Locks: 58
Bridges: 97
Tunnels: 5
Aqueducts: 4
The Worcester & Birmingham Canal is just one part of the vast network of canals in the Midlands of England but it is remarkable for having the longest lock flight in the UK. It connects the second largest city in Britain, Birmingham with a million inhabitants, to Worcester, with about 100,000. The canal, like so many, goes from very urban to quite rural and along its route are the requisite quaint pubs, stately homes and impressive engineering.
The canal begins at the River Severn beside Worcester and ends at Gas Street Basin in Birmingham, where it meets the Birmingham Canal Navigations (specifically the Old/New Mainline Canal).
The Worcs & B’ham was once separated from the BCN by a physical barrier, the Worcester Bar, in Gas Street Basin. It kept the water supplies of the two canals separate because the canals were owned by different companies. Goods would have to be offloaded from boats on one canal and then taken across the very narrow bar to another boat on the other canal.
The Worcs & B’ham also connects to the Droitwitch Barge Canal at Hanbury and the Stratford-Upon-Avon Canal at Kings Norton Junction. It’s definitely a challenging canal for a beginner or for a small crew, although if you restrict your travels from Tardebigge to Birmingham, you can have a lock-free experience. Or, by making a ring with the Droitwich Canal and the River Severn, you can avoid the Tardebigge flight, although you’ll still have about 30 locks to negotiate.
Once you reach Birmingham, you can make a ring with the Birmingham Old Main Line, the Wyrley & Essington, the Tame Valley and the Birmingham & Fazeley canals, although that would be a challenging route after having just done the Worcs & B’ham.
The Worcs & B’ham never quite lived up to its potential. It was meant to be a wide canal but the expense of the 58 locks in the southern end of the canal resulted in that portion having narrow locks while the northern end has bridges that can accommodate wide boats. The railroads were so competitive that the canal went into receivership, but surprisingly the canal continued until nationalisation in 1948 and chocolate crumb was still arriving at the Cadbury factory at Bournville until the Great Freeze of 1961.
This tour will follow the route of the canal starting in the historic city of Worcester.
We are just on our way to Worcester from the Grand Union canal, where do you receommend in Worcester on the canal, meeting my mother there for her birthday, its the first time for her seeing our new boat, so want a lovely place to moor on the canal in Worcester?
Sorry for the delay in approving this comment. I’ve been busy working on a guide to the Kennet & Avon and let emails slide. I fear this reply may be too late to do you any good.
I traveled the Worcs & B’ham by bike, not boat, but my memory is that all the moorings along the canal are very pleasant. You probably want to moor north of the Commandery. Any further south you’re in Diglis Basin Marina, which would require booking.