It has been voiced many times that the Birmingham canal network is larger than the Venice canals and its Gondoliers. In making that statement, which has no doubt been made by many of Birmingham's population over the years, it would be very interesting to determine how many Brummie's have actually taken the trouble to walk and explore the Birmingham canal side network, by either walking or using one of a number of canal boats available for passenger use?

Running between the daily hustle and bustle of Birmingham, is a canal system where some of the examples of Birmingham's history and industrial heritage still, fortunately, remain.

There are also links to numerous towns and cities in the UK via the routes along the Birimingham canals and the British Waterways canal network, offering various links to the National river/rivers system; one well known and local canal link is Worcester to Birmingham. Locally there are also the well used Stourport and Warwickshire ring routes. For the canal enthusiasts and by use of a Birmingham canal or canals map, there are a number of trips on offer. Canal boat charter, rental & leasing in Birmingham can also be arranged, if you are looking to hire a boat, there are also boat excursions in Birmingham and organised canal tours for those who just want to sit back and take it easy. There are also interesting canal walks along the pedestrian friendly towpaths, one of which has been described in great detail below.

For anyone interested in a canal and/or river boat holiday then a local navigation map or if you are going on a lengthy journey an English or British map, maps or booklet guides would be deemed essential. Such waterways maps will identify all the various weirs and locks which you will pass on your journey, plus aqueducts, drinking water points, toilet emptying facilities, canal and river adjacent pubs and boat moorings in Birmingham, etc. They will also, in attenmpts to avoid canal and river bank erosion, identify maximum cruising speed limits.

There may be those of you that have experienced river or canal holidays and are now considering the purchase of a floating holiday home of your own. You may even be that taken with life on the water that you want to reside permanently on a canal boat. There are numerous boats for sale in Birmingham for those of you considering such a venture.

In the local Black Country, which is just a short canal journey away, there have been numerous improvements made to the canal network and there, because of the rapid changes in ground levels, you will encounter numerous locks, with one famous set being the lock system at the Delph, Brierley Hill. The canal here was built between July 1777 and June 1779 and there were originally nine locks, however, following extensive remodeling in 1858 the locks were reduced to eight, but the name of nine locks still remains to this day. The locks are spread over a distance of some 500 metres, with a ground level change of 26.4 metres at the start and end. With the length of each lock measuring around 21.5 metres the gradient is considered almost "alpine" by canal standards. Passing through this set of locks has to be an unforgettable experience for all boating enthusiasts. Fortunately there is an adjacent pub at one end which will allow one to relax prior to or wind down after your short eight lock 500 metre journey. 

Areas close to Birmingham Broad Street have pubs and streets named after the canal builders and the industrialist who financed the building of them. One such name is that of Brindley Place, named after canal builder James Brindley.

Brindley was a millwright by trade and mainly involved himself in the building of watermills. Born in 1716, his engineering and construction knowledge was mainly self taught and not always successful, however, he quickly learnt through trial and error. His first experience of building canals came when the 3rd Duke of Bridgwater wanted a canal built to connect his mines in Worsley to the centre of Manchester. With the assistance of Brindley and funded by the Duke of Bridgwater, the Bridgwater canal was completed in 1764 and later extended to the Mersey Estuary in 1776.

Brindley was also responsible for introducing the technique of clay puddling which made the sides and bed of the cutting watertight.

Although the building of the canal virtually bankrupt the Duke, its construction was a long term success and industrialist, including Josiah Wedgwood, who at the time was transporting china clay, by sea, from Cornwall to Liverpool suddenly took note.

In Birmingham a meeting was called by businessmen proposing a link from the coal mines of the Black Country to Birmingham and the Birmingham Canal Company came into being.

On the 24 February 1768, the Parliament of the day gave the go ahead for a route stretching from New Hall Street in Birmingham to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal passing through Smethwick, Tipton and Bilston. James Brindley was appointed engineer at a salary of £200 per year and a local committee was given the task of raising some £50,000, the money needed to build this section of canal.

Access to a part of the canal that Brindley built can be approached from Birmingham Broad Street, where a set of steps lead down to the canal past the Birmingham International Convention Centre and Birmingham Symphony Hall. Once on the towpath follow the path under two footbridges until the Malt House pub is reached. The pub is a survivor of the numerous malt houses that fronted this side of the canal and where grain was stored for the brewing of ale in the 1800's.

