Reed Hotel Boats



		Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

Pictures of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Worcester to Kings Norton.

This canal is built to connect Birmingham directly with the River Severn. It climbs steeply up out of the Severn valley in its first fifteen miles going through fifty-six locks to do so, thirty of them in the great flight at Tardebigge. In its second fifteen miles it has no more locks, but four tunnels as it goes right into the heart of Birmingham.

It starts in Worcester where it comes up two broad barge locks off the river Severn into the basins at Diglis. The canal then curves around the centre of Worcester, starting to climb up through eight well spaced locks. Finally the six locks of the Offerton flight take you under the M5 and out of the last outskirts of the city to the village of Tiberton, six miles from the River Severn.

There is then a five mile level stretch, or pound, as the canal winds its way through Dunhampstead tunnel, 230 yards, and past Hanbury junction where the Driotwich canal,currently under restoration leaves the Worcester and Birmingham. This stretch is beautiful country with huge reed beds often hiding the canal bank from sight.

The pound finishes with the six Astwood locks. For the next mile there is a short stretch of industry. This finishes when the six Stoke locks are reached. Just above the bottom one is the main Black Prince base, always lots of boats around here.

Then the climb up to the Birmingham plateau begins in earnest with the ascent of the thirty Tardebigge locks, one of the longest flights in the country. All are set in the countryside, the main Tardebbige locks are often in splendid isolation with a growing view out across the Severn valley to the distant Malvern Hills. Finally the locks end with the arrival at Tardebigge yard, but just before this we pass by the large reservoirs, built to supply the canals and now full of wild life. As a break from the locks it is possible to walk around them.

The rest of the canal is all on the Birmingham level. It is a 15 mile pound which takes the canal right into the heart of Birmingham. The first part, broken up by Tardebigge tunnel, 580 yards and Shortwood tunnel, 613 yards, is delightfully rural even the quick passing over of the M42 hardly intrudes. At one point to the North West can be seen Bittel Reservoirs a reminder of how much water a canal needs to operate. Then comes Bast Hills tunnel, at 2,726 yards one of the longest on the UK canals.

Wast Hills tunnel changes the whole nature of the canal, you enter the tunnel in the country and you come out in the suburbs of Birmingham within a mile coming to King's Norton Junction where the Stratford upon Avon canal goes off to the East while the Worcester and Birmingham canal carries straight on Northwards into the centre of Birmingham.


Alvechurch.	Astwood locks	Astwood locks

Dunhampstead tunnel	Kings Norton junction.	Sunset

Stoke locks on a winter morning.	Hanbury Junction.	Cruising on the summit level.

Some of the many locks at Tardebigge

A misty morning near Alvechurch.	Country cruising near Hanbury.	Tardebigge tunnel.