Solihull is not Birmingham. Locals will tell you that within 30 seconds of asking. It is a separate borough with its own council, its own identity, and its own quiet confidence. It sits 9 miles south-east of Birmingham city centre in the West Midlands. Birmingham Airport is technically in Solihull. So is the NEC. So is Jaguar Land Rover’s global headquarters. So are Resorts World, the bp pulse LIVE arena, and some of the prettiest villages in the West Midlands.

Most visitors discover Solihull by landing at the airport and noticing a pleasant town 10 minutes down the road. Some come for the NEC and never leave the exhibition halls. Some drive through on the M42 without stopping. All of them miss something worth seeing.

This guide covers what Solihull actually is, what to do while you are here, where to eat, where to stay, and how to get around. If you are visiting for business, flying in through BHX, or attending an event at the NEC, a chauffeur service in Solihull gets you from the airport to the town centre in 10 minutes flat. No parking stress. No wrong turns on the A41.

Detail	Information
Location	West Midlands, 9 miles SE of Birmingham
Population	~220,000 (borough), ~100,000 (town)
Nearest Airport	Birmingham Airport (BHX), 4 miles
Train to Birmingham	12-18 minutes (New Street direct)
Train to London	90 minutes (Marylebone direct)
Motorway	M42 (J5 and J6), links M40, M6, M5
Clean Air Zone	NO (Solihull is outside Birmingham’s CAZ.)
Known For	Touchwood, JLR, NEC, green spaces, quality of life

What Is Solihull Known For?

Solihull consistently ranks among the best places to live in England. The town centre has a John Lewis, a Waitrose, independent coffee shops that are better than most in Birmingham, and parks maintained to a standard that wins national awards. The schools are strong. The streets are tree-lined. The crime rate is low.

It is also home to some of the biggest commercial operations in the Midlands. Jaguar Land Rover builds vehicles here. The NEC hosts 500+ events per year. Birmingham Airport handles 12 million passengers annually. Birmingham Business Park employs thousands of corporate workers. All of this sits within the Solihull borough boundary.

For visitors, the combination is unusual. You can walk from a proper shopping centre to a river park in 15 minutes. You can eat at a quality restaurant and be at the airport in 10 minutes. You can attend an NEC exhibition and stay in a quiet town centre hotel instead of a motorway service hotel. That flexibility is what makes Solihull worth knowing about.

Solihull vs Birmingham City Centre: Where Should You Stay?

Nobody on any competitor page makes this comparison. Here it is.

Factor	Solihull	Birmingham City Centre
Airport distance	4 miles, 10 min drive	8 miles, 25-40 min
NEC distance	5 miles, 10 min	10 miles, 20-30 min
Clean Air Zone	Outside (no charge)	Inside (£8/day non-compliant)
Parking	Easier, cheaper	Expensive, limited
Nightlife	Quiet after 11pm	Broad Street, Digbeth, active late
Restaurants	Good independents, fewer options	100+ options, more variety
Shopping	Touchwood (strong)	Bullring + Grand Central (bigger)
Atmosphere	Quiet, green, residential	Urban, busy, diverse
Best for	Business visitors, families, airport access	Leisure, nightlife, culture

If your priority is airport access, NEC proximity, parking ease, and a quiet evening, stay in Solihull. If your priority is restaurants, nightlife, museums, and walkable urban culture, stay in Birmingham. Both are valid. The train between them takes 12 minutes.

Top Things to Do in Solihull

Land Rover Experience

One of the most popular paid attractions in the borough. Drive a Land Rover on 14 miles of off-road tracks. Mud, water crossings, steep inclines, and terrain that tests every system in the vehicle. Sessions start from around £99 for a half-day experience. The centre sits at the JLR Solihull plant on Lode Lane. Booking required. Good for corporate team days, birthday gifts, and anyone who wants to understand why these vehicles cost what they do.

Parking: free on-site. Drive from town centre: 8 minutes. Drive from airport: 12 minutes.

National Motorcycle Museum

The largest collection of British motorcycles in the world. Over 1,000 machines spanning 120 years. Five halls. Free entry to the museum. The conference centre attached to the museum is where the National Conference Centre operates, hosting weddings for up to 700 guests and corporate events year-round.

Parking: large free car park. Located just off the M42 at Junction 6. Drive from town centre: 10 minutes. Drive from airport: 5 minutes.

