Short Walk: Aston Station to Gas Street Basin on the Fazeley Canal

WALK DESCRIPTION: This is a 2.7 mile walk along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal from Aston Station to Gas Street Basin. This walk takes us from Aston Station along the Birmingham and Fazeley canal past Aston Junction and into Gas Street Basin where there are ample pubs and cafes for refreshment at the end of the walk. Approaching Aston Junction the canal rises through the eleven locks of the Aston flight, the first locks after Salford junction, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) away beyond our joining point, where it is joined by the Tame Valley Canal and the Grand Union Canal. We reach Aston Junction after 1.3 miles where the Digbeth Branch heads south-east to Typhoo Basin on our left, and is just 0.9 miles (1.4 km) long. Typhoo Basin is also known as Digbeth Basin or Bordesley Basin. Aston Junction is notable in having two bridges serving the same lock; an iron Horseley bridge at the top and a brick bridge at the bottom. There is some seating at Aston Junction to rest our legs for a coffee break. From Aston Junction, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal heads to the south-west for 1.3 miles (2.1 km). 2 miles into the walk we pass under the Snow Hill bridge, then we ascend through the 13 Farmers Bridge locks, passing the Post Office tower on our left, rising 81 feet (25 m) to reach Farmers Bridge Junction and Gas Street basin. The Farmer's Bridge Lock Flight is one of the outstanding sights on Birmingham's canal network. The canal rises through dramatically floodlit archways, office undercrofts, and tunnels. It is a truly atmospheric link to the past in the middle of a modern city.