Gas Street Basin
Gas Street Basin is the canal junction in the centre of Birmingham where narrowboats moor among bars and restaurants, the heart of the city's large canal network. It takes its name from Gas Street, where the gas works that lit Birmingham's first gas street lamps stood in the early nineteenth century.
In practice
Birmingham's canals were dug from the 1760s onwards to carry coal, iron and goods for the city's factories, and the network known as the Birmingham Canal Navigations spread across the region. Locals like to say the city has more miles of canal than Venice. The basin sits where two canals meet, close to Brindleyplace, the International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall, and the towpaths lead out of the centre in several directions. The waterways are looked after by the Canal & River Trust.
Why it matters to newcomers
The towpaths are quiet walking and cycling routes across the city, away from traffic, and the basin is a popular after-work meeting place. Narrowboat trips run from the centre in summer.
Related
- Spaghetti Junction - where the canals pass under the motorways
- City of a thousand trades - the industries the canals served
- Brum - the city the canals built
Source: Canal & River Trust.