WorcesterandBirminghamCanal

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The Worcester and Birmingham canal is a wonderful navigation from the centre of the city of Birmingham, England, at Gas Street basin and through its suburbs and the Worcestershire countryside to the River Severn at the city of Worcester. To travel the route on a narrow boat you will have to navigate 30 miles and 58 locks. If you wish to walk or cycle this route along the tow path the distance will be something closer to 31 miles. As the canal falls from Birmingham to the River Severn (some 428 foot) it is best to travel North to South. It can be attempted in parts as the first half of the route has numerous train stations along the way. If you wish to walk it in one go you need to be either a) fit or b) mad. When I walked it in ’99 I was the latter and managed the 31 miles in 8 hours 35 minutes. Early in August 2009, two friends and myself caught a train from Redditch station to Birmingham New Street station and cycled across town to the canal at Gas Street. Here is where we started our cycle ride south to Worcester. (You can follow the route on Google Earth.)

The history of the Worcester and Birmingham canal is quite remarkable but I shall not go into it here. If you search you will find all the information you could wish for on the internet including narrow boat holidays. Here I shall concentrate on the route only.

Foot Bridge

Granville St.

Gas St. Basin

Bath Row

B4540

Five Ways

Station

Islington Row

Middleway

St. James Rd.

B4712

Carpenter Rd.

Foot bridge

Somerset Rd.

Pritchatts Rd.

University Station

University Rd. West

F.B.

Bristol Rd.

A38

Selly Oak Station

Raddle Barn Rd.

Track

Bournville Station

Bournville Ln.

Mary Vale Rd.

Pershore Rd.

A441

Lifford Ln.

Kings Norton

Junction

Wharf Rd.

Primrose Hill

Shannon Rd.

School

Bargehorse Walk

Old Portway

Longdales Road

Bracken Way

Redhill Rd.

Wasthill Ln.

Track

A441

Birmingham Rd.

Lower Bittell

Reservoir

Track

B4120

The Hopwood

P.H.

Bittell Rd.

Aqueduct Ln.

M42

Callow Hill

Withybed Ln.

Scarfield Hill

ALVECHURCH

Boat Yard

Grange Ln.

Pipe Line

Track

Boat Yard

Brockhill Ln.

B4096

Hewell Ln.

A448

Bromsgrove Highway

B4184

Tardebigge Boat Yard

Alcester Rd.

Top Lock

Track

London Rd.

Engine House

Locks

Car

Park

Reservoir

Track

Upper Gambolds Ln.

Track

Queen’s

Head P.H.

Sugarbrook Ln.

Stoke Pound Ln.

Whitford

Bridge Ln.

Track

B4090

STOKE WHARF

Hanbury Rd.

Weston Hall Rd.

Astwood Ln.

Track

Droitwich

Canal

B4090

Salt Way

Tracks

Hay Ln.

Pipe line

Dunhampstead tunnel

Trench Ln.

Tracks

Plough Ln.

Motor

Way

Offerton Ln.

A4538

Pershore Ln.

A449

Tracks

B4550

Blackpole Rd.

B4482

Bilford Rd.

St. George’s Ln.

Lansdowne Rd.

Rainbow Hill

Lowesmoor Pl.

B4550

B4205

Cromwell St.

George St.

30 mile point

Foundry St. Park St.

A44

Sidbury

Mill St.

Diglis Basin

River

Severn

CITY OF

WORCESTER

CITY OF

BIRMINGHAM

Spot height:

479’ 146m

HAWKESLEY

Spot height:

476’ 145m

HOPWOOD

STOKE POUND

STOKE WORKS

Spot height:

161’ (49m)

Eagle & Sun

P.H.

SHERNAL

GREEN

Spot height:

157’ 48m

Alvechurch

Station

The map, left, is purely pictorial and is not to scale. I would advise the use of Ordnance Survey maps 139 and 150. (1:50,000 Landranger series.) If you intend to cycle the route you will need a British Waterway’s permit to do so. You can get that free HERE.

