Juvenile ducks, Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Bournville

Still by the canal, but this time a group of juvenile ducks. Strictly speaking, they're not much to do with Birmingham except that they're Birmingham ducks, but here they are.

Falstaff, Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Bournville

I've posted two canal pictures already, but I may as well show you one more.

Is 'Falstaff' the name of the boat, or an indication as to its manufacturer or model?

Afternoon sunlight on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Bournville

Another canal photo for you!

Barge on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Bournville

About a month ago, I went to Bournville and Selly Oak, in response to a comment from someone asking for photos of the canal there. Unfortunately, I cannot find the comment, so I don't know who posted it, but I can finally say here is a photo!

Canal barge

Another boat on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, Birmingham city centre.

(Backdated)

Gas Street Basin and the James Brindley

A view of Gas Street Basin showing some canal barges, with the James Brindley pub in the background.

James Brindley was an eighteenth century engineer who specialised in canals.

I have seen another photo of this pub with an M&B sign underneath the name, but I don't know what happened to that.

Gas Street Basin footbridge

This bridge is not as old as it looks - it was made recently in the style of the other Birmingham canal footbridges which were made by Horseley Ironworks.

The bridge links Gas Street with the Worcester Bar which separates the Worcester and Birmingham Canal from the Birmingham Canal Main Line. It was built in 1792 to prevent water being lost to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. It reamined there for several years, during which time cargo had to be transferred across the bar to another boat. The bar was replaced with a lock in 1815 to allow boats through.

The basin used to link the 'Worcester & Birmingham Canal' to the 'Birmingham Canal Main Line'. The Worcester Bar, built in 1792, separated the two canals for 30 years so that the Birmingham Canal Navigations company didn't lose water to the Worcester & Birmingham canal.

Hard a-starboard

Pictured is a canal barge on the Worcester and Birmingham canal, in Gas Street Basin, Birmingham city centre.

The Worcester and Birmingham Canal links, as its name suggests, Worcester and Birmingham. It starts at the River Severn in Worcester and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is 29 miles (47km) long.

The canal slopes upwards towards Birmingham and requires fifty-eight locks altogether, including the thirty Tardebigge Locks - one of the largest lock flights in Europe.

The construction of the canal was finished in 1815.

Symphony Hall and the ICC

Symphony Hall is siuated inside the International Convention Centre (ICC), although the Hall is a big part of it, as can be seen from its more prominent lettering on the front.

The building took just under four and a half years to complete and was opened in 1991. The venue was used for the 1998 G8 summit.

Symphony Hall seats 2262 people and was very carefully designed so that quiet solos and full-strength orchestras could be heard equally well by all members of the audience. This is achieved using highly accurate shaping of the walls and ceiling, moveable curtains and adjustable reverberation chambers. Above the stage there is also a thirty-two tonne counter-balanced canopy which can be raised and lowered; this too alters the acoustics. The ventilation system uses large, slow ducts to minimise noise and both the building and nearby railway line are laid on rubber cushions, to the same effect.

The hall is the base of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra but is not only used for concerts, but also for conferences, graduation ceremonies and other similar events (about 270 per year).

Previously, the site was the location of Bingley Hall (before that, Bingley House) which was built in 1850 but damaged by fire in January 1984 during a Midland Caravan, Camping and Leisure Exhibition and subsequently demolished.

Bingley Hall was used for the Birmingham Dog Show, various other shows, for circuses, boxing, theatre, cinema, competitions and conferences.

Also on the site was the Prince of Wales Theatre, some houses, an in and a brewery.

In front of the bulding on one side is Centenary Square which is also the location of the Hall of Memory, the Flame of Hope and the Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue, Birmingham Repertory theatre, the Industry and Genius sculpture and the Spirit & Enterprise fountain.

On the other side is the Birmingham and Worcester canal and Brindleyplace; an 'award-winning leisure and business destination' with various attractions.

The Mailbox

Originally the site of the Royal Mail's main Birmingham sorting office, built in 1970, this is now Birmingham's largest multi-use building.

The original building was designed by RH Ousman of the Ministry of Public Building and Works, who worked with architects HAE Giddings, E Winters and R Lee. When it was finally ready to use, it was the largest electronic sorting office in the country and, with a floor area of 20 acres, the largest building in Birmingham. The building was connected to New Street station by a tunnel to that letters could be delivered directly to the office.

In 1997, the bulding was bought for £3 million by Alan Chatham who also bought some of the surrounding buildings for £1 million. Three years and £150 million later, The Mailbox, containing offices, apartments, shops, restaurants and bars, was opened to the public.

In 2004, the BBC moved to The Mailbox from their Pebble Mill Studios in Edgebaston. They are located on level 7.

The photograph shows The Mailbox as viewed from the Birmingham and Worcester Canal.