The island that can be seen in the centre of the canal is the hub of the Birmingham canal network as it marks the junction of Brindley's canal, Telford's Main Line canal routes and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

From the Malt House pub, cross over the canal via the footbridge towards the Birmingham National Indoor Arena and walk down to the canal side with the canal on the right, the towpath runs under the road to the Framer's Bridge Locks. An engineering spectacle waits with the viewing of thirteen continuous locks running towards Paradise Street on the Birmingham to Fazeley Canal. The locks and Bridge are named after a local landowner and gun maker of the 1700's, called James Farmer.

Near the first set of locks is an old toll office where canal users had to pay a toll based on the weight and type of cargo they carried. Continuing along the towpath to Paradise Street and crossing over onto the other towpath it is possible to continue back along the canal along James Brindley Walk to the toll office.

The steps at the end of the James Brindley Walk allow access to Cambrian Wharf. The basin next to the footbridge is all that remains of the original Newhall Branch of Bindley's canal. This is the site of Birmingham's first canal which commenced at Newhall Street. In 1937 the Newhall Branch of the canal was acquired by the then Birmingham Corporation and drained to make way for civic redevelopment.

Brindley and his team of engineers took four years to build the original canal and they found themselves solving the various problems they faced as they were encountered. One such problem was encountered at Smethwick where the plan to build a tunnel under the Smethwick Summit had to be abandoned due to ground conditions. Brindley finished up by going over the hill through the construction of six locks. Brindley's canal was a contour canal which, where practically possible, looped around contours to avoid gradients.

From Cambrian Walk the toll house can again be reached via the foot bridge and one can follow the towpath under Tindal Street Bridge walking past the canal junction and the Birmingham National Indoor Arena. This is the commencement of Thomas Telford's New Birmingham Main Line. Whilst standing in front of the Birmingham National Indoor Arena and looking across the canal and underneath the footbridges, an inlet to part of Brindley's original Main Line can be viewed, now called the Oozells Street Loop.

Over the years the maintenance of the canal tended to be overlooked and by the early 1800's  the canal  was suffering badly due to this and in 1820 the Government, as an aid to boosting the economy by commissioning public works, sent Thomas Telford to Birmingham to inspect the now neglected canals.

Telford was unimpressed with Brindley's meandering canal which looped back and forth through the city, obviously constructed at the time to easily pick up the various warehouses of the day. Having looked carefully at the canal, Telford's proposal was to rebuild it in its entirety along a much shorter and straighter route and also making the journey from Birmingham to Tipton lock free. The route taken eventually became known as the New Main Line, and when opened in 1829 was some five miles and also at that time, five hours shorter in journey time.

Continuing along the towpath with the canal on the left, it passes under Sheepcote Bridge where the remnants of Corporation Wharf can be found and the now closed Fiddle and Bone public house which is now part of The Roundhouse, a circular terrace at the junction of Sheepcote Street and Vincent Street. The Roundhouse is one of the city's best known pubs and music venue.

At the Vincent Street Bridge the canal can be crossed by using the adjacent steps to street level, crossing the road and then heading back to Brindley Place along the other towpath.

On this side of the canal there is a footbridge and this is where the other end of Oozells Street Loop rejoins the New Main Line. Along this section of the Loop are moored narrow boats which are home to some of Birmingham's community.

Continuing back along the towpath towards Brindley Place, the Birmingham National Indoor Arena can be seen on the other side of the canal. This was once the site of numerous railway sidings and owned by the Birmingham Canal Company.

The canal side area around Brindley Place was home to numerous warehouses and railway sidings; however, it is now home to Shops, Restaurants, stylish Bars and Cafes, the Ikon Gallery and the Natural Sea Life Centre.

Following the towpath from Brindley Place, there next appears Broad Street Tunnel which passes under the road before emerging into Gas Street Basin. At the end of the towpath is a bridge leading to the Mail Box, home of designer brand shops, cafes, bars, waterside restaurants and hotels.

Many of the aforementioned items of interest can be found in other sections of Activ Birmingham, see the Information pages and What's Going on in Birmingham. Remember, if you do decide to walk along the towpaths be alcohol free or you may get wet.

Be safe.