Yesterday I drove the South Coast to Birmingham megabus service and, as mentioned in an earlier posting, started to explore the Digbeth Branch Canal during my free time there. The megabus is parked in Curzon Street so it it’s only a few yards along Curzon Street to the Ashstead Bottom Lock which is where I joined the canal. I then walked through the tunnel which runs under the railway lines

And then to Digbeth Junction which is also called Proof House Junction because of its proximity to the Proof House. At this point a short branch to Typhoo Basin joins the Digbeth Branch.

I then followed the canal past the Banana warehouse, Granville Wharf (The Bond, Ice House) and the Fellows Moreton Clayton warehouse. All can be seen in this photo.

Then to Boardsley Junction which hasn’t changed in 20 years. I spent the night moored there after an exhausting afternoon of opening the Grand Union to traffic! The water level was too low to allow a narrowboat to pass, after checking with the BWB they agreed that water could be allowed back into that section. It took an afternoon of opening and closing locks in order to achieve this and by the time we got to Boardsly Junction is was getting dark and we were far to tired to start on the Camp Hill Locks so we moored on the side of the canal to the very right in this photo. Behind was a huge wall with razor wire at the top and with no towpath on that side of the canal no one could get to the boat. We did however spend the evening and first part of the night listing to airguns going off and pellets whizzing as they richoched off everything around us!

Bordsley Junction is the end of the Digbeth Branch but I did continue my walk for about another mile along the Grand Union canal. However, it became less interesting as it went on. When I’m next in Birmingham I explare the other half of the Digbeth Branch from Curzon Street to Aston Junction where it joins the Birmingham and Fazely Canal.