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Cheshire cat

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While travelling through Birmingham, Dudley etc I couldn't help wondering about all the abandoned arms and wharfs. 

 

Is there such a thing as a definitive guide to Birmingham's canal. 

 

I remember, probably 20 years ago the landlord of The Dog and Doublet at Bodymoor Heath showing me an Atlas of the UK rail system as it was in Victorian times. Is there anything similar for the BCN?

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18 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

While travelling through Birmingham, Dudley etc I couldn't help wondering about all the abandoned arms and wharfs. 

 

Is there such a thing as a definitive guide to Birmingham's canal. 

 

I remember, probably 20 years ago the landlord of The Dog and Doublet at Bodymoor Heath showing me an Atlas of the UK rail system as it was in Victorian times. Is there anything similar for the BCN?

There is L.A. Edwards “Inland Waterways of Great Britain”.

The Miscellaneous Waterways section at the back lists an awful lots of tiny arms and canals that no longer exist.

The photo is from the main section of the book, on the BCN53D44CD4-C6B5-4D78-B289-F93846AB0771.jpeg.3b66da197ca3b9a415f0f08e67823e6a.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

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If you want real detail then I can recommend the Alan Godfrey reprints of OS maps from around 1900. Roughly 1/2500 scale. Waterstones in  Birmingham keep quite a few as does the Ian Allan shop near New Street Station.

 

Beware though you can get a bit obsessed and want to collect the lot, about 34 to cover all the BCN, at £3 a time. I started with the Round Oak one as I wanted to see how the canal had been moved to accommodate Merryhill shopping centre, then the lovely colour one of Birmingham City Centre. After the BCN I then went into other interesting canal areas around the country. I'm waiting for them to reprint Burton on Trent so I can look at the brewery railway system and Wigan to show the coal and iron industry along the Wigan 21.

 

I can also recommend 'The Industrial Canal - The Railway Interchange Trade' by Tom Foxon, published by Heartland Press, which has much detail of many of the basins including maps/plans of several. The section on Hockley Port is extremely interesting.

 

And Jeannette has just pointed out this

 

https://bcnsociety.com/canal-hunter/

Edited by pearley
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22 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Have a read of http://captainahabswaterytales.blogspot.com/p/bcn-backwaters.html?m=1

 

There is reference to the Other Sixty Miles book which is a good reference if you can find a copy.

I bought one from the BCNS 5 or 6 years ago. 

If the OP is lucky they may have some left. Worth asking. 

 

 

In fact I bought 3, we’d just finished the BCN challenge in 2013(?), so. I got one for myself and another 2 as a thank you gift for the crew.  Might have been a fiver each, can’t remember. 

Edited by Goliath
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1 hour ago, pearley said:

.

 

Beware though you can get a bit obsessed and want to collect the lot, about 34 to cover all the BCN, at £3 a time. I started with the Round Oak one as I wanted to see how the canal had been moved to accommodate Merryhill shopping centre, then the lovely colour one of Birmingham City Centre. After the BCN I then went into other interesting canal areas around the country. I'm waiting for them to reprint Burton on Trent so I can look at the brewery railway system and Wigan to show the coal and iron industry along the Wigan 21.

 

You can always use side by side maps

 

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=53.5534&lon=-2.5957&layers=171&right=BingHyb

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Thankyou everyone. There is a lot to go at there. I think I was hoping for something along the lines of "The Blue Book". I shall endeavor to track down a copy. The other suggestions look promising too.

 

I was already aware of the National Library of Scotland's map collection. I have spent hours pouring over their maps of our village. It really was 100 years ago whereas now it is just another suburb. 

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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Andy Tidy has done quite a bit of research for one. 

Get a copy of Richard Deans Birmingham Canals map.

Or have a look at the videos which are linked into the BCNS website:

 

https://bcnsociety.com/canal-hunter/

 

2 hours ago, pearley said:

You need the Blue Book.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birmingham-Canal-Navigations-cruising-Walking/dp/B00I3O0YYC

 

If you can't find a copy then someone on here has a pdf version.

They appear on e-bay from time to time at about £15. Try and get a copy where the canals have been coloured in blue.

