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Birmingham canals


artleknock

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I am hireing a boat for a fortnight next May and am thinking of cruiseing the Warwick ring. I have heard that Birmingham has more canals than Venice. If I decide to go through the centre of Birmingham do I need to keep a sharp eye on maps or are the canals well signposted so a novice like me will not get lost.

I am not worried about the locks, my wife is a dab hand at them while I handle the boat :captain:

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Try to plan your schedule so that you can spend a night in Birmingham, its not the best city (and I was born there) but the area around the canal is absolutely fantastic.

Do study the area on Google Earth beforehand, its a navigational nightmare, there's even a roundabout :D

and try to include the Ickneild port Loop, its up for redevelopment so its unique charm will soon be lost.

..................Dave.

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If you are doing the Warwickshire ring then even going through the centre of Birmingham you only skirt the edge of the BCN, but if you have two weeks then you would have time to explore the BCN a bit further if you wanted to.

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If you want to get a quick taste of the BCN, and if you like beer and "proper pubs" I would suggest spending an easy day going up to Wolverhampton on the New main line, Beer and cheap food (or even better a cheese cob) in the Great Western, then returning to Birmingham on the Old main line.

...............Dave

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1 hour ago, dave moore said:

You should have no problems at all....I've boated the system for half a century and have yet to get lost!

I get lost inside the damn boat. After a few days, I forget which end is which

Richard

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1 hour ago, artleknock said:

 

.  .  . I am not worried about the locks, my wife is a dab hand at them while I handle the boat :captain:

Joke.  Right?

If not, why not take advantage of the opportunity to let the little woman build up her confidence steering the boat in and out of the titchy locks, while you do all the running about?

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4 minutes ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

Senile ???

* That's my husband's excuse...

It's because Tawny was built as a symmetrical hire boat, so she has the galley in the middle flanked by a table each end, then a bathroom each end, then a bedroom each end.

That's my excuse

Richard

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12 hours ago, artleknock said:

I am hireing a boat for a fortnight next May and am thinking of cruiseing the Warwick ring. I have heard that Birmingham has more canals than Venice. If I decide to go through the centre of Birmingham do I need to keep a sharp eye on maps or are the canals well signposted so a novice like me will not get lost.

I am not worried about the locks, my wife is a dab hand at them while I handle the boat :captain:

Am currently in Venice and can confirm that their canals have nothing on Birmingham 

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Edited by Tim Lewis
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8 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

I hope this remark is treated with the contempt  caution it deserves.  Our first canal boat holiday over 30 years ago started from the centre of Birmingham and I've been hooked ever since.

Have a greenie.  My first canal holiday was what is now known as the Warwickshire Ring on a "Camping Boat" in 1973.

Got me hooked and turned me into a canalcoholic! :unsure:

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9 hours ago, Timx said:

Birmingham yuck

 

A really helpful contribution. If you don't like the Birmingham canals at least explain why.

I really enjoy boating around the BCN and cover many miles of it every year. Some parts can have their difficulties but that is part of the attraction.

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9 hours ago, Timx said:

Birmingham yuck

 

I take it from this remark you won't be an entrant in the BCN Challenge any time soon then?

 

4 minutes ago, Laurie.Booth said:

I prefer St.Petersburg where I was last week. Very affordable housing and great ballet.

But do these places have anything to compare with the Wellington, the Post Office Vaults, the Great Western or Batham's beer?

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8 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

I take it from this remark you won't be an entrant in the BCN Challenge any time soon then?

 

But do these places have anything to compare with the Wellington, the Post Office Vaults, the Great Western or Batham's beer?

Point of order. The Great Western is in Wolverhampton and Batham's is in Brierley Hill. It is actually the city of Birmingham rather than the BCN as a whole that has more canals than Venice. Of course that includes quite few miles on the GU, Worcs & Bham, and Stratford that are not part of the BCN.

The beer though is better in Brum than Venice and if you think a hire boat is expensive try a gondola.

JP

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11 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

I take it from this remark you won't be an entrant in the BCN Challenge any time soon then?

 

But do these places have anything to compare with the Wellington, the Post Office Vaults, the Great Western or Batham's beer?

Hi,

When I say I prefer St. Petersburg, I meant that it is better than Venice, give me Birmingham everytime. 

:)

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Just now, Captain Pegg said:

Point of order. The Great Western is in Wolverhampton and Batham's is in Brierley Hill. It is actually the city of Birmingham rather than the BCN as a whole that has more canals than Venice. Of course that includes quite few miles on the GU, Worcs & Bham, and Stratford that are not part of the BCN.

The beer though is better in Brum than Venice and if you think a hire boat is expensive try a gondola.

JP

But Birmingham/BCN beat Venice on both counts, Birmingham has more miles than Venice, the BCN has more miles than Venice (by a long way).

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10 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

What proportion of Venice's canals are really rivers/estuaries? Some of them seem too wide to count.

Well strictly speaking of course Venice is built on about 100 islands in a lagoon, with the water between them canalised, and some, but not many, specially dug out, if that's what your definition of a canal is.

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