Birmingham

Birmingham (/ˈbɜːrmɪŋəm/ ⓘ[6][7][8] BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in Britain[a][9] – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom[10][11][12][13][14] – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper.[4] Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside of London.[15] Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden,[16] and is the most inland major city in the country,[17] and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre. The city does however have numerous canals, collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations.[18]