The Worcester & Birmingham Canal

Cruise through the Worcestershire countryside and into the heart of Birmingham on a boating holiday on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal 

This popular 29-mile long waterway starts in Worcester as an off-shoot of the River Severn. It takes boaters through the green hills of Worcestershire and the ancient Forest of Arden, before ending at Gas Street Basin in the heart of Birmingham.

The canal climbs 130 metres from the city of Worcester to Birmingham, using 58 locks, including 30 at Tardebigge, the longest flight of locks in England.

Construction of the canal began in 1792 from the Birmingham end, and the final section was completed in December 1815.  A major user of the canal in its freight-carrying heyday was the canalside Cadbury chocolate factories at Bournville and Blackpole.