The Grand Union Canal - Birmingham to Bordesley Junction and Typhoo Basin Section.
The Grand Union Canal Main Line seems to officially start at Salford Junction in Birmingham
- it soon reaches a canal junction at Bordesley where it is joined by the Digbeth Arm. The Digbeth Arm itself could also perhaps be considered
part of The Grand Union Canal. Generally speaking the Grand Union Canal photos below show the bridges and locks involved on the canal's route south looking from both directions. However each time we have visited Birmingham the smog and unhelpful sunshine angle has meant we only have photos from Salford Junction to
Bordesley Junction from one direction i.e. as if heading north. Sadly one of the "features" in this part of Birmingham is the appalling amount of graffiti everywhere - just
about anything flat has been scribbled and painted on by these morons. Whilst wandering along the towpath we stopped to talk to some people - they said that much of the crap had been cleaned up
at considerable expense but the delinquents had re-covered it all with their mess within weeks. This is a real shame because some of the old bridges as well as many of the canal-side warehouses etc. have obviously got lovely brickwork and shapes.

Salford Junction Bridge

River Tame
aqueduct

Salford Junction
Bridge 110

River Tame aqueduct at Salford Junction

Pipe Bridge just
before Salford Junction

Original site of Nechells Shallows Lock

Three particularly
nice pipe bridges

Cuckoo Road Bridge

Pipebridge

Another Pipebridge

Railway Bridge no.6

Aston Church
Roadbridge

Bridge with no name

Salteley Viaduct

Double roadbridge no.108aa

Railway Bridge no.5
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Railway Bridge no.4
(Bridge 108a)

Bridge no.108

Bridge no.107
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Garrison Lock 5
( 63 )
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Garrison Lock 5
( 63 )

Bridge no.106
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Garrison Lock 4
( 62 )
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Garrison Lock 4
( 62 )
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Garrison Lock 3
( 61 )

Bridge no.105
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Garrison Lock 2
( 60 )
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Garrison Lock 2
( 60 )

Railway Bridge 3

Garrison Lock 1
pipebridge
In our version of the Nicholson Waterways Guide the locks which make up the
Grand Union Canal Garrison Lock Flight
(photos above) are shown numbered in a 60's sequence however these canal locks are actually marked as we have shown i.e. no.1 no.2 etc. - the book's numbering is shown in ( )s

Garrison Bridge 2 + Railway Bridge

Railwaybridge +
Garrison Street Bridge

Garrison Lock1 and Railway Bridge no.2
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Garrison Lock 1 (59)

Railway Bridge no.1

Artillery Street Bridge no.104

Artillery Street
Bridge no.104

Garrison Lane
Bridge no.103

Footbridge 102a

Footbridge no.102a

Dartmouth Street Bridge no.102

Dartmouth Street
Bridge 102

St Andrews
Road Bridge 101

St Andrews Road
Bridge no.101

Site of Bolton Street
Bridge 100

Bridge no.100a +
Bridge no.99

Bridge no.100a

Pipes and
Bridge no.99

Girders and
Bridge no.99

Girders + Bridge 98

Overhanging warehouse

Bridge no.98

Bridge 98

Bordesley Junction's
Bridge

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

Bridge at Aston Junction

Love Lane Bridge

Love Lane Bridge

Lister St. Bridge

Lister Street Bridge

Pipe and Heneage Street Bridge

Pipe + Heneage Street Bridge

Short sidearm
near Lock no.1

Ashted Locks 1 -
lockgates

Ashted Locks no.1
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).

Northern end of
Ashted Tunnel

View from inside
Ashted Tunnel

Southern entrance to Ashted Tunnel

Ashted Locks no.2

Ashted Locks
no.2 - lockgates

Ashted Locks no.3
and no.2

Ashted Locks no.3

Pipe and Ashted
Locks no.3

Lock3 - Pipe -
Belmont Row St Bridge

Belmont Row
Bridge

Ashted Locks no.4

Ashted Locks 4 -
gates

Curzon Street Bridge

Ashted Locks no.5

Pipes and
Curzon St. Bridge

Ashted Locks no.6

Ashted Locks 6

Curzon Street Tunnel

Inside
Curzon St. Tunnel

Curzon Street Tunnel

Junction and
Railway Bridges

Junction Bridge by
Typhoo Basin

Junction Bridge

Junction Bridges

Typhoo Basin area
Curzon Street Tunnel and The Digbeth Branch.
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.

Digbeth Junction Bridge

Stoplock at Digbeth Junction

Stop Lock

Lovely old canal warehouse

Digbeth aqueduct

Nice railway bridge
and Bridge no.95

Pipebridge then Bridge
95 + railway bridges

General view of
Bordesley Junction

Bordesley Junction

Camp Hill Locks -
Lock 57
Our topics about the Grand Union Canal - from it's start in Birmingham south to where it meets The Thames in London:
Grand Union Canal in Birmingham - this page
Grand Union Canal - Camp Hill Locks and Knowle Locks
Grand Union Canal Lapworth - Hatton Locks
The Grand Union Canal Fosse Locks - Napton
Grand Union Canal Braunston area
Grand Union Canal around Stoke Bruerne
Wolverton - Horton on the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal Ivinghoe - Kings Langley
Grand Union Canal - Denham area
&
Grand Union Canal on into London
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