A Bimble down the Brum Mainline to Smethwick

I was on a quest to discover one of the wonders of the industrial world which I had heard was buried in the heart of Smethwick. Forgotten and a tad forlorn the Galton Bridge is an impressive portal into the once beating heart of the beast that was Brum.  In 1829 this was Thomas Telford's crowning achievement as it constituted the largest single span bridge in the world at 150 feet wide. It is an impressive height above the canal, at 71 feet, and is an imposing structure today for those who like to stand and stare and contemplate its majesty back in the day. Preserved as an ancient monument, a grade one listed building, it goes largely unnoticed these days but was once a wonder of the world. I looked forward to walking across it and looking down on Telford's ambitious canal which cut a swathe through the heartlands, establishing the city as the engine of the industrial revolution. 

 

After the higgledy piggeldy maze of canals in Birmingham city centre you are spat out onto Telford's mainline just beyond the great terminus of Gas Street basin. This is a revelation to one used to curly canals as it was the equivalent of the M1, wide and straight as a die for as far as the eye can see.  In the 1820's Thomas Telford saw the original Brindley canal as ' little better than a crooked ditch' and set about usurping his predecessor and establishing his legacy as King of the canal system. The new Birmingham mainline opened in 1829 and transformed water borne transport in the Midlands. It is still a shock to the wanderer's eye accustomed to winding through quiet backwaters. The scale of the project takes a leap of historical comprehension.

Once Brindley had engineered the Bridgwater canal he turned his attention to the growing town of Birmingham which was strategically placed at the heart of the country to become a logistical hub for the many spokes that ambitious entrepreneurs of the Georgian age foresaw. The initial route, completed in 1768, provided a link to the collieries of the Black Country, transporting coal to fire the foundries and factories. It was the catalyst that would allow a town of 30,000 to explode into the city of a thousand trades and to become the heart of the industrial revolution.

The width of the canal provides a marked change whichever direction you arrive from. After you bend around the imposing National Indoor Arena the canal straightens and there is a sense of leaving the claustrophobia of the city behind as the sky widens.  You can immediately understand the importance and the efficacy of the route which supplied pig iron, limestone, brick, slate and timber to the voracious city.

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Intriguing arms and loops lead off the mainline which would reward closer inspection if I did not have a date with Galton. A floating vehicle would be of use in this adventure into the lesser explored recesses of the Birmingham system. One intrepid explorer of TV and newspaper gardening tips fame, Alys Fowler,  has already been inspired to do so in a bright red blow up dinghy and has written a lovely book about her own journey of discovery. 

I came across the book as it had a beautifully illustrated cover which is the marketing tool of the publishers of the booming genre of nature writing. The common narrative is usually a tale of spiritual growth or recovery aligned to the healing power of nature.  'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn and 'The Outrun' by Amy Liptrott are great examples of the genre. Sometimes the illustration is the best bit about the book with a lino cut image of a hawk or a badger drawing the buyers eye. The unwitting reader is then subjected to an endurance test as the misery deepens until the only option is to throw the good looking book in the cut to spare others. 

The Oozells Street Loop has been consumed by the gentrification of the city as new apartments make the most of the deliquescent aspect. These watery roundabouts were once vital termini in the developing city. They are also remnants of Brindley's canal which was constrained by contours.  Another detour is the Icknield Port loop which heads past the unfortunately but accurately named Rotton Park up to a large reservoir which slakes the thirst of the city. The area is in another hopeful throe of regeneration in this eternally optimistic city but this area has long been a least favoured ward despite its proximity to the leafy lure of Edgbaston.  The junction here also leads to Winson Green on the Soho loop around the contours of Brindley's old line.  The canal creates an island dominated by two places any Brummie wants to avoid, the City Hospital and Her Majesty's Pleasure Birmingham, which only gets 2.5 stars in online reviews, one of which reads, 'not for me!'  

The 22 miles of James Brindley's original canal from Birmingham to Wolverhampton opened for traffic in 1772 and was immediately successful beyond the Birmingham Canal Companies wildest dreams. It gave investors a monopoly on the waterways for the boom years and drove the rapid development of the city.  Brindley followed the contours of the land which required a series of locks and encountered issues with water supply. Solutions included steam pumping stations regulating water levels to keep the traffic flowing. 

 

 One of these has been restored in Smethwick and provides a fascinating glimpse into the past and the differing heights of the two canals as they run parallel to one another. Brindley's cut is quiet and meandering, largely left to its own devices with the odd ambling wanderer shaded by overhanging trees in a verdant world, while Telford's track powers along below, living in the fast lane. The famous Smethwick steam engine designed for the purpose by founding fathers of the city, Matthew Boulton and James Watt, is in the Thinktank which houses relics from Birmingham's Science Museum and is the oldest working steam engine in the world. It is with a sense of pride and wonder that Brummies, finding themselves in a far flung museums around the world find that familiar stamp 'Made in Birmingham'

 

 City commuters fly by on electric bikes drawn to the wide towpath and a shortcut into the city. A profusionist friend uses this route to bomb into City Hospital keenly aware of timing the commute to the correct bpm. 

 

Herons are a familiar sight on the mainline and lucky charms for those who use the route. This one is so tame he is the ubiquitous one who is developing a cult following online. 

The two canals deviate from one another at Smethwick Junction and Brindley takes the high road.   The litter of an industrial heritage abounds as the detritus of mighty works lies abandoned.

The Engine Arm is named after the first Boulton and Watt steam pumping engine and affords a glimpse into the industrial past as the buildings of Lime Wharf look quietly onto calmer reflections. Telford's aqueduct once topped up water to the canals from Edgbaston reservoir.  It provides a good vantage point above the two rival canals which join up once again underneath the M5 at Spon Lane junction.

I was looking for gold though and I was close.  After navigating the uninviting Galton tunnel, there it stood, or more appropriately there it hung, magnificent, suspended in animation, a time capsule delivering me back in time to Birmingham's glory years.