The photo was taken from the first boat navigating the Portway Branch after extensive dredging of the Titford Pools by the Canal & River Trust. Notice the blue brickwork on the left that had been buried for many years. The Portway Branch was abandoned in 1960. Two IWA rallies were held (1978 and 1982) to draw attention to the Titford …

The only historic arm on the Aston Flight, Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, that is still in water for most of its original length. It is the only point on the B&F that allows working boat Atlas to be winded. When was the last time a boat has navigated the branch? Does anyone know which industries it served? Does anyone have …

By Martin O’Keeffe, Chairman, BCN Society Whilst the opening of the canal from Wednesbury into Birmingham in November 1769 was really only the start of the development of the BCN system. However this led to the formation of a canal network which transformed the area and resulted in Birmingham becoming a great manufacturing centre. The 250th anniversary of this event in 2019 seemed something that …

The BCN Society supports the Bradley Canal Restoration Society in their fascinating project to restore a lost canal link. The photo above shows the handing over of a £1,000 cheque for the BCRS. On the left of the cheque is Dave Pearson, BCRS chairman, and on the right Martin O’Keeffe, BCNS Chairman. What makes this restoration project so fascinating? The …

Andy Hunter has released the first video of his third series! This whole series is about the 27 lost miles of the Wyrley and Essington Canal. Almost 50% of the lost canals of the BCN seem to be arms of the “Curley Wyrley”, which is just 34 miles long! In this new video, Andy explains the history of the W&E, …

The first interactive panorama, of Chillington Wharf, is now on the website. It’s a former railway interchange basin in Wolverhampton, close to Horseley Fields Junction.  You will have seen it from the BCN Main Line. The entrance to the wharf is blocked, and the wharf is on private grounds, with no public access. In 2016, photographer Harald Joergens created the …

We’ve added a new page “Dog friendly pubs“, and, of course, it’s in the “For Boaters” area, as we are talking about (more or less) canal-side pubs with a heart for boaters and their four-legged friends. We would appreciate your help! If you know a dog-friendly pub near the Birmingham Canals If you have a great photo of a dog …

Photo by Phil Barlow. New from Canal & River Trust, published Nov 6, 2019: Working in partnership with the European Regional Development Fund, Highways England, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and volunteers from the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, the dredging will see a long reach excavator hauling out mud and silt from the bottom of the Pools. As well as improving …

Published 2 November 2019 “The BCN in Pictures”, our book of historical photographs of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, was first published in 1973. At the time the canals, not just in and around Birmingham, were in a rather sorry state. For the 250th anniversary we have published this new and completely revised edition. A lot has happened since the opening …

The BCN is now 250 years old, the BCN Society 52 years, and the BCNS website is a few years old. We do our best to make the BCN a better place, so it was about time to do the same for our website. “Black satanic mills” does not describe the BCN of today. The BCN of today is, in …