The Grand Union Canal, England - the route from Ashted Locks to Bordesley.

The section of The Grand Union Canal which runs South from Aston Junction down to Bordesley Junction via Typhoo Basin.

This is a continuation from our Salford Junction to Aston Junction going along The Grand Union Canal in England item.
Once passed the fairly compressed locks and bridges which make up Ashted Locks and then through Ashted Tunnel the canal soon reaches a canal junction at Bordesley which is where it is joined by the Digbeth Canal Branch. Technically not part of the Grand Union Canal, the Digbeth Branch itself could also perhaps be considered as one of The Grand Union Canal's numerous extensions.
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Ashted Locks and Ashted Tunnel - Grand Union Canal in Birmingham, England.

The fairly narrow Ashted Tunnel in Birmingham is 94 metres in length and only able to accommodate boats passing through it in one direction at a time - there is a railed towpath inside the tunnel though if on foot you may need to be careful of not banging your head as the tunnel's roof is quite curved on the sides. When exiting from the northern end of the tunnel you are immediately faced with the lock-gates of the first of the Ashted Lock Flight (Lock1) - their are six locks making up the Lock Flight.

The Grand Union Canal and Curzon Street Tunnel, Typhoo Basin and The Digbeth Branch in England.

Curzon Street Tunel is wide enough for boats to pass through in both directions - the tunnel is 147 metres long and has a railed towpath along its route. When looking at a map it's apparent that really the tunnel is just a series of joined up railway bridges - there are six railway lines going across the top, the rest of the top area seems to be wasteground where once there must have been some large warehouses or similar - now demolished. The Digbeth (canal) Branch - opened in 1799 the 1.25 mile long Digbeth Branch links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction with the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction. The drop of 40 feet is achieved by use of six locks at Ashted Lock Flight. Typhoo Basin was so named because of the huge Typhoo Tea Building located there although to be correct it should actually be called the Digbeth Basin.
As you wander along the canals which criss cross in and around Birmingham you often come across short side-arms or at least can see where they once were. These mini-inlets - which often were only a few hundred yards long - were created as an alternative to simply having wharfs along the actual canal and provided the "off-canal" needs for a group of factories or warehouses. Sadly many of these side-arms have been filled in or blocked off although you can sometimes tell where they were as the towpath will just climb up and over a nicely brick built arm-entrance.