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47 minutes ago, StephenA said:

I am currently using a Samsung tablet. Has a hissy fit with that.

5 minutes ago, Capt Ahab said:

Get a copy of Richard Deans Birmingham Canals map.

Or have a look at the videos which are linked into the BCNS website:

 

https://bcnsociety.com/canal-hunter/

 

They appear on e-bay from time to time at about £15. Try and get a copy where the canals have been coloured in blue.

Ah but the colouring was applied by the owner of said book using a crayon AFAIK

 

At least that's how mine was coloured in.

Edited by pearley
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24 minutes ago, pearley said:

I am currently using a Samsung tablet. Has a hissy fit with that.

Ah but the colouring was applied by the owner of said book using a crayon AFAIK

 

At least that's how mine was coloured in.

Mine way pre crayoned.

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4 hours ago, pearley said:

If you want real detail then I can recommend the Alan Godfrey reprints of OS maps from around 1900. Roughly 1/2500 scale. Waterstones in  Birmingham keep quite a few as does the Ian Allan shop near New Street Station.

 

Beware though you can get a bit obsessed and want to collect the lot, about 34 to cover all the BCN, at £3 a time. I started with the Round Oak one as I wanted to see how the canal had been moved to accommodate Merryhill shopping centre, then the lovely colour one of Birmingham City Centre. After the BCN I then went into other interesting canal areas around the country. I'm waiting for them to reprint Burton on Trent so I can look at the brewery railway system and Wigan to show the coal and iron industry along the Wigan 21.

 

I can also recommend 'The Industrial Canal - The Railway Interchange Trade' by Tom Foxon, published by Heartland Press, which has much detail of many of the basins including maps/plans of several. The section on Hockley Port is extremely interesting.

 

And Jeannette has just pointed out this

 

https://bcnsociety.com/canal-hunter/

I'm glad it's not just me needs an anorak...even when its not raining.?

  • Happy 1
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5 hours ago, pearley said:

You need the Blue Book.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birmingham-Canal-Navigations-cruising-Walking/dp/B00I3O0YYC

 

If you can't find a copy then someone on here has a pdf version.

I've got a second hand blue book which I got from a canal weekend/ event.Well worth tracking down.

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13 hours ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

I've got a second hand blue book which I got from a canal weekend/ event.Well worth tracking down.

Hi. An actual copy, eh?  We are coming into Brum for our first tour of the canals, hoping to moor in the Uni area on Tuesday night.  I wonder if I could cycle over to you (if you're at home base!) and make a copy at some local establishment?  Cheeky, I know.

 

Dave

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4 hours ago, droshky said:

Hi. An actual copy, eh?  We are coming into Brum for our first tour of the canals, hoping to moor in the Uni area on Tuesday night.  I wonder if I could cycle over to you (if you're at home base!) and make a copy at some local establishment?  Cheeky, I know.

 

Dave

I'm afraid we're out cruising ourselves.

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The Industrial Canal books were produced by myself. I also did a series of articles for Boundary Post to looked at some of the branches and byeways. Also, like what has already been said the Richard Dean maps do show the many basins and arms in detaill

 

The Andy Tidy work has been to update the Other Sixty Miles produced many years ago and the Black Country Society also produced a version of that some years ago.

 

Following the arms and branches can be a complex study. For there were those branches, such as the Foxyards Canal, which are lost through later changes and developments.

 

Trying to follow the BCN through the original course at the Brades in Oldbury is also difficult to see, as it the original routes between Pudding Green and Ryders Green.

 

if you have any particular questions, i will do my best to answer

 

 

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On 16/08/2019 at 19:49, Cheshire cat said:

Thankyou everyone. There is a lot to go at there. I think I was hoping for something along the lines of "The Blue Book". I shall endeavor to track down a copy. The other suggestions look promising too.

 

I was already aware of the National Library of Scotland's map collection. I have spent hours pouring over their maps of our village. It really was 100 years ago whereas now it is just another suburb. 

We have a couple of copies of the "Blue Book", and The Other Sixty Miles, at Audlem Mill

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