Touchwood Shopping Centre and Mell Square

Touchwood opened in 2001 and remains one of the strongest shopping centres in the Midlands. John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Next, Zara, Waterstones. The cinema is decent. The restaurants on the upper floor cover most tastes.

Mell Square sits adjacent and has been regenerated with independent cafes and restaurants. The whole area is pedestrian-friendly and walkable from Solihull train station in 3 minutes.

Parking: Touchwood multi-storey. £2.50 for 2 hours, £4.50 for 4 hours. Fills fast on Saturdays. The Homer Road car park is quieter and a 5-minute walk.

Resorts World and bp pulse LIVE Arena

Most people associate Resorts World with Birmingham. It is in Solihull. Outlet shopping, restaurants, Cineworld IMAX, the largest casino in the UK, and the Genting Hotel are all inside the complex. The bp pulse LIVE arena (15,685 capacity, formerly the Resorts World Arena) hosts major concerts, comedy shows, and Disney On Ice.

EV drivers get free EVIP Lounge access with pre-booking (food, drinks, and private entrance for up to 5 guests). That is a detail nobody else mentions.

Parking: large NEC car parks. £12-15 per day. Drive from Solihull town centre: 10 minutes. Drive from airport: 5 minutes.

Malvern and Brueton Park

The best park in Solihull and one of the best in the West Midlands. Runs alongside the River Blythe. Ornamental lake. Wildflower meadows. Formal gardens that win Britain in Bloom awards. The Malvern section is wilder with river walks and good birdwatching. Free entry. Open year round. A 15-minute walk from the town centre.

Pick up a coffee from one of the Mell Square independents and walk to Brueton Park. That is what locals do on a weekday morning. Visitors rarely discover it.

Tudor Grange Park

Closer to the town centre than Brueton. Lake, putting green, cycle track (built at the suggestion of Olympic silver medallist Harry Reynolds), playground with modern equipment, and open green space. Good for families. Tudor Grange Leisure Centre sits next to it for swimming and gym access.

St Alphege Church

Consecrated around 1220. Red sandstone. The tower is visible from most of the town centre. Mediaeval stonework inside. Brass memorial plaques dating to the 15th century. Free entry. Budget 20 minutes. This church predates Shakespeare by 350 years and is still a functioning community church, not a museum.

The Core Theatre

336-seat theatre inside the Touchwood complex. Professional touring productions, comedy, live music, dance, and community performances. The programme is varied enough that you can usually find something on most weeks. Check the listings before your visit.

The Villages: Knowle, Dorridge, Hampton-in-Arden

Solihull borough includes some of the prettiest villages in the West Midlands.

Knowle: 15th-century church, independent shops, a proper high street feel. 4 miles south of town centre. 10 minutes drive.

Dorridge: quieter, with Hogarths Stone Manor hotel and good rail connections. 5 miles south. A 12-minute drive.

Hampton-in-Arden: a classic English villagA 10-minute the edge of the borough. Norman church. Good pub (The Fieldhouse). Close to both the airport and the NEC. 6 miles east. 10 minutes drive.

A chauffeur-driven tour from Grand Executive is one of the most enjoyable ways to spenA 10-minutefternoon if you are visiting from outside the area.

Attractions Comparison Table

Attraction	Type	Time Needed	Cost	Parking	From Town Centre	Best For
Land Rover Experience	Adventure	3-4 hours	From £99	Free	8-min drive	Thrill-seekers, corporate days
National Motorcycle Museum	Museum	1-2 hours	Free	Free	10-min drive	Families, history
Touchwood Shopping	Shopping	2-4 hours	Free	£2.50-4.50	3-min walk	Shopping, lunch, cinema
Resorts World	Entertainment	2-5 hours	Varies	£12-15	10-min drive	Shopping, casino, arena
Malvern and Brueton Park	Nature	1-2 hours	Free	Street	15-min walk	Walking, nature, quiet
Tudor Grange Park	Park	1-2 hours	Free	Free nearby	5 min walk	Families, cycling, golf
St Alphege Church	Heritage	20-30 min	Free	Town centre	2 min walk	History, architecture
Core Theatre	Arts	2-3 hours	£10-30	Touchwood	3-min walk	Evening entertainment
Knowle Village	Village	1-2 hours	Free	Street	10-min drive	English village charm

Where to Eat in Solihull

Solihull’s food scene is better than most visitors expect. Here are the real recommendations.

