Day 21 Saturday 11 October
Birmingham City Centre to Alvechurch
As last night was our last night on Eos for this holiday we decided to go out in Birmingham & at the very last minute called Andersons Steak House to see if they had a table which they did so we went there & had a wonderful meal. We'd not returned to the boat too late & hit the sack but then got a rather rude awakening at 01:36 as someone was kicking the boat! Stuart jumped out of bed & dashed out the door by by the time he'd done that they'd gone but he was then confronted by a young lady who accused him of throwing peanuts at her; oddly there was a pile of peanuts on the tow path halfway along the boat but they had nothing to do with us! Luckily the chap who was with her managed to convince her that Stuart hadn't been throwing peanuts & they went away. Today when the sunlight was shining on the boat we could see muddy boot prints all the way down the side of the boat including on 2 windows, luckily the toughened glass had stood up to this kicking as the last thing we'd have wanted was a broken window! Another set of owners had had a window broken in the night by someone throwing a large stone which must have been dreadful - the joys of city centres! Mind you, having said that, we've spent quite a few nights moored in the centre of Birmingham & this is the first time we've had bother like this.
As some of you already know Eos will be moving base early next year to Gayton Marina which is located on the Blisworth Arm of the Grand Union Canal between the villages of Gayton and Blisworth in Northamptonshire so we think this will be our last Eos trip through the centre of Birmingham.
To conclude our 3 week trip I'd like to leave you with some pictures from the centre of the City in the hope when you next visit Birmingham you'll make time to visit the canal where you could have a coffee & watch the boats go past or even take a tour on one of the many trip boats.
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| Old Turn Junction |
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| A new look to the NIA |
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| One of my favourite spots - the centre of Birmingham with Brindley Place to the right & the Symphony Halls to the left. Ahead is Broad Street bridge with the Worcester Bar ahead. You can see The Cube towering above |
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| The Waterbus - hop on for a tour with full commentary! |
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| Or you could have a trip & a meal....really push the boat out! |
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| Approaching The Worcester Bar - to the left is Gas Street Basin & the narrow strip of water is the start of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. If you watch the Julia Bradbury Canal Walks BBC show it starts with Julia sat outside the Canalside Pub just under this footbridge |
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| On the W&B heading for Salvage Turn, a 90 degree turn (fun on a windy day!) - ahead The Mailbox & The Cube |
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| The Mailbox, canalside W&B Canal |
For more information on The Mailbox, click here
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| The Cube |
Described as Birmingham’s iconic landmark, The Cube is a world-class destination standing tall across the city’s skyline. The outstanding 25-storey structure houses an impressive mix of prime office, retail and restaurant spaces, aspirational apartments, a boutique hotel, exclusive canal side restaurants, skyline champagne bar, luxury spa facilities, and the UK’s largest automated car park.
We were lucky enough to stay in a room on the 24th floor with a balcony that overlooked the canal back in 2012 & on one occasion when I looked out I saw Eos go past! I'd recommend this as a great place to stay when you visit Birmingham
We also saw in 2013 at a New Years Eve party at the Marco Pierre White restaurant which is in the glass section on the top right. The glass section on the top left houses a Champagne Bar where we watched the many fireworks that were going off around the city. We'd moored Eos just under the footbridge so didn't have far to get back afterwards!
Today we have travelled for 4 hours on 2 canals, no locks, 2 tunnels.
Thank you for taking time to read my blog, I hope you enjoyed it. We are next scheduled to be on Eos on 15 March so will post again then
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