Sometimes at Kent you could be forgiven for thinking that just north of Watford the world becomes a terrifying wilderness inhabited by uncivilised barbarians, such is the vague and miserable image southerners seem to have of the regions north of our nation’s capital. This is probably not helped by the British penchant for shitting on your hometown, only to leap rabidly to its defence when someone else shits on it. Confusing, I know. Especially frustrating for someone hailing, as I do, from the nondescript grey area that is the Midlands, is that you get derided from all sides. Southerners think you’re Northern and therefore culturally illiterate, actual Northerners have the delights of Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and other urban playgrounds to keep them busy and generally forget the expanse separating them from the South exists. So, much as I love to go on about how rubbish my town is, I leapt at the chance to remind everyone that, actually, it is not a cultural wasteland. Not any more, anyway.
Where to go in the Midlands for…
First class indie cinema
If you think the Gulb is good, try Quad, one of approximately three amazing things about Derby. The independent cinema and arts centre is home not just to film but a great gallery space, digital and creative courses, workshops, events like Format International Photography Festival and ID Fest, not to mention an excellent café-bar. Plus, its patron is famous local thesp John Hurt. Not bad. Or try the undeniably excellent Broadway in Nottingham, a city brimming over with cultural shenanigans anyway, for all of the above plus some great media arts projects. Venturing technically into the North proper, Sheffield’s Showroom is always worth a visit (and one of the venues for the internationally acclaimed documentary festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest). Last but not least, hop a quick bus from Derby to the little mill town of Belper and visit the fantastic, always sold-out Ritz Cinema, for a proper old school experience.
Historical grandeur (and maybe a bonnet or six)
Chatsworth House- The Beautiful Setting for Pride and Prejudice’s Pemberley
Whether you like your history genteel, literary and lace-bonneted, or a bit more down and dirty, there’s a cultural adventure for you in the Midlands. For the former, try huge and famous Chatsworth House (aka Pemberley, Darcy did own half of Derbyshire remember), D.H. Lawrence’s house in Eastwood, or my personal favourite, Haddon Hall near Bakewell, which was the inspiration for Thornfield in Jane Eyre. Alternatively, drive the beautiful Derwent Valley to Cromford to see the site of Richard Arkwright’s first factory – and birthplace of the industrial revolution – or head west to the Black Country Living Museum near Dudley, to experience an 1830s industrial town first hand.
Contemporary art
Nottingham Contemporary may be a bit ugly from the outside, but inside there’s all manner of interesting modern artworks, plus films, talks and other events. Birmingham’s Custard Factory is a mish-mash of offices, studios, independent shops and galleries, with as much to look at outside the buildings as in. Or for a more rural adventure, September each year sees the eclectic Wirksworth Festival, which as well as music and performance has a range of contemporary visual art on show.
Musical shenigans
Like elsewhere in the country, many of the region’s best record shops have closed in the last few years (RIP Selectadisc, Reveal, Jack’s…) but there are still a few little outposts for the vinyl freaks. One such is BPM in Derby, not dissimilar to Canterbury Rock and with an equally bizarre mix of second hand vinyl – perfect for whiling away an hour or two flipping through the crates. On the live front, Nottingham has cool venues coming out of its ears, and if you want to hit a bunch in one day, head up for Dot to Dot Festival on 26th May – always fun cavorting round the city catching a bunch of cool bands.
I could go on, but if that isn’t enough to tempt you further up north then I shall bore you no further. But stuff actually does happen here, all kinds of exciting stuff, so if you have a day or two to kill this summer, why not make the most of the ol’ student railcard and come check it out?
