I thought it was about time for some more ride videos. I know many readers enjoy these, and a lot of the bicycle-curious wonder about cycling the canals in Birmingham city centre.
Yesterday, it was a lovely afternoon when I finished work, so rather than take an overheated commuter train, I thought I’d cycle home along the canals. The video above is the journey from near Tyseley into the city centre, along the Birmingham & Warwick Canal, finishing at Bordesley Junction.
The footage is speeded up by about 3.5 times, and the journey – past Tyseley Incinerator, the Ackers Trust, through Small Heath, Camp Hill and Bordesley – took just 13 minutes. Note the occasionally rough towpath conditions and bone shaker cobbled bridges – this is one of the worst inner-city stretches of towpath in Brum, but it’s in no way impassible.
The music is the lovely ‘Grace for Sinners and Ramblers’ by Iron & Wine, one of my favourite bands.
For the best video quality, click on the little gear symbol in the bottom right of the video box and click the highest number that will play on your computer. Resolutions up to 1080HD high definition are available.
The second film goes from where the first left off – Bordesley Junction – to Salford Junction and the Tame Valley Canal under Spaghetti Junction. This one is speeded up about 3 times, and is a great run, through Saltley and Aston.
It’s about fifteen minutes, so it shows that crossing the city from Tyseley to Gravelly Hill is possible in less that half an hour. The music for this clip is the quite rare ‘Better Days’ by The McCluskey Brothers, one of Glasgow’s great lost bands.
More stuff like this as ever, on my 365daysofbiking journal.
The canals of Birmingham show surprising things – from motorway junctions to Victorian architecture.