Walking the waterways (16) : Wednesbury Old Canal

The Wednesbury Old Canal is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and links the Walsall and Birmingham Main Line Canals. The canal was opened as part of the original Birmingham Canal in 1769. Later canal building replaced part of its stretch especially where it met the later Birmingham New Main Line.

Like most canals the Wednesbury Old Canal went into decline in the 20th century and was considered abandoned in the 1950s. The Ridgacre Branch and the canal from Swan Bridge Junction to the original termination point at Balls Hill Basin are no longer accessible to boats have due to a new road bridge which left insufficient headroom for boats. However the canal is still navigable for over a mile between Pudding Green and Ryder's Green Junctions (and a little beyond the latter).