Cycling on the Birmingham Canals

Ask anyone from Birmingham about canals and they will invariably (and proudly) inform you that Birmingham has more canals than Venice. The towpaths, which lie under the city streets are accessible via a series of walkways, bridges and stairs. 

Largely unused by the general public, these paths are ideal for leisure cyclists and urban commuters alike.  

Exploring the vast expanse of these waterways on a bike offers a fresh perspective of the United Kingdom’s second city. There’s something quite special about ducking onto a canal towpath away from the hustle and bustle of the streets above. 

Navigating the ever changing terrain under your knobbly tyres is an exhilarating experience.

Even in the city centre you can find relative isolation, away from the noise, the crowds and the crawling traffic. The canals offer a sense of tranquillity one wouldn’t expect in an urban area.

Heading from Aston towards the city centre along the Birmingham and Fazeley canal you pass a series of locks and small bridges, on which you are more likely to encounter geese than humans. The Digbeth branch of the Birmingham and Fazeley canal offers an even more remote experience.  While it may not be the most picturesque route, it is undoubtedly full of character.

The 94 metre long Ashted Tunnel is like being in an underground sewer, it’s eerily silent but for the odd trickle seeping through the rocks, dripping into the dark water below.  

As you emerge from the tunnel, the eastside of Birmingham, an area undergoing much regeneration looms on the horizon. 

Continuing along the route, the occasional narrowboat drifts past decrepit old factories and abandoned warehouses which lie beyond graffiti strewn walls.

Just beyond the Curzon Street Tunnel lies Warwick Bar Stop Lock and the adjacent 'Banana Warehouse'. Once owned by fruit producer Geest, the warehouse almost bears resemblance to a disused railway platform. The Grade II listed building, with its faded lime green pillars and overhanging canopy stands like a forgotten remnant of the distant past. 

Cycling along the towpaths offers an unparalleled and unique perspective into Birmingham’s industrial past – it may not always provide the quickest route but it’s an infinitely more interesting experience.