A Helping of Highgate

My first trip of April saw me venture into the mysterious realms of backstreet Birmingham, with a tasty serving of canal exploration for good measure...

The outing initially saw me back on my old stomping ground at Birmingham University, getting a few photos at Edgbaston Campus before joining the Worcester & Birmingham Canal for a walk back into the City Centre. The canal has long been a favourite of mine, but it had been ages since I'd covered the sections through Edgbaston and Five Ways, so it was good to renew my acquaintance with Pritchatts Road, Somerset Road and The Vale. Unfortunately, the rather overcast morning conditions weren't proving great for taking bridge photos, but I persevered and hopefully some of the shots will be usable.

Ploughing onwards, I reckon it had been a full five years or so since I last visited Edgbaston Tunnel. Photos again proved tricky but I enjoyed attempting shots inside the tunnel, where bright orange lamps at least provided some kind of light source. The bridges at St James Road and Bath Row were less familiar to me, and I was pleased to add them to my archive - hopefully now I have a full set of shots covering the entire Birmingham section of the canal from Worcester Bar to Shannon Road.

Leaving the canal at The Mailbox, it was time for a bit of local exploration. My walk took me along Bristol Street then down Wrentham Street, where I immediately found some traditional corner pubs, the Fountain and the British Oak. Continuing into Macdonald Street, the backstreet vibe became more pronounced amongst industrial workshops and pubs like the Queens Head and the Lamp Tavern. It certainly wasn't the most glamorous location, and I always had half an eye looking over my shoulder just in case, but it was a fascinating glimpse of the urban inner-city all the same. I did feel reluctant to get the camera out at times, but braved a shot of the Town Crier pub before dashing down Rea Street towards Digbeth.

Next stop was the Anchor, a cracking pub I visited with Rog last year without getting a decent photo of the place. I was determined to put this right, and today's photos seemed to settle me down as further shots followed of the White Swan just up the road. I was roughly aiming for Camp Hill, but decided to branch off to explore more of Highgate, spotting another pub called the Fountain, this time on Alcester Street. Lunch beckoned, and I found a nice spot in Highgate Park to tuck in to my pasty. The photos continued with a quick peek at the closed Peacock pub on Deakin Street before taking a closer look at the park itself - its a good facility with an urban cricket court and a nice avenue of trees guarded by a statue of King Edward VII. With a hint of blossom, some parts of the park were actually quite photogenic, especially where the grand residences of Moseley Road formed an almost stately backdrop.

I was actually beginning to like Highgate, and I just had time for a final few discoveries before tracking down my next bit of canal. These included the Hen & Chickens pub (closed and boarded up on Moseley Street), the Moseley Arms (very much open and a route 50 landmark), and the attractive half-timbered building in Stratford Place (not sure what the building is but it looked old). Highgate Middleway brought me to Camp Hill Interchange, where I was finally able to get shots of a longstanding target of mine, the Brewer & Baker pub overlooking the island.

Continuing down to Coventry Road, I decided to put the canal on hold a little bit longer as I couldn't resist a return visit to Bordesley Station. I must admit this was made with some considerable trepidation, as I could well recall my previous visits, climbing a dingy, litter-strewn staircase that stunk like the worst urinal on earth. Thankfully the station appears to have had a bit of a clean up, as the litter was negligible and the smells tolerable, although the stairwell is still a dark, offputting approach and the platforms are as bleak and basic as ever. Given the current economic climate, its quite pleasing that the station remains open and that someone takes the trouble to make it half-way presentable.

Time now for that canal exploration I'd been promising myself, and it was well worth the wait. I joined the Grand Union at Coventry Road and made my way along to Fazeley Street. Its hardly the prettiest stretch of waterway, but for me it was engrossing new territory providing cracking little discoveries. The first was Bordesley Junction, where the Grand Union effectively forks into two arms, one to Digbeth and one to Saltley. After surveying the roving iron footbridge, I have a brief look at the Saltley option, taking shots of Bridge 96 and spotting several other bridges on the horizon (very intriguing!), before deciding to concentrate on the short section up to Digbeth Junction.

This initially yields photos of Bridge 95 at Great Barr Street, then I arrived at Warwick Bar, a simply wonderful backstreet canal location. The bar is something of an ugly cousin compared to the more vaunted Worcester Bar in Gas Street Basin, but I really liked the sense of quiet dereliction amid industrial surroundings where you are slightly off the beaten track. Just beyond the bar is Digbeth Junction, where this bit of the Grand Union terminates and the Digbeth Branch Canal heads off towards Aston. I was tempted to investigate Curzon Street Tunnel and the Ashted locks, but instead I follow the junction sign towards Typhoo Basin, with the towpath coming to a halt at Fazeley Street Bridge. From on top of the bridge I could catch a glimpse of the basin, a quiet scene now but I could imagine the days when the place would have been busy with boats serving the Typhoo Tea and HP Sauce warehouses.

From Fazeley Street it was back to New Street as the trip drew to a close, although there was time for a final backstreet flurry having a look at Birmingham Dog's Home, old tenement buildings on Bordesley Street and the closed Fox & Grapes pub on Park Street. The train ride back to Wolverhampton gave me time to reflect on a cracking adventure that had given me a real flavour of a side of Birmingham that I had always previously chosen to avoid. Today's glimpses of Highgate and the Digbeth section of Grand Union Canal have convinced me that there is much exploration potential to be found amongst the backstreets and, whilst always remaining cautious, I'd quite like to find out more.