I’ve always loved this stretch of canal – I took this picture in 2009.
This is a followup to the ride cam I did a couple of weeks ago on National Cycle Route 535 down the Plants Brook/New Hall Valley cycleway, from Sutton to Tyburn – here I pick up the route from the Birngham and Fazeley Canal at Tyburn to follow route 533, and finish at Digbeth Junction in the city centre.
This is a classic canal route which has now mostly been resurfaced, and a jolly nice ride it is too – it goes along the canal beside the Tyburn Road, under Spaghetti Junction and past Star City right into the heart of town – the only hazards being truculent geese and the crew working on the resurfacing project.
Not enough people are aware how fine this route is – and quick, too. I wasn’t cranking it out and did the whole run in about 30 minutes – the video is speeded up about 2.8 times. It’s a great way for city and traffic-shy cyclists to explore Birmingham, or just for people like me who love the atmosphere, the wildlife and scenery, who just want to enjoy a different slice of urban life.
Soundtrack is the epic ‘Song for All Seasons’ by hippy prog rockers Renaissance, a lost classic: overblown, pompous, but beautiful.
More to come later.
As always, more stuff like this as ever, on my 365daysofbiking journal.
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Nice film Bob, what camera you using?
GoProp – that was on a HD Hero 3+
Cheers
Bob
Enjoyed this. Question: what time of day did you cycle this and when you’ve cycled it, have you ever (honestly) come into much contact with people with addiction problems? My own experience of cycling on the canals in Brum and Wolves has been littered with unpleasant encounters with such people and it rather puts me off…Sunday mornings are usually OK! Geese are OK for me, I just hiss louder than I do and give them a little squirt of water, does the trick a treat
Hi Linda
A Friday afternoon, maybe 1-2pm?
You see a few odd folk about but I just keep the speed up and ride past, but on the whole less now than there were a couple of years ago. Worst bit for me was always Horseley Junction in Wolves and for some reason, the paved stretch off Brickhouse Lane in Great Bridge.
The geese are scared of you. I’m a pushover!
Cheers
Bob
Hi Bob,
You zoomed past the place! Have we an answer 6 years on?
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/19775907?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com
Sadly not. At the moment, it seems to be one of those storage places, but I never found it’s original use.
Every time I pass it I wonder what merited such a costly construction…
Cheers
Bob
I loved the stop for the geese…. what’s the soundtrack?
Soundtrack is the epic ‘Song for All Seasons’ by hippy prog rockers Renaissance, a lost classic: overblown, pompous, but beautiful.
Cheers
Bob
Very nice Bob love the rides by the cut, Trev