Explore Birmingham city centre by boat

With more canals than Venice, travelling by boat is a great way to explore Birmingham

Earlier this year, James Ruddy of the Irish Post set off from our Alvechurch base to explore Birmingham city centre by boat.

Travelling with his partner Sue, James cruised along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to Gas Street Basin.

In his article, James talks about the history of the canals in Birmingham and the part played by Irish navvies in their construction. He says, “It was hard not to think of their (the Irish workers) sacrifices when we faced our first and only real challenge, the seemingly endless and gloomy depths of the  Wast Hill Tunnel, which is over a mile and a half long and took us over 35 minutes to pass through with just our boat headlight as our guide.”

James and Sue stopped at Bournville, the UK’s “Chocolate Town” and visited Cadbury World. Once moored up in Birmingham city centre at Brindleyplace, they walked into Chinatown for a meal and visited a pub in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter.

You can read James’s ‘Birmingham’s Balti, blinders and Irish backbone‘ review in the Irish Post.