Over on the far left of this page you will see thumb nails which, if you click on, will give you a larger version.

Once you ascend down onto the tow path at Gas Street Basin and look NW you will see National Indoor Arena (or NIA)(1). There are plaques along the way but most are not high enough to avoid the attention of the graffiti monsters.(2) In the middle of the Basin there is what used to be the Worcester bar which separated Birmingham Canals Navigation’s system from the Birmingham and Worcester canal. Now there are many narrow boats moored along its side. If you keep on going in this direction (3) Bridley Place will be reached which is famous for night life and restaurants. (Bill Clinton visited for the G8 Summit in 1998 and had a pint of Guinness at a local bar.) Turn back on yourself and turn the corner (4,5 looking back) you then start the journey towards Worcester and the River Severn. (6,7)

My apologies for some of the shots being a little shaky! Taking photos whilst “on the hoof” along a narrow tow path is not easy.

As you turn the corner, with the canal on your left side you pass under a footbridge and head SW. The first tunnel on the route (8) has a very narrow and bumpy tow path through it with a handrail. You can cycle through but it’s a bit hair raising! The main Worcester to Birmingham rail way runs parallel with the canal on the right and soon Five Ways’ station is reached. The tow path is very good along this section and if you’re cycling then a good turn of speed can be achieved. University station, which serves Birmingham University and the Queen Elizabeth hospital is the last station before the rail line swaps sides just before the Bristol Road where it passes through Selly Oak station and swaps back over the canal again.

By Raddle Barn Road there are a number of houses with gardens backing onto the canal and the owners have taken full advantage of the aspect. Many have made a kind of “Riviera” with patios, decking and moorings. It must be lovely sitting here having a BBQ on a warm summer’s evening, watching the boats chug by. (9,10)

It’s not long till Bourneville station is reached. (11) The corporate colours of this most famous of English American companies stand out a mile. If you only walk to this point it is well worth a trip to the famous chocolate factory and having a guided tour around Cadbury World. If you have children with you they will come away with more chocolate than they have ever seen in their life!

Not long after Bourneville station the tow path swaps sides at the A441 Pershore Road. The five mile point is reached about here and you have to swap sides again at Lifford Lane. It was here, as we descended onto the tow path, we spotted a heron stood on the side of the path. A chap walking the other way walked straight passed it and asked us what bird it was. (I thought everyone knew what a heron looks like!) I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to a heron before. (12) It took off and did an amazing thing: It went to fly over Lifford lane, hovered, looked left and right for traffic and continued over the road as it was clear of traffic. Street wise heron!

The tow path here is really good and in no time the Kings Norton Junction is reached. (13) Here the canal and tow path branches off to Stratford upon Avon. Right adjacent to the junction is a very nice house with a back door issuing onto the path between a pair of Doric columns. Alan commented that it had recently been up for sale.

Eventually the tunnel at Hawkesley is reached with the path rising up to a line of terraced cottages. Presumably these would have been for canal workers in the past. They are a stark difference to the tower blocks of Hawkesley. The following in blue is the directions over Hawkesley and can be skipped. If you continue south over the Shannon Road with the school on your left you will come across some common ground. You can do one of two things: a) If you travel over the common you will follow a winding path through bushes but if you keep the main hedge on your left you will come across Bargehorse Walk. The tarmaced path reaches an island of paths with a mosaic centre. Cross this and continue past the back gardens of the houses till you come to the Old Portway Road. Cross this and continue on the path till you reach Longdales Road. Turn right on this road and follow it round to the left till you reach Bracken Way. Continue down this road till you reach Redhill Road. Turn right here and then left into Wasthill Lane. Or b) Follow the Shannon Road round to the right, which is easier and quicker, till you reach Old Portway road. Turn down this and continue till you find the path crossing the road. Take a right onto it and continue as above. Along Wasthill lane there is a heavily fortified observatory (15) before you descend down onto the tow path again. (16) As with many of the original bridges along the way there is one here with marks in the side made by the innumerable tow ropes rubbing over the years. (17) This is a good example. The bridge is probably some two hundred years old. Just along here is mooring for narrow boats. (18)

