Cape Arm junction, Birmingham Canal Main Line

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Cape Arm junction, Birmingham Canal Main Line by John Brightley as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Cape Arm junction, Birmingham Canal Main Line

Image: © John Brightley Taken: 18 Jun 2010

The Cape Arm was part of the original Birmingham Canal which became a subsidiary loop when Telford's New Main Line was cut in the 1830's. It had its own branch from the centre of the loop which extended as far south as Grove Lane, and served many different factories. It leaves the New Main Line under the bridge on the right (which is actually a tunnel without a towpath under a canal feeder which runs along the embankment above). Most unusually, a considerable length of this disused and inaccessible arm is still in water. It can be seen on current aerial photos on Google and Multimap, and can also be seen from Cranford Street bridge, though it cannot be accessed as it does not have a towpath. I assume that it is still used as a source of cooling water by the factories which still line its banks. The Cranford St end of the Cape Arm was also used as a set for a brief scene in the film 'Take Me High' (1973) in which Cliff Richard arrives at a factory in a hovercraft. The second bridge which can just be seen in the photograph is the entrance to a former basin which is shown on the OS 1890 map serving the Imperial Wire Mills.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
52.493588
Longitude
-1.947522