Tame Valley Canal Walk

8.7 miles (14 km)

This walk or cycle follows the Tame Valley Canal from Tame Valley Junction to Saul Junction. Starting near Tipton you follow the towpath east past Golds Hill Bridge and Stone Cross before meeting with the Rushall Canal near Grove Vale.
The route continues east passing the noteworthy Perry Barr Locks before finishing at Saul Junction a couple of miles north of Birmingham City Centre.... Here you can pick up the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and follow it into Birmingham if you have time.
Walk Report October 18th 2026 By Richard Hughes:
We started near Tipton at Tame Valley Junction, where the Tame Valley Canal branches away from the Walsall Canal, and set off eastwards along the towpath. This is a walk that reveals a different side of the Black Country, with stretches of greenery and quiet water tucked between roads, housing and industrial areas. I enjoyed the contrast between the canal's peaceful atmosphere and the busy urban landscape around it. The level towpath makes for comfortable walking, and there is plenty of time to look at the bridges, passing boats and wildlife along the water.
The canal has a fascinating industrial history. It opened in 1844, relatively late in the great age of canal building, and was designed to provide a more direct route through the Tame Valley and relieve congestion on the Birmingham Canal Navigations. The older routes into Birmingham involved lengthy waits at busy flights of locks, so this new waterway helped goods move more efficiently between Birmingham and the Black Country. Its engineers used deep cuttings and high embankments to keep the route direct, giving it a rather different character from canals that simply follow the natural contours of the land. Walking along it today, I found it interesting to think of the coal and other industrial cargoes that once travelled this stretch.
We passed Golds Hill Bridge and continued towards Stone Cross, with trees and waterside vegetation providing welcome green corridors between the built-up areas. There were quieter stretches where the canal seemed to belong to the wildlife rather than the surrounding town. I was pleased to see moorhens working their way along the margins and ducks drifting across the water, while smaller birds moved through the bushes beside the towpath. It is worth keeping an eye on the canal surface, too, as the reflections and passing waterbirds make the journey more interesting than simply following a straight path.
One of the notable points along the route is Rushall Junction, where the Rushall Canal joins the Tame Valley Canal. The junction lies close to the M6 and the wider motorway network, and the contrast here is striking: overhead traffic provides a reminder of modern transport, while the canal below follows a route established in the nineteenth century. The Rushall Canal opened in 1847, creating another important link in the Birmingham Canal Navigations network. I liked reaching this meeting point of the two waterways and seeing how the canal system connects different parts of the Black Country.
Continuing east, the canal takes advantage of the Tame Valley's varied terrain, with high embankments and sections where the waterway sits noticeably above the surrounding land. Although the setting becomes more urban as Birmingham approaches, there are still plenty of leafy views and opportunities to spot birds along the banks. The canal is also a useful reminder of how waterways once provided essential transport links through areas that have since been reshaped by roads, railways and expanding suburbs.
Perry Barr Locks are a highlight of the walk. This flight of thirteen locks forms the canal's descent towards Salford Junction, and the substantial brickwork, bridges and lock structures give a real sense of the engineering involved. I enjoyed stopping to look at the lock chambers and imagine the work required to move heavily laden narrowboats through the flight. The locks also explain the canal's historic nickname, the “New Thirteen”, distinguishing them from the older Farmers Bridge flight in central Birmingham. Nearby lock cottages and other canal-side structures add to the atmosphere, and this is one of the places where the waterway's industrial past feels particularly tangible.
From the locks, we continued towards Salford Junction, where the Tame Valley Canal meets the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal beneath the enormous Spaghetti Junction motorway complex. It is a dramatic finish, with the concrete road network towering above the water and narrowboats passing through this important meeting point of the canal system. The junction is a reminder that the Tame Valley Canal was built to improve transport connections, and it remains a useful link today for walkers and cyclists as well as boaters.
This is an interesting towpath walk that combines industrial history, canal engineering and unexpected pockets of wildlife. It is largely level and straightforward, making it suitable for a relaxed walk or cycle, although the urban surroundings and motorway crossings give it a different feel from a rural canal route. If you have the time and energy, continuing along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal provides a way to carry on towards central Birmingham. I found the Tame Valley Canal a rewarding route for discovering how the Black Country's waterways helped shape the region and still offer a quieter way to travel through it.