Gas Street Basin has sat at the very heart of Birmingham’s iconic canal network since the 18th century, but back then, it was a grimy, congested waterway junction. The original area was constructed to link Birmingham to the Black Country coal mines, but today, it is transformed into the city’s most beloved leisure destination.
Worcester Bar
Serving as a meeting point, Gas Street Basin is where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Main Line. Originally, these two rival canal companies refused to share water and built a solid 7-foot-3-inch-wide barrier called the Worcester Bar to separate them.
Cargo had to be manually carried from boats on one side to boats on the other. That is until a narrow lock was added in 1815, with tolls collected by each company from boats using the canals. The Worcester Bar still exists, though, connected to Gas Street via a footbridge
Gas Street Basin
Towpaths now surround this beautiful basin lined with bars, pubs and restaurants, with cute, traditional narrow boats moored up. Just a stone’s throw away from places like Broad Street, Brindleyplace, and the Mailbox, it’s a unique location that melds its modern sensibilities with its industrial heritage.
Thanks to a major redevelopment of the site in the late 20th century, Gas Street Basin is one of the most bustling areas of Birmingham. For an idea of what it looked like before all that, you might want to check out the Cliff Richard movie ‘Take Me High’, from the early ‘70s, which now acts as a snapshot of a very different feeling city.
Today at Gas Street Basin, you can do anything from grab food at Gas Street Social, enjoy a pint at (one of my favourite Birmingham pubs) Canalside Bar, or enjoy a stroll around the edge—make sure to get a better view from the legendary Black Sabbath Bridge on Broad Street.
