....................... suggestions for the above please, from Birmingham Stations, excluding London - and direct routes only please (no changes) Thanks!
Leicester's a great city for shopping (with an excellent market) and restaurants. There's also enough to see and do to easily fill a day:
http://www.visitleicester.info/visitleicester.aspx
(£17.90 Anytime Return. £12.50 Off Peak Return. Some Advance fare slightly cheaper. Under an hour from New Street).
Lancaster is packed with history and well worth exploring:
http://www.citycoastcountryside.co.uk/lancaster-city
(£62.40 Off-Peak return, which seems to be available at all times. Advance fares from around £27 return. A little under 2 hours from New Street).
Gloucester offers enough to fill a pleasant day:
http://www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk/
(£35.50 Anytime Return. £23.00 Off Peak Return. Advance fares from around £17 return. Just 50 minutes from New Street).
Oxford is heaving with history, architecture, museums, walks, ancient taverns, riverside/canalside restaurants, and tourist tours - on buses as well as on foot.
Manchester - lots to do and see. Museums, galleries, shopping etc...
Shrewsbury is lovely and quaint, if you go on a nice day there is a lovely park (The Quarry) by the river and nice pub with a beer garden by the river called The Boathouse - just don't go on a last day of college as it will likely be full of students! The Armouries bar is lovely too. You can go look round the castle (right by the station) and lots of little side streets with a lot of the older buildings.
Aberystwyth - for a day by the sea, lovely little town and some lovely walks round the sea front and up Constitution Hill (also an old cliff railway up and down) overlooking the sea. It's only a small little town but you could always get up round Borth and Ynyslas for some more out of the way beach views.