Rajdoot Tandoori on the High Street has been here for decades. It is still good because it does not try to be trendy. Traditional Indian food done properly. £15-25 per person.

Hogarth’s Stone Manor Hotel in Dorridge is worth the 12-minute drive for a proper dinner. Popular for corporate entertaining and special occasions. £30-45 per person.

The Fieldhouse at Hampton-in-Arden is a gastropub that delivers consistently. Real food, real portions, real atmosphere. £20-35 per person.

Mell Square independents are growing in number and quality. Good for lunch, coffee, and casual afternoon dining. £8-18 per person.

Resorts World restaurants cover the chain end: Wagamama, Nando’s, Robata Bar and Grill. Convenient if you are at the NEC or arena. £12-25 per person.

For business visitors eating between meetings at JLR or Birmingham Business Park, Solihull town centre offers far better options than the NEC campus or the airport hotel cluster on the A45.

Solihull for Business Visitors

If you are visiting JLR, Birmingham Business Park, the NEC, or attending a conference, Solihull is the smartest base in the region. Here is why.

Airport proximity: BHX is 4 miles away. A chauffeur transfer from Birmingham Airport to Solihull town centre takes 10 minutes. No CAZ charge. No city centre traffic.

NEC access: 10 minutes by car. Exhibition visitors can stay in Solihull and avoid the NEC hotel premium.

JLR headquarters: Lode Lane is 8 minutes from the town centre. Corporate visitors can walk to restaurants and shops after hours instead of sitting in an airport hotel.

Hotels: The St John’s Hotel (4-star, just off M42), Ramada by Wyndham (mid-range, town centre), Arden Hotel (independent, leisure facilities). All offer better value and better surroundings than the dedicated airport hotels on the A45.

Evening options: restaurants, pubs, the Core Theatre, and the cinema. Solihull has an actual evening to offer. The airport hotel cluster does not.

Solihull for Families

Bear Grylls Adventure at the NEC campus: climbing, escape rooms, diving, and assault courses. Half-day activity. Booking required.

National Motorcycle Museum: free entry. Kids who are not interested in motorcycles will be interested in how many there are (over 1,000).

Tudor Grange Park: a modern playground, cycle track, and open space. Free.

Resorts World: Cineworld IMAX, bowling, restaurants with kids’ menus.

Touchwood Cinema: family screenings, especially during school holidays.

Malvern and Brueton Park: ducks, a lake, a river, and space to run. Free.

For families flying into BHX with children and heavy luggage, a chauffeur from Grand Executive Chauffeurs takes the whole family to the hotel in 10 minutes. No shuttle bus. No car park walk with a buggy.

How to Get to Solihull

By train: Solihull station is on the Chiltern Main Line. Birmingham New Street: 12-18 minutes direct. London Marylebone: 90 minutes direct. The station is a 3-minute walk from Touchwood. Dorridge and Widney Manor stations serve the southern villages.

By car: M42 Junction 5 leads directly into Solihull via the A41. Junction 6 connects to the airport and NEC. From the M42, the M40 connects to London (90 minutes), the M6 to Manchester (90 minutes), and the M5 to Bristol (100 minutes).

By air: Birmingham Airport is 4 miles away. The airport sits within the Solihull borough boundary. A taxi from BHX to Solihull town centre costs £10-15 metered. A chauffeur transfer costs £25-40 fixed. The train from Birmingham International Station to Solihull takes 8 minutes.

Clean Air Zone advantage: Solihull is outside Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. Visitors driving to Solihull pay zero congestion charges. Visitors driving to Birmingham city centre in a non-compliant vehicle pay £8 per day. For anyone driving an older car, this is a real advantage

Drive Times from Solihull

Destination	Off-Peak	Morning Peak (8am)
Birmingham Airport	10 min	15-20 min
NEC	10 min	15-20 min
Birmingham city centre	20 min	35-45 min
JLR Lode Lane	8 min	12-15 min
Knowle village	10 min	12 min
Hampton-in-Arden	10 min	12 min
Coventry	20 min	30-40 min
Stratford-upon-Avon	30 min	40-50 min

Parking in Solihull

Touchwood multi-storey: £2.50 for 2 hours, £4.50 for 4 hours. Fills fast on Saturdays.

