 and operational as a working police station until 2016. It's a remarkable building: The real Peaky Blinders gang were among the criminals who passed through these doors. You can stand in the very cells where they were held, but don’t make yourself too comfortable!

Across three floors, the museum takes you through two centuries of policing history - from Birmingham's earliest constables to a forensics lab where you can try your hand at solving a crime. There are police motorcycles, a full-size police horse, period uniforms to try on, and enough genuine artefacts to keep you absorbed for a good hour or two. It's hands-on and very atmospheric.

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, with last admission at 2pm. Book ahead online - it's well worth it.

16:00 | Brindleyplace & Gas Street Basin: Walk the Canals

🧭 Steelhouse Lane Lock-Up → Gas Street Basin / Brindleyplace On foot: approximately 0.8 miles, 15–20 minutes through the city centre. You pass through Colmore Row and into Centenary Square, which is worth a look in its own right.

After the Lock-Up, it's time to breathe some fresh air and Birmingham's canal network is the perfect place to do it.

Make your way to Brindleyplace and pick up the towpath at Gas Street Basin, one of the most distinctive stretches of waterway in England and the historic heart of Birmingham's canal network. This is where narrowboats from across the country once converged, where the arteries of the industrial Black Country met the city. It's impossible to stand here and not think of the Shelby family's empire - built, like Birmingham itself, on trade, transport, and ambition.

The walk from Gas Street Basin through Brindleyplace is flat, peaceful, and consistently beautiful. Victorian ironwork bridges, old warehouses converted into restaurants and bars, the occasional narrowboat passing through. Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice, and on this stretch at least, it shows.

Stop for a coffee (probably too early for a glass of whiskey?) on one of the waterside terraces, watch the canal life drift by, and let the afternoon unwind at its own pace.

17:30 | Digbeth & The Custard Factory

🧭 Gas Street Basin / Brindleyplace → Digbeth & Custard Factory 
On foot: approximately 1.2 miles, 20–25 minutes. You can follow the canal towpath much of the way, which keeps the Peaky Blinders atmosphere going nicely. Alternatively it's a 5-minute taxi.

From Brindleyplace, head southeast into Digbeth - Birmingham's most atmospheric and creative neighbourhood, and the area most strongly associated with the Peaky Blinders aesthetic.

Digbeth is old Birmingham in its most vivid form: railway viaducts, Victorian warehouses, street art that turns every blank wall into a canvas, and the Grand Union Canal threading between converted industrial buildings. It was here - along the Fazeley Street corridor and the streets around the old Irish Quarter, that some of The Immortal Man location filming took place.

At the heart of it all sits the Custard Factory, the former Bird's Custard works transformed into a sprawling creative quarter of independent shops, designers, studios, and food and drink businesses. Browse the independent retailers, grab a coffee, and allow yourself to get a little lost. There's always something unexpected around the next corner.

19:00 | A Shelby Supper

Digbeth's food scene and the area around the Custard Factory is now one of the most exciting places to eat in the city. Alfred Works, the brand-new food hall right inside the Custard Factory, brings together 15 independent kitchens under one roof - global street food, craft drinks, and a lively events programme. For something more sit-down, Baked in Brick (also in the Custard Factory) serves up exceptional pizzas and a legendary Sunday roast from a custom-built wood-fired oven. And if a burger is what the evening demands, Original Patty Men on Shaws Passage has been feeding Digbeth's late-night crowds for years, with the kind of gloriously messy, creative patties that have earned a serious loyal following.

Alternatively, it's a short taxi or tram ride back into the city centre, where Birmingham's incredible restaurant scene awaits. Book ahead at somewhere like Opheem for a Michelin-starred end to an extraordinary day, or keep it relaxed and authentic with a Birmingham Balti in the Balti Triangle.

Evening | Last Orders in Digbeth

🧭 Custard Factory → Old Crown pub 
On foot: approximately 0.2 miles, 1 or 2 minutes. They're practically neighbours on Digbeth High Street.

No Peaky Blinders Day would be complete without a proper end-of-evening toast in a pub with some character. Digbeth obliges magnificently.

The Old Crown on Digbeth High Street holds the distinction of being Birmingham's oldest pub, parts of it date back to the fourteenth century - and it has an atmosphere that can’t be replicated. Settle into a low-ceilinged corner with a pint of real ale and raise a glass to John Shelby (shocking way to go).

If you'd prefer something with a more contemporary edge, the bars around the Custard Factory offer everything from craft beer to cocktails, often with live music thrown in as the evening gets going.

Reserve your table here

Getting Here:

Birmingham New Street Station is well served by direct trains from across the UK. The Black Country Living Museum is best reached by car or the Midland Metro tram to Wednesbury, with connecting buses.

For more on getting around the West Midlands, visitbirmingham.com/plan/travel.


Where to Stay:

Find hotels across Birmingham and the West Midlands with our accommodation guide, visitbirmingham.com/where-to-stay