Julia Bradbury has walked all over the UK and made various TV episodes about her adventures, but one that has always stuck with me is the Worcester & Birmingham canal walk. Julia split the nearly 50km walk into a two day mission, stopping off at Tardebigge to break up the two halves. I finally got organised and kicked off this walk, but only did about 10km in the one session, so it’s going to take me a few more than just the two days. Never mind though, it’s an interesting walk and so far worth it!

I started in Birmingham, just as Julia did, and headed off towards Worcester far, far in the distance. The first part of the walk is naturally very industrial, and as it follows very closely by the railway line, it’s quite noisy and rusty as you go along.

As you move out of the city, things get a bit greener, but every now and then you pop through a built up area. I was quite surprised by the photo below - train, canal and road all in one glance. One of the other built up areas you pass is Bournville, with the Cadbury factory - it’s not that impressive from the tow path view, but mmm, it really does smell like chocolate as you walk along!

Gradually the city recedes, the many people going for a run are left behind, and nature has a chance to take hold - lots of birds both in the water and watching on from the sidelines.

I got as far as King’s Norton, so this is very much part one of the journey. I loved walking the towpath because you just point in the right direction and go - with very little thought and navigational skills required. The water is always there, and the view on the other side is always changing. I think the second part of this journey may include a long tunnel that means walkers have to go through a housing estate, rejoining the canal on the other side, but there’s also an area with many, many locks… so it’s definitely going to be worth a part two.