Homer Road car park: council-run, cheaper, a 5-minute walk from Touchwood. Quieter.

NEC car parks: £12-15 per day for events.

Street parking in the town centre: limited, metered, 2-hour maximum in most zones.

The honest advice: on a Saturday, being dropped off and collected beats circling the car parks for 20 minutes.

The History of Solihull in 60 Seconds

The name comes from “soily hill” – sticky clay soil. Not glamorous. The area appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. St Alphege Church was consecrated around 1220. Solihull got its market charter in 1242. The Industrial Revolution largely bypassed the town because wealthy landowners wanted it kept green and residential. The railway arrived in 1852 and turned Solihull into a commuter base for Birmingham professionals. Borough status came in 1954. Touchwood opened in 2001. JLR and the NEC brought major commercial weight. Today, Solihull is one of the most affluent areas in England outside London.

The character has never really changed. Tree-lined streets. Good schools. Green spaces. Quiet confidence. That is Solihull.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Solihull part of Birmingham?

No. Solihull is a separate metropolitan borough within the West Midlands. It has its own council, its own identity, and its own postcode. It borders Birmingham to the south-east but has always been a distinct place.

Is Solihull a city in the UK?

No. Solihull is a large market town and metropolitan borough, not a city. The population is around 220,000 across the borough and 100,000 in the town centre area. It does not hold city status. It functions as a major town within the West Midlands metropolitan county with its own council and administration.

Where is Solihull in the UK on a map?

Solihull sits in the centre of England, in the West Midlands region. It is 9 miles south-east of Birmingham, 110 miles north-west of London, and 90 miles south of Manchester. On a map, look for Birmingham Airport. Solihull town centre is 4 miles directly west of the airport.

Which part of the UK is the Midlands?

The Midlands covers the central belt of England. The West Midlands includes Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall. The East Midlands includes Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, and Northampton. Solihull sits in the West Midlands, bordering Warwickshire to the south and east.

Which city is close to the West Midlands, UK?

Birmingham is the largest city in the West Midlands with a population of over 1.1 million. Coventry is 18 miles east of Solihull. Wolverhampton is 15 miles north-west. Worcester, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Warwick are all within 30 to 40 miles. London is 110 miles south-east, reachable by direct train from Solihull in 90 minutes.

Is the West Midlands a city in England?

No. The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in central England. It contains seven metropolitan boroughs: Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall. Birmingham is the largest city within the county. Solihull is a town and borough within the same county but is a separate administrative area with its own council.

How far is Solihull from Birmingham Airport?

4 miles. 10 minutes by car off-peak. 15-20 minutes during the morning rush. A chauffeur transfer is the fastest option with no parking needed.

What is Solihull known for?

Touchwood Shopping Centre, Jaguar Land Rover headquarters, proximity to the NEC and Birmingham Airport, the Land Rover Experience, parks that win national awards, and consistently ranking among the best places to live in England.

Is Solihull worth visiting?

Yes, if you want good shopping, green spaces, quality food, and a quieter alternative to Birmingham city centre. The Land Rover Experience, National Motorcycle Museum, Resorts World, and bp pulse LIVE arena are all within the borough.

Is Solihull in the Clean Air Zone?

No. Solihull sits outside Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. Visitors driving to Solihull pay no congestion charge regardless of their vehicle’s emissions status.

How do I get from Solihull to London?

Direct train from Solihull station to London Marylebone. 90 minutes. Alternatively, drive via the M42 and M40 in approximately 2 hours.

What are the best restaurants in Solihull?

Rajdoot Tandoori for Indian food. Hogarths in Dorridge for fine dining. The Fieldhouse in Hampton-in-Arden for gastropub food. Mell Square for independent cafes and casual lunch.

Is Solihull good for families?

Yes. Bear Grylls Adventure, National Motorcycle Museum, Tudor Grange Park playground, Resorts World cinema, and multiple parks with playgrounds and open space.

How many Muslims live in Solihull?

According to the 2021 Census, approximately 5 to 6% of the Solihull borough population identified as Muslim, roughly 12,000 to 13,000 residents. The borough has mosques in Chelmsley Wood and the northern areas. Halal food options are available at several restaurants in the town centre and surrounding areas.