In a suburb just outside staid and stuffy Solihull there is a surprise lurking - Akamba an African art and craft shop, garden centre and cafe, with Caribbean food and added music - reggae, soul and funk. You never know what you are going to find: hand-made pots, Fairtrade African art, exotic African prints and posters, all overlooked by giant metal animals - zebras, giraffes, chimpanzees. Magical

www.akamba.co.uk
Tythe Barn Lane, Dickens Heath, Solihull, B90 1PH
+44(0)121 733 3111
Google map: bit.ly/thl5y0

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Picture Solihull and you think of new housing, not canals, or indeed Africa! But walk along the peaceful Stratford-Upon Avon Canal from the Drawbridge Inn to Bridge 10, enjoying the wildlife. Then saunter along Tythe Barn Lane in Shirley to Akamba (akamba.co.uk), a very unusual garden centre, to enjoy a glass of wine or a coffee as you listen to African music in a secluded seating area surrounded by towering palms and banana plants - and even a lifesize gorilla and a (smaller) giraffe. Its Solihull but not as we know it!
MikeMcG

Tythe Barn Lane, Shirley B90 1PH
Nearest station is Whitlocks End

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Recently opened Indian Restaurant. Excellent food, great staff, and takeaway service.

Ginger Blue, 268 Cranmore Boulevard, Shirley, Solihull. 0121 745 7209.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends