Aston station to Perry Hall Park canal Walk for the Public on 22 January

P LEASE NOTE THAT THE DURATION OF THIS EVENT SHOWN ABOVE IS ONLY APPROXIMATE AND CANNOT BE GUARANTEED; IT WILL DEPEND ON FACTORS SUCH AS THE WEATHER AND THE WALKING PACE OF THE GROUP.

These walks offer the opportunity for non-members to bring the family and start walking on walks led by Birmingham Ramblers members.

It is very helpful for the walk leader to have prior knowledge of numbers that will be on this walk. We ask you to complete this very brief form to help with our planning of the walk to ensure that we can safely accommodate all who wish to join us. You will receive an automatic acknowledgement when you submit this form, and also a reminder of the details 2 days before the walk.

If you later find that you are unable to join us it would be helpful if you let us know If you later find that you are unable to join us it would be helpful if you let us know by sending an email to [email protected] - this will be passed on to the walk leader and will prevent any delay to the start of the walk should the leader be waiting for you. Please note that some walks have a waiting list so this will be passed on to the walk leader and will prevent any delay to the start of the walk should the leader be waiting for you.

Walk leader: Paul Hatton

This is a 4 1/2 mile linear walk from Aston Station to Alexandra Stadium along canal towpaths and passing under Spaghetti Junction. The walk leader will offer an optional extension of about 1 ½ miles to Perry Hall Park, through the park and the exit to the One Stop shopping centre, where we can call into the Wetherspoons The Arthur Robertson pub for well-earned rest and refreshment.

Meeting Arrangements

We will meet under the bridge on Lichfield Road down the steps at the exit from either platform at Aston station by 10.50 am. The 10.36 am Cross-City train from New Street station, where the walk leader will be joining the train, arrives at Aston at 10.43.

If joining at New Street Station: meet the leader by the head of Ozzy the Bull on the concourse by 10.20 am to catch the 10.36 train, or remain on the train if you are already on the train passing through New Street.

If making your own way to Aston Station: There is a Cross-City train from the opposite direction that arrives at Aston at 10.42. Aston Station is also served by buses 65, 67, 68 and X64. Since this is a linear walk and parking around Aston station is limited and difficult to find, using public transport is strongly recommended.

Take note that there are no toilets at the start of the walk nor during the walk until we reach the Alexandra Stadium. Toilets are available at New Street station and (usually) on the train to Aston.

Walk outline: This is a 4 ½ mile linear walk from Aston Station along the Birmingham and Fazeley and Tame Valley canals to the Alexandra Stadium, with an optional extension to Perry Hall Park. The first part of the walk takes us to Salford Junction, the canal junction of the Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. We then walk under the Gravelly Hill Interchange, a.k.a Spaghetti Junction, along the Tame Valley canal to the Alexandra Stadium development.

We stop for a rest break at lock 11, about 2 miles into the walk, then continue to Alexandra Stadium, where there are toilet facilities. After walking past the stadium on well-surfaced paths we reach the Walsall Road where there are frequent buses back to Birmingham City Centre.

After the stadium there is an optional extension of about 1 ½ miles to Perry Hall Park, through the park and the exit to the One Stop shopping centre, where we can call into the Wetherspoons The Arthur Robertson pub for well-earned rest and refreshment. The walk leader will ensure that anyone who does not wish to carry on through Perry Hall Park is safely on their way back to Birmingham from the Walsall Road before continuing the walk.

There are frequent trains towards Walsall from Perry Bar via. Aston, for connections to the Cross City line (an easier change than New Street) and through New Street. Several bus routes, including the 11A and 11C, also pass through Perry Bar.

This walk complements our walk from Aston Station in the opposite direction to Gas Street Basin, splitting the walk between the City Centre and the Alexandra Stadium along the Birmingham and Fazeley canal and the Tame Valley canal into two shorter walks.

Walk details (with acknowledgement to Wikipedia for some of the historical details). We cross the Lichfield Road opposite the station and join the Birmingham and Fazeley canal. The first stage of the walk takes us to Salford Junction, the canal junction of the Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. Salford Junction became a double junction on 14 February 1844 when the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal joined the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. Prior to this, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal crossed the River Tame via a seven-arched aqueduct, each with a span of 18 feet. T & S Element opened boatyards at Salford Bridge in 1932 which soon became the company's head office. Spencer, Abbott and Company owned a boatbuilding yard at the junction too, however traces of these companies no longer exist.

After leaving Salford Junction we join the Tame Valley canal, walking under Gravelly Hill Interchange, also known as Spaghetti Junction. Opened in May 1972, the engineers had to elevate 21.7 km (13.5 mi) of motorway to accommodate two railway lines, three canals and two rivers. Whilst many have viewed the junction from above whilst stationary on the M6 or the A38(M), its complexity can only be appreciated from below. The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844) canal, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame. The canal was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1839 and built by the Birmingham Canal Navigations. Construction started in 1841 and it opened on Wednesday 14 February 1844. Its engineers were James Walker and Alfred Burges the company engineers. The resident engineer was Mr. Horne, the contractors were Treadwell, Jackson and Bean for the principal part of the works, and Mr. Townshend for the portion near Tipton.

We continue along the towpath to the start of the 13 Perry Barr locks. On the left we past the site where the General Electric Company bought land in 1899 and in 1901 began building its large factory together with houses for its workers. At one time, the company was employing 18,000 people on the site. The Witton works remained one of the company's biggest sites, producing high-voltage switchgear and transformers, small motors, mercury arc rectifiers and traction components, until the plant was sold off in 1969; industrial and warehouse units have subsequently been built on the site. The chimney, with the magnet logo, is all that remains. A former apprentice at GEC remembers well at lunchtime the 10 minute walk to the Magnet Club, where Spaghetti is now. It was a grand residence, used then for hospitality purposes with a significantly large sports ground adjacent.

We continue walking past Witton Cemetery across the canal and twice passing under the M6. We continue up Perry Barr Locks which takes us round the back of the Alexandra Stadium, greatly developed for the Commonwealth Games. About 4 miles into the walk ahead of us we see the Grade 2-listed Perry Barr Locks bridge, a cast-iron footbridge with brick pillars dating from 1844. We leave the towpath after lock 3 (with lock 1 being the top lock) on a well-surfaced footpath, continuing alongside the Alexandra Stadium and the edge of Perry Park. There is ample seating as we leave the towpath to rest our legs.

We meet the Walsall Road at a light-controlled crossing where the walk ends with frequent buses back to Birmingham City Centre. The walk leader will offer and lead an optional extension of about 1 1/2 miles to Perry Hall Park. The walk leader will ensure that anyone who does not wish to carry on through Perry Hall Park is safely on their way back to Birmingham from the Walsall Road before continuing the walk.

The optional walk to Perry Hall Park crosses the road at the light-controlled crossing and re-joins the River Tame, last seen at Salford Junction, soon after entering Perry Hall Park. A walk through the park comes out at the back of the One Stop shopping centre and the Wetherspoons The Arthur Robertson pub which offers well-earned rest and refreshment.

There are frequent trains towards Walsall from Perry Bar via. Aston, for connections to the Cross City line (an easier change than New Street) and through New Street. Several bus routes, including the 11A and 11C, also pass through Perry Bar.

Expressions of Interest for this walk will close at 06.00 on Tuesday 20 January. After this, please to enquire about any late availability for the walk.

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If you later find that you are unable to join us it would be helpful if you let us know by sending an email to [email protected] - this will be passed on to the walk leader and will prevent any delay to the start of the walk should the leader be waiting for you. Please note that some walks have a waiting list so tickets are NOT TRANSFERABLE; if you are unable to join us then please cancel your place to free it up for someone who may be on the waiting list rather than passing it to someone else.

General Information

This is one of several walks and activities offered by the Birmingham Ramblers. If you have found this page through a web search or other means and would like to find out more about the group then please visit the Birmingham Ramblers web site; new members are always welcome.

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