Marine Cruises narrow boat holiday hire on Birmingham Narrowboat Holiday to Gas Street Basin & back

From Tardebigge – 10 hours and 0 locks.

From our Tardebigge base near the top of the famous Tardebigge flight, in just five hours (with no locks) to reach Gas Street Basin in the centre of Birmingham this is the most rewarding and one of the easiest routes.

This lock free Birmingham Narrowboat Holiday, heading north from Tardebigge base, in just one hour boaters reach the village of Alvechurch, with its canalside Weighbridge Inn, passing open fields, wooded glades and one short tunnel along the way and is a popular first stop. Continuing north, the canal passes Hopwood where you can visit the historic Hopwood House pub, popular for its food and guest cask beers on tap.

The journey continues through the impressive Wast Hills Tunnel at 2,493 metres long, one of the longest canal tunnels in the UK, before reaching King’s Norton Junction, where the Worcester & Birmingham meets the Stratford Canal.

Soon the canal passes Bournville the home of Cadbury World, where Richard and George Cadbury decided to move their expanding business in 1879. The canal was a critical transport route for the chocolate factory. The scenery becomes increasingly urban as you travel forward into the very centre of Birmingham, passing through Edgbaston Tunnel.

With more canals than Venice, travelling along the canals is a great way to explore Birmingham. Once moored up in Gas Street Basin, it’s a short walk to explore on foot Brindleyplace with its National Sealife Centre, Ikon Gallery and the many waterside bars and restaurants, not forgetting Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, home of the famous Pre-Raphaelite art collection.

This route is a great introduction to Narrowboating in Birmingham, with relaxed pace cruising, vibrant city life and packed with history.