Birmingham is a very nice place and whoever says its a concrete jungle they don't know their arse from their elbow
That's easy. If it looks like the Bull Ring, its your arse, if its more like the Rotunda, its your elbow...

I don't know about Ireland but if all you are seeing in the UK is London then a zone 1-2 or 1-4 one day travel card is all you need (There is nothing in zones five or six that would interest a tourist. Except Heathrow airport I suppose).