Why A Peaky Blinders Tour Is A Must When Visiting Birmingham
Discover which is the best Peaky Blinders tour when in Birmingham!
Birmingham is the city that inspired the hit TV series: ‘Peaky Blinders’ and if you’re a fan then you’ll probably want to go on a tour when visiting.
Luckily there are a few excellent Peaky Blinders tours where you can learn all about the fascinating history of the Birmingham gangs and explore the underbelly of the city which inspired the famous TV show.
As a huge fan of the show, I have gone on a Peaky Blinders tour in Birmingham recently, making me the perfect blogger to give recommendations of the best tours in Birmingham as well as Liverpool and Manchester.
ā In a rush? My Peaky Blinders Tour Recommendations in Birmingham:
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Birmingham Slogging Gangs Walking Tour with Edward Shelby
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Birmingham Gangs Night time Historical Walking Tour
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Escape Live – Peaky Blinders (escape room activity)
Other Peaky Blinders Tours in the UK:
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Half-Day Peaky Blinders Tour of Liverpool
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Peaky Blinders 4 Hour Private Tour of Liverpool
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Peaky Blinders Day Tour of Manchester
The Best Peaky Blinders Tours In Birmingham
So without further ado, let’s take a look at all the details about what are (in my opinion) the best Peaky Blinders tours in Birmingham:
Birmingham Slogging Gangs Walking Tour with Edward Shelby
ā Rating: 4.5/5 (210 reviews) | ā Duration: 2 hours | ā Book it here!
With a tour guide who acts (and dresses) in character as gang member Edward Shelby, this is a really entertaining walking tour of Birmingham.
You’ll get to learn all there is to know about the ‘slogging gangs’ of Birmingham from the 19th and 20th centuries that were the inspiration for the characters portrayed in Peaky Blinders.
I really enjoyed this tour, in my experience it was fun and immersive and the tour guide was very impressive when it came to his knowledge about the history of the gangs of Birmingham.
I learnt a surprising amount about Birmingham that I had no idea about previously and discovered some parts of the city I had never visited before as well.
The walking tour stops off at several key historical places in Birmingham, including:
- Peaky Blinders mural – this amazingly impressive 50 foot long black and white mural in the city centre features artwork of all of the main characters from Peak Blinders and shows just how important the show is to Birmingham and visa versa.
- West Midlands Police Museum – see the place where actual gang members were put on trial in Birmingham (entry price to museum is not included).
- The Gunmakers Quarter – stop for a drink at: ‘The Gunmakers Arms’ pub and learn more history related to the gangs of the area.
- The Chinese Quarter – one of the trendiest areas of Birmingham, where you’ll learn about it’s connection to international gangs in the past.
ā Check out Stephanie’s top review of this Peaky Blinders tour:
“It was a great walking tour! Super interesting facts with pictures, maps and on top the tour invites all attendees to talk and interact with each other. Absolutely go for it when you are in Birmingham.”
ā”ļø Book a place for this Peaky Blinders Birmingham Tour here
Birmingham Gangs Night time Historical Walking Tour with Pub Stops
ā Rating: 4.5/5 (35 reviews) | ā Duration: 3 hours | ā Book it here!
Also hosted by the same tour guide/company as the previous walking tour, this particular tour takes place during night time, last slightly longer and covers different parts of Birmingham that are not visited on the daytime tour.
Not only does this tour take place at night, which really adds to the atmosphere of the tour, you will also get to visit several iconic traditional Birmingham pubs.
You’ll learn about the alcohol trade that the slogging gangs controlled and how Birmingham’s canal system was a vital part of their trade.
There are drinking games and pub quizzes involved, making for a fun, entertaining night out which is perfect for birthday or wedding parties.
ā Check out Danny’s review of this night time walking tour:
“Very informative and great fun. The guide and the other tour members were great company. The areas in Birmingham were full of character in keeping with the nature and objectives.”
