Birmingham Classic

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Go-karting

   From about 14:00 · 2 hours

   Arrival day. Travel in and check in, then go-karting in the afternoon: a briefing, practice laps, qualifying and a scored final, with the times on a board. Trousers and trainers, and every driver must be sober, so the drinking waits until afterwards.

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   The closest indoor track is on Fazeley Street in Digbeth, about a mile from the centre, with a second in Halesowen, around nine miles out. Allow 75 minutes on site for 30 minutes of racing. A grand prix format with practice, five heats and a final for the top eight takes one and a half to three hours, with prizes for the top three. Drivers must be at least 125cm tall and fancy dress is refused. For something faster, an outdoor endurance-style race runs on a former airfield circuit outside the city.

   You get a briefing, race suit, helmet and gloves, then a session that usually runs about an hour: practice laps, a qualifying run and a scored final. Timing is automatic and the results go on a board, which is where the arguments start.

   Indoor circuits run all year; outdoor ones are longer, faster and at the mercy of the weather. Both put a podium and a bottle of something at the end.

   Wear trousers rather than shorts, and trainers. There are height, weight and footwear limits at most tracks, and you have to be sober.

   

   Club entry, VIP & booths

   From about 23:00 · 3 hours

   The first night finishes with guest-list club entry, past the queue. Broad Street clubs run late and are used to groups. Dress codes are enforced on stag groups: no sportswear and no matching shirts.

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   Most of Birmingham's late venues sit on or just off Broad Street, with a second cluster around Temple Street in the centre. Guest-list entry usually has to be used before 11pm, and a couple of bars close the list at 10pm, so plan dinner to finish in time. Smart casual is the standard door code. Table and booth packages cap at around 20 people, and the reserved area is a base rather than a seat for everyone, so a big group books two. The busiest Broad Street bars trade until 3am at weekends.

   Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away. A booth adds a reserved table, a set number of bottles with mixers and a host who looks after the table.

   Booths are sold on a minimum spend rather than a flat fee at many clubs, so the bottles you order count towards it. Ask what the minimum is and what it includes before you agree to anything.

   Dress code is enforced hard on stag groups. No sportswear, no trainers at some doors, no matching shirts, and nobody visibly drunk gets in regardless of the booking.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Cocktail making class

   From about 15:00 · 1.5 hours

   A slow morning, then the cocktail class: each person makes two or three drinks behind the bar with a bartender and drinks what they make, usually finishing with a competition for the best one. Wear nothing you are precious about.

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   Classes run in bars on Broad Street, Temple Street, the Piccadilly Arcade by New Street and the waterside at Brindleyplace, plus one out in Harborne. Most last 90 minutes to two hours: a welcome drink, two cocktails each and a round of shots to finish. Bring photo ID, because several venues check it. Saturday slots run from around midday into the evening, with Friday afternoon and evening sessions at some bars. One venue makes the whole group choose the same two cocktails, so agree the order before you arrive.

   You stand behind a bar with your own kit and a bartender takes the group through two or three drinks, explaining the spirits, the shake and the balance. You make each one yourself and drink it. Most classes finish with a competition for the best drink.

   Sessions usually run around ninety minutes and include everything you make, with the option to stay on in the bar afterwards.

   No dress code beyond the venue's. It gets sticky, so nothing you are precious about.

3. 3

   Day 3

   

   Guided bar crawl

   From about 20:30 · 4 hours

   The guided bar crawl: meet the guide at a fixed point and work through a run of bars, finishing with club entry, with the guide handling the doors. Eat first so the group makes the start time, and dress for the last venue: no trainers and no sportswear.

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   Guided crawls in Birmingham start in the centre around Temple Street at 7pm and finish at 11pm, taking in three or four bars and ending with club entry. Photo ID is essential, fancy dress is refused and doors turn away anyone who has had too much. If you would rather go without a guide, self-led routes start on Bromsgrove Street and the itinerary arrives a week before, with four or five bars a night. Nightlife passes cover Friday and Saturday from 9pm.

   You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large.

   Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private.

   Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.