It was here that the tow path became just as bad as it gets. (19+) You would have thought August to be dry and “drouthy” but we’d had the worst on record. Between the tunnel and Bittell the path was a strip of liquid mud. We couldn’t walk through it let alone cycle. I ended up in a precarious position of walking along the edging pushing my little folding cycle through the mire. (20 Left of the metal edging is the mud, right the canal.) My Sachs 3 x 7 gears in the 408 rim disappeared under the mud. When we had extricated ourselves we plunged the bikes in the canal to clean them. (21) Just after this point you can see Lower Bittell reservoir (22+) which used to be the favourite bird watching haunt of Bill Oddie. There’s a long, raised, piece of ground here, rather like a station platform. I’ve no idea what it could have been used for.

Once you have passed under the M42 motorway you go over a wooden bridge. Underneath which is the remains of the old canal presumably before it was re-routed to accommodate the M42 (circa 1985) (23) here there is a perfect aquatic haven with native water lilies (Nuphar lutea) growing.

Just before you reach Alvechurch (pronounced alfchurch) boat yard you pass under the railway, yet again, and there’s some very nice new build terraced houses with mooring near the Crown Inn. (24)

Just around the corner you come to Alvechurch boat yard and marina. (25+) I spent many happy hours at the Weighbridge PH when friends of mine lived there. You can hire boats from the yard and they also fabricate/restore narrow boats here too. This is also the last train station should you wish to get back to New Street station.

A short distance from here a tunnel is reached and those not on the water have to pass up and over through a wooded part. (27/28) (My father and I used to listen to the dawn chorus her when I was a child.) Over the top you have a wonderful view of the Worcestershire countryside before you drop back down to the canal on the other side again. A little further is another boat yard doing narrow boat holidays. (29)

It’s not long before you reach another tunnel. Travelling up a lane till the B4096 is reached. Crossing over you then have to follow a path on to the A448 dual carriageway. (To the left, though you can’t see them, are the Hewell Grange prisons (pronounced Yule with a very soft H before the Y.) which was once the ancestral home of the Earls of Plymouth before being sold to the state in the 1970s. I used to spend many happy hours exploring the estate as a child.) After a short distance you have to descend down some steps to the side of the busy A448 (30a). Once over this the B4184 is crossed and then down to the canal again. (31) This tunnel was closed, due to a collapsed roof, for many years and was to cost lives to reopen it in the 1970s. During the days of horse drawn narrow boats the horses went over the top of the tunnel while the men “legged” it through. This was done by lying on your back and putting your feet against the roof/sides and pushing the boat through by walking.

Onward past the boat yard the Lock Keeper’s cottage is reached (32) (I recommend the book The Lock Keeper’s Daughter by Pat Warner.) Here is where the hard work starts if you’re boating to Worcester (Or ends if you’re going to Birmingham!) for this is the start of the system of 56 locks. To this point no locks were needed to navigate from Birmingham. The top lock is the deepest as this was originally to be a lift but was found to be unsatisfactory. (32a) The tow path is excellent along here to the Engine House. Originally a pump house for the canal it was once a night club and PH but appears, at the time of writing this, to be derelict and for sale.(33) At this point you can really appreciate the work involved in building the canal when looking down the system of locks (34)

Just before the reservoir is a another Lock Keeper’s cottage. (36) Climbing the bank a good view of the water can be had (37). The fishing rights for all the water around here belongs to the Birmingham Angler’s Association which is one of the largest associations of its kind. (38) Past another cottage (festooned with wires (39)) the welcome view of the Queen’s Head PH is seen. Here we stopped for a pint of ale (40 Me, Nick and Alan.)

