We're currently in Brum, staying in Aston on the fazley canal.. 4 mile stretch Digbeth to spaghetti junction... Arrived at spaghetti junction...(like you do !) Various canals and rivers meet here
I remember when Birmingham was a dirty cack-hole. Now the graffiti around Digbeth is done by a professional paid artist. How times have changed.
One of our fave destinations on the boat. Ascending the 24 locks of the Aston and Farmers Bridge flights and arriving at the roundabout and all the hustle and bustle of the rejuvenated Gas Street basin area is fab. An hour and a bit in the car or 3 days on the boat from Shardlow, I know how I'd like to get there...nice pics @art b
It can be surprisingly quiet in places as it's within the UK's second city.. A few commuters use the tow path, We have never stayed in Brum before, We stayed over even though it's only 50 miles from home, as it's nicer to stay out late rather than than rush back,
Sorry but Birmingham has got to be one of the worst places I’ve been. Having travelled there on a regular basis in recent years it appears to be somewhere it’s residents have little or no respect for. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere that is so extensively littered and where no apparent effort is made to remove all the carp! All cities have issues but the first and last impressions of brum are that it’s a Marmite hole!
Fair point, It always seemed a bit seedy.. There are some dodgy buggers along the canal in the evenings smoking all sorts from pipes and spoons.. Not smelled so much weed since bug jam.. And groups of "street drinkers " It's been re vamped a bit.. for the games... £700 million.. And there is still a lot of works taking place, It still has its legacy of industrial grimness in places.. I suppose
Industrial.. abandoned leg of a canal.. There were lots of small branches up to factories years ago.. Life was a lot grimmer in these places 200 years ago..
Wellllll that's true to some degree brum is a bit lost on a residential scale. but it has some fantastic areas litter is a huge problem or the person that dropped is a problem. Custard factory is ace if you like street art and I do. Edgebaston is a bit give or take for me. Pebble mill is ok some great art deco stuff. I like it for half a day
Sadly lots of the hostal and homeless got shipped to Coventry for the games an utterly nasty thing to do to family's already in strife.
If I had of been around I would have joined you for a cycle. The canals are ace around Birmingham, pretty much all of the tow paths were resurfaced a few years ago.
