Camp Hill Locks and Digbeth

With a spare Saturday morning at my disposal, I decide to take another bite out of Birmingham's waterways by covering the Grand Union Canal from Small Heath to Bordesley Junction, following up by revisiting a couple of my favourite Digbeth watering holes...

- Small Heath Signage -

It's Saturday 19th August 2023 and I begin at a railway station I haven't visited for absolutely ages, namely Small Heath. Situated on Golden Hillock Road just off the ever-busy A45, it first opened in 1863 as a stop on the Great Western Railway line between London Paddington and Birkenhead. It's fair to say the station has seen better days and only two of its four platforms are in active use, although with the sun out things aren't perhaps quite as grim as I remember from the last time I was here. A covered stairwell with hints of period detail leads up through the rudimentary booking hall (ticked office closed on Saturdays) and out onto the street as I eye up pictures of the Birmingham Hotel complex opposite. 

- The Marlborough -

Golden Hillock Road also serves as my access point for the Grand Union Canal as I join the towpath at Bridge 89 amongst swathes of subversive street art. The section I'm about to cover was historically known as the Warwick & Birmingham Canal prior to it becoming amalgamated with other lines to form the Grand Union in the late 1920s. Anderton Road Bridge is but a very short distance away and I briefly detour back up to the pavement so as to inspect a classic terracotta lost pub. The Marlborough has a grand 1900 edifice complete with clock tower and M&B insignia, not forgetting a mention for Tetley's Bitter too - it was converted into flats a few years ago but still dominates the corner with Montgomery Street. 

- Camp Hill Top Lock -

Returning to my canal remit, I pass quietly beside the Vincent Timber Yard and then beneath Small Heath Bridge with the railway line for close company. Camp Hill Top Lock is positioned in the shadows of an old viaduct and there is the distinctive spectacle of Bordesley's Holy Trinity Church adding its presence to the backdrop. There are six locks in total and the line jinks right at one point, progressing through the sequence of Bordesley Middleway bridges and via a wide winding hole arrangement. Graffiti is omnipresent and many of the balance beams are daubed with Animal Rising slogans. 

- Camp Hill Bottom Lock -

Bridge 93 ducks under the Coventry Road as I inch ever closer towards the backstreets of Digbeth. Bordesley Junction is very much a location for the canal purist and it is here that the line splits, one part going to Warwick Bar and Typhoo Basin whereas the other bit heads for Saltley via Garrison Lane. I survey Camp Hill Bottom Lock just before the junction's turnover footbridge - the message here appears to be "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" - then take my leave at Great Barr Street. It's fair to say that walks like this won't be everybody's cup of tea but for fans of post-industrial landscapes it can be fascinating!

- The Spotted Dog -

Heath Mill Lane offers its assistance en route to High Street Deritend with the cluster of bars in and around the Custard Factory looking all set for a bumper afternoon. Checking that Mr D9's favourite Pepsi signage is still intact at the long-closed Deritend Fish Bar, I aim for the traditional hospitality of the Spotted Dog on Alcester Street. This pub is rooted in the Irish community and never lets me down, hence a perfect glass of Holden's Black Country Mild (costing a mere £2.50, a bargain if ever there was one) is soon all mine. The side snug has many posters relating to musical performances and the tables are decorated with beer bottle candles laden with wax drippings. I love this place and much of the conversation revolves around the seemingly endless ongoing roadworks for the Midland Metro extension.

- Plum Porter in the Anchor -

I have similar high regard for the Anchor on nearby Bradford Street, even if it isn't perhaps the beer mecca it was in its total pomp. Perched on the junction with Rea Street, it could hardly be any handier for Birmingham Coach Station which explains why my favourite room has Midland Red bus stops and a vintage 'Coachroads of Britain' National Express poster, not forgetting a wooden screen that divides it from the main bar. Ale-wise I can't resist the Titanic Plum Porter even though there is a Blonde Brummie trying to vie for my attention instead. A packet of salt and vinegar Tayto crisps is the cherry on the cake as far as I'm concerned, the only blot on the landscape being news that Wolves are losing at home to Brighton. Ah well, you can't always have everything - cheers!