Onwards to the Black Prince boat yard and the Navigation Inn at Stoke Wharf passing many narrow boats on the way. (41/42)

Keeping going you eventually pass under the railway (again!) and the fork off to the Droitwich to Worcester canal can bee seen over on the other side (43) What can be seen from here is only a short curtailed piece of the canal which was abandoned in 1939 and an industrial estate built just beyond. Restoration work began in the early 1970s and there is only this piece of new navigation needed to connect the canal to the B & W canal. Here are five snaps taken from my father’s standard eight film of a walk we did along the abandoned canal in, I believe, the winter of the infamous summer of 1976 showing some of the restoration work.

Just after this you go under the Salt Way (B4090) which is the route of the Roman Road to Alcester (pronounced Alster). The salt extracted from the ground at Droitwich Spa was taken along this route to Londinium and the empire. Just the other side of the Salt Way is the Eagle and Sun PH.

Onwards you will come to the Droitwich Marina (43) on the other side and an stretch of moored narrow boats with a strip of land that has been put into good use: Gardens, sheds, glasshouses, patios etc. (44) After this there is a very long straight bit of canal which, if you are walking the entire length, you could find a little demoralising! It’s a bit of a trudge. (45)

At about this point I noticed that, although my front wheel was pointing forwards, my handle bars were pointing off to the canal! A quick examination revealed that my fork steering head had snapped. From now on cycling was a little dicy so say the least!

After a while you reach the short Dunhampstead tunnel which you have to pop over (46) and once you regain the canal you go past Dunhampstead Wharf on the other side just before you reach the Trench Lane bridge.

At just about the 25 mile mark you pass under the M5 motorway. (47) All the way along this stretch you will catch glimpses of the railway which is following this well chosen route.

Just after the M5 motorway an old tithe barn can be seen over on the left. These ancient barns with two doors either side were used to store the farmer’s produce and, with both doors open, threshing of corn could take place with the through draught taking the chaff away. This one looks in need of a little restoration with the farmer having to hold the end wall up with a parked trailer! Many barns probably have preservation orders attached to them.

You are now not too far from the famous city of Worcester (pronounced Wuster or even Wusta) Nearing Worcester you pass through the Perdiswell Sports’ complex and onto Bilford Top Lock. It was about here we saw the bloom amazing boat. I say blooming because it was festooned with flowers and vegetable. There were even dwarf runner beans! Marvellous! (50) Not far after this, before St. George’s Lane, you cross over to the other side of the canal.

Just as you are reaching the outskirts of Worcester you can see a spire over on your right (51) before you go under the railway tracks (again). (52)You then reach the entrance to a wharf which appears to privately owned and gated. (53) Up and over the bridge you are now well and truly in the suburbs of the city of Worcester. When you reach St George’s Lane you have to swap sides again for the last time.

Just before you reach the Commandery there’s some very pleasant flats overlooking the canal. (54) The Commandery (55,56) is reached shortly afterwards. This building became a focus of events during the English Civil War but tradition has it that the building was founded as a hospital around 1085 by Saint Wulfstan, then Bishop of Worcester. However the hospital was built around a much earlier Saxon chapel dedicated to Saint Gudwal.

After the Commandery you are on the home straight to Diglis Basin which is still in the process of being given a good make over. (57) When I last visited here the whole place was in a rather dilapidated state but it is now becoming a rather desirable area. Some of the flats here are really quite expensive. (58) Diglis Basin (59-60) is the end of the canal before the final lock (62-64) which issues out onto the River Severn.

Once you’ve slapped yourself on the back (Especially if you’ve just walked the 31 miles (50 km.)) for completing the journey you can turn right and follow the path back into the city along a kind of promenade, past the gates of King’s School (Where they bring the boats down and there’s the record of all the floods are carved into the stone walls.) and onto the Glover’s Needle. (65) From here you can also see Worcester cathedral. It’s a short journey through the city to Shrub Hill station where you can catch the train back to Birmingham New Street Station.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed cycling it with my friends. If you spot any mistakes please mail me.

Left: My old (not so) faithful after the ride.

Sunday, 27 December 2009

Updated: Thursday, 11 February 2010