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The West Midlands are located in the western part of The Midlands, about 100 miles NW of London Town.
The West Midlands name is mainly used for three things (The West Midlands Urban Area which is in the West Midlands county in the West Midlands region of England).
The West Midlands urban area is the continuous urban sprawl around Birmingham (basically the West Midlands county minus Coventry and the Meriden Gap). This area is home to around 2.4 million people.
The West Midlands county is a metropolitan county created in 1974 but the county council lost its powers in 1986 so the county doesnt exist adminstratively but the area is still served by the West Midlands police force. The county includes most of the West Midlands urban area as well as the city of Coventry and an area of Green belt between the two areas, known as the Meridan Gap. This area is home to around 2.7 million people.
The West Midlands region which includes the West Midlands county, as well as the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire was created in the late 90s and abolished in 2011 although still serves as a constituency in the European parliament. This area is home to around 5.6 million people. As well as places in the West Midlands county the other significant towns in the region are the cities of Stoke and Worcester and the new town of Telford.
Towns and Cities of the West Midlands
Birmingham
Not to be confused with the one in Alabama (it's really more like Detroit), Birmingham is the second most populous city in the United Kingdom*, with a population in the metropolitan borough itself of about one million, three times the size of any other metropolitan borough in the West Midlands. It's jokingly referred to as one of the ugliest cities in the world - and that's by its own inhabitants.
The city has produced a good number of famous British personalities, including Trevor Eve, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jasper Carrott, and Neville Chamberlain. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Electric Light Orchestra, and Duran Duran were also formed here.
A major industrial centre and a transport hub too, the city is also a major centre for UK media.
There's a film from the 1970s of Telly Savalas extolling the virtues of Birmingham, including the new redeveloped Bull Ring shopping centre.
The local population, nicknamed "Brummies", have a distinctive accent.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton was granted city status in 2000. The city has its own metropolitan borough.
Solihull
Solihull is a large prosperous town to the east of Birmingham and gives its name to the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull which it is part of. Unlike like the rest of the West Midlands the area was never heavily industrialised. The borough also includes large parts of the Meriden gap which contains a number of large prosperous commuter villages such as Knowle and Balsall. The borough is also the location of Birmingham international airport.
The Black Country
The area to the west of Birmingham is often referred to as the Black country. This area sat on a large coalfield hence being a major area for coal mining and was heavily industrialised during the industrial revolution and as a result was heavily polluted. Most of the heavy industry has now died however. The area includes a number of large towns such as Dudley, Wednesbury, Walsall, West Bromwich, Halesowen, Stourbridge, Tipton, Smethwick and Oldbury all of which are within the metropolitan boroughs of Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall. Wolverhampton is sometimes included as part of the Black Country. The area has its own accent which is known as Yam Yam.
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