If you're wondering where the gay village, head for The Hippodrome, keep it on your right hand side and keep walking eventually you will come to a pub called Missing. It is on the left side on the corner.

Miss Maxi Malone

Missing
This pub is heaving at the weekends. It is a cabaret bar which consists of men in drag performing songs or male strippers and it's very popular with the lads.

In the day they do cheap drinks. It can get quite busy and the crowd is a lot more mixed. It also has an outside seating area for those long summer day and nights.

Angels
Moving on in the same direction as before but on the right this time you will come to Angels Café bar you can't miss it is. It has very big glass windows.

This is one of my favourites it plays a mixture of music from pop to funky house and generally has nice friendly bar staff. It attracts a mixed crowd and on Friday nights they do cheap drinks.

Happy hour?

The Village
Further down Hurst Street now on your left is The Village. It is fairly quiet in the weekday and attracts an older but mixed crowd.

At the weekend it can get very busy as they have a later licence. When there is some music it is usually funky house and sometimes speed garage.

Route 2
Now we need to back track up the road towards Angels but just before you get there on the left there is a big pub/club called Route 2.

If your into pop music and again cheap drinks this is the place to go. A tip for the ladies is a Monday night. It can get busy!

Clubbers

The Nightingale
Now if you cruise up the street in between Angels and Route on the right you will see The Nightingale. It was voted the best club in Birmingham and has three levels.

It is open as a bar from five and at about ten they turn it into a club. It then can cost anything from £3 to £8 and on occasions more.

The music is a mixture of anything from pop downstairs to house of different genres upstairs depending on the night. The night is mixed and yet again with cheap drinks on certain nights.

DV8
Now stagger outside and go right until you come to DV8 another club which is not as established as it has only been open for a couple of years.

It plays a mixture of pop in the front room and Funky house in the back. They do a 'pay once drink as much as you like' on Thursday and Saturdays. This is popular for a mixed crowd.

For the ladies

The Fox
If you walk out of there and go right not much further down is The Fox. This is strictly ladies with male guests only.

It has friendly female bar staff and Karoke on certain nights also with one of the only pool tables on the scene in the back room.

Kudos
Your in lower Essex street now and at the top end is Essex street which is where Kudos is. It is famous in the area for a mixed gay and straight crowd at the weekends.

It plays host to the very famous Breakfast club, on Saturday night Sunday morning. No drinking from two onwards but it finishes at nine in the morning for all you hard core clubbers.

In the week there are drink promotions usually hosted by Maxine Malone their very own glamorous drag queen.

The infamous Hurst Street

Boots Bar
Now its back down Essex street to the other end for lad only action. Look for Wrentham street and its on your left.

It's called Boots Bar and I don't know much about it because it is lads only. I've heard they are very strict about that and I'm sure the lads that go there are probably glad about it.

Thus I come to the end of my walk around the gay village. I've given you the tools to a good, and in general, a cheap night out for lesbian, gays and bisexuals. Now all you need to do is "Come Out!"

All the pubs and clubs on this guide have copies of free gay magazines which cover lots of local gay issues for you to take home. Good Luck!

Images courtesy of Katie Wooldridge