ā”ļø Book a place on this Peaky Blinders Night time tour here
Escape Live – Peaky Blinders
Instead of going on a tour, you may be interested in going on a Peaky Blinders themed escape room adventure when in Birmingham.
Based in the historic Jewellery Quarter, Escape Live is Birmingham’s top escape room venue, and offers a uniquely entertaining game for fans of the TV series both young and old.
In the Peaky Blinders escape room activity entitled: ‘The Raid‘, you’ll have to solve various clues against the clock to help Tommy Shelby against the law who are in pursuit.
Escape rooms are hugely popular these days and this is a fantastic experience if you’re a Peaky Blinders fanatic.
ā”ļø Book a ticket for Escape Live – Peaky Blinders here
Peaky Blinders Tours In Liverpool
There are a few other Peaky Blinders tours outside of Birmingham in the UK (notably Liverpool and Manchester) which are also worth considering.
Most of Peaky Blinders was actually filmed in Liverpool rather than Birmingham, so let’s take a look at Peaky Blinders tours in Liverpool:
Half-Day Peaky Blinders Tour of Liverpool
ā Rating: 5/5 reviews (397 reviews) | ā Duration: 4 hours | ā Book it here!
On this 4 hour tour of Liverpool you will get to discover 10 amazing filming locations that were used for Peaky Blinders and find out fascinating stories about the real life people that the iconic characters of the show was based on.
This is a uniquely guided coach tour that can pick you up from your hotel and take you through the city centre as well as the River Mersey, the Wirral and Stanley Park before dropping you off back to your hotel at the end of the tour.
ā Check out Evelyn’s top review of this tour:
“Super fun tour. So cool to see locations from the show. Our tour guide really makes the experience. Heās dressed in Peaky Blinders fashion and totally knows his stuff. Makes the experience real fun.”
ā”ļø Book a place on this Half-Day Peaky Blinders Tour of Liverpool here
Peaky Blinders 4 Hour Private Tour of Liverpool
ā Rating: 5/5 (45 reviews) | ā Duration: 4 hours | ā Book it here!
This is a private tour of Liverpool designed especially for die hard fans of Peaky Blinders.
You’ll visit 10 locations in and around Liverpool that were key filming locations for the series, including the homes of the main characters such as Tommy Shelby and more.
The tour also takes you to important Liverpool attractions such as the National Waterways Museum, and you’ll learn a lot of trivia and facts about the series.
ā Check out this top TripAdvisor review of this tour:
“A fantastic tour which showed how this great city was used as the backdrop to Peaky Blinders. The tour guide made it really enjoyable with his enthusiasm, humour and great knowledge.
A fascinating insight into how the show was made, brought to life with some funny stories from behind the scenes. If youāre into Peaky Blinders and want to see some great locations in Liverpool, this is a great way to spend half a day.”
ā”ļø Book a place on this Peaky Blinders 4 Hour Private Tour of Liverpool here
Peaky Blinders Tour In Manchester
And last but not least, let’s take a look at this Peaky Blinders day tour in Manchester:
Peaky Blinders Day Tour of Manchester
ā Rating: 5/5 (55 reviews) | ā Duration: 8 hours 30 minutes | ā Book it here!
This day long tour of Manchester is arguably the most detailed and interesting tour featured in this blog post.
Lasting an incredible eight and a half hours, you’ll be picked up by luxury coach from your hotel and visit instantly recognisable filming locations in Liverpool, Manchester, Stockport and Cheshire.
This tour is great value for money for any Peaky Blinders fanatic! Location highlights of the tour include:
- The filming location that was used for Camden Town.
- Tabley House – you can enjoy tea/coffee and cake here at the church where Tommy marries Grace in the third season of the show.
- The location where the car explodes outside of Tommy Shelby’s office in season five.
ā Check out this top review of this Manchester tour:
“This tour was fantastic. Everything was timed perfectly, the cream tea was delicious, the coach driver was lovely. But the real star of the show was our tour guide. Knowledgeable, charming, hilarious! We loved him!”
ā”ļø Book your ticket for this Peaky Blinders Day Tour of Manchester here
Peaky Blinders Birmingham Tour FAQs
Still not sure about going on a Peaky Blinders tour in Birmingham? Allow me to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about this topic:
Was Peaky Blinders actually filmed in Birmingham?
Perhaps surprisingly, no – the majority of Peaky Blinders was actually filmed in Liverpool as well as Manchester instead of Birmingham, despite Birmingham being where the real life Peaky Blinders gangs were based.
So if you want to visit the film locations of the series then I’d recommend one of the tours in either Liverpool or Manchester instead of Birmingham.
Where is the living museum that Peaky Blinders filmed?
If you’re wondering where the scenes of industrial Victorian England were filmed in Peaky Blinders, then the answer is the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley.
Based 10 miles outside of Birmingham, this amazing open air museum features over 40 historic buildings, including homes, shops, factories and more.
It fascinatingly re-enacts what life was like during the industrial revolution of the 19th century in the heart of England.
As I live pretty close to this top museum, I can highly recommend it as a day trip from Birmingham. It even has a fish and chip shop for you to enjoy!
You can easily spend up to half a day exploring this complex which is a massive 26 acres in size, and it’s recommended to give yourself at least 4-5 hours here to get the most out of your visit.
š Pro Tip: to reach the Black Country Living Museum from Birmingham, you can get a taxi, which would be rather expensive.
Instead, I recommend catching a train from Birmingham New Street Station to Smethwick Galton Bridge.
From here, hop on the 87 Platinum bus towards Dudley and get off at Castlegate Drive. The museum is a 13 minute walk from here.
Once you’ve enjoyed the museum, you can make a day of your visit to Dudley and enjoy these other top attractions close by:
- Dudley Zoo and Castle – one of the best zoos in the West Midlands is just a short 10-15 minute walk away from the Black Country Living Museum. It features some of the world’s rarest animals and its castle dates back several hundred years.
- Dudley Canals and Caverns – situated right next to the museum are the canals and caverns of Dudley, where you can take a 45 minute boat ride to discover the incredible limestone mines that date back several thousand years.
- Castlegate Way – right opposite the museum is the Castlegate way retail park, which features an excellent cinema as well as several top international cuisine restaurants such as Nando’s, Chiquito’s and Bella Italia.
Is Birmingham a nice city to visit?
Yes, absolutely! As a local I’ve visited Birmingham more times than I can remember and I thoroughly recommend a visit to England’s second city.
Birmingham has undergone an incredible transformation in recent years and is now a modern, vibrant, thriving place full of trendy bars and restaurants, as well as lovely historical areas such as the Jewellery Quarter.
I recommend a visit to Digbeth, especially if you love street art, and a walking tour of Birmingham is also a great way to discover the history of the city.
Conclusion: Best Peaky Blinders Tour In Birmingham
So that concludes everything you need to know about Peaky Blinders tours in Birmingham and beyond.
If you’re a fan of the series like me, then these tours are a fantastically entertaining and interesting way to discover the true stories of the gangs that inspired the TV show and visit historical locations.
From the impressive Peaky Blinders art mural in the city centre, to discovering areas such as the Birmingham canals and the Chinese Quarter, these tours give you an unique insight into Birmingham’s past.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about these tours in Birmingham as well as Liverpool and Manchester, and are now inspired to choose a Peaky Blinders tour next time you visit the UK.
ā”ļø Check out more Birmingham blog posts here
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ā”ļø Planning your trip? Here are my favourite resources:
šØ Accommodation: I recommend using Booking.com
š Rental Car: Use Discover Cars for the best car rental prices
ā¤ļø Travel Insurance: I recommend using Visitors Coverage
āļø Flights: Use Kiwi.com for the best prices on flights
