Day 1 - Sunday 21 September.  Alvechurch to Birmingham City Centre

We arrived at the boatyard a little later than expected as there were a couple of delays on route & quickly got our belongings & the shopping on board & set off towards Birmingham.

The Worcester & Birmingham (W&B) canal between Alvechurch & Birmingham is varied; it starts off in rural countryside with open fields where you can see plenty of wildlife & works its way through some fairly run-down industrial areas before reaching the very centre of the City.

After about half an hour we passed Lower Bittell Reservoir where last week I heard that the W&B canal was closed due to a boat fire.  I felt very sorry for the owners of the boat involved as it looks like it was a well kept, reasonably new boat.

From Bittell, the canal winds through more rural surroundings until it reaches Wast Hill Tunnel; this is almost 2.5km long & takes about 30 minutes to travel though.  If I'm honest, I'm not that keen on tunnels; they are cold & damp & Wast Hill is no exception!  We always have to put up a brolly as I don't want tunnel water dripping on me.

Information sign - you get these at the entrances to tunnels

Inside Wast Hill tunnel

Shortly after Wast Hill tunnel we reach the junction with the Stratford Canal, a beautiful rural canal which takes you to the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon, but we were not turning right today.

Looking down the Stratford Canal towards Lock Number One

Another 20 minutes along the canal we reached Bournville where the Cadbury factory is - Cadbury's used the canal to transport milk from farms to their factory until the early 1960's

Sometimes you come past Cadbury's & you can smell the chocolate!

Shortly after Cadbury's the canal now crosses New Road in Selly Oak by means of an aqueduct that only opened in 2011 - there's something quite odd about being on a boat on a bridge & crossing a road!

Ariel Aqueduct, Selly Oak

The final part of the W&B canal takes you right into the centre of the city, past The Mailbox & the new Cube building where the canal takes a sharp turn towards the Worcester Bar, where it meets the BCN, Birmingham Canal Navigations.

Looking back along the W&B Canal with the Mailbox building straight ahead & The Cube slightly to the right

The Worcester Bar

Once through the Worcester Bar, we moored in Gas Street Basin on a mooring which is reserved for the Conservative Party Conference Boat later this week whilst they are in Birmingham for their annual Party Conference

Eos moored in the centre of Birmingham

Wildlife we've spotted today

This Heron flew off into a tree as we passed