Tour of the Black Country

[pete75]

Now some may think it stupid to have a cycle tour around the Black Country but I've always thought it an interesting area. Having said that I don't know the it at all - been to the Black country Museum and that's it. There will be people here who live in and/or know the area so any suggestions for a 2-3 day tour maybe taking in a bit of the surrounding area as well.

[Si]

You are right...there's loads to see there, andits surrounded by some lovely countryside. Not thatbig though so you couldnt do a long distance three day tour.

Id be inclined to take in ironbridge and all the museums around there, then head down the severn valley, and maybe into the blackcountry via kinver, over clent, etc. Maybe some canals, netherton tunnel is well worth it. Blackcountry museum, sandwell valley, then out of blackcountry and into brum if youve not been there lately....loads of changes and new developments in the centre. Possibly a ride down the rea valley route, across worcs canal, up the cole valley route and back into the centre via the grand union.

[Cyril Haearn]

Now some may think it stupid to have a cycle tour around the Black Country..
..
..

I think it's a great idea, there is plenty of country there too

You could visit sublime rural Shropshire too, last time I was there I met a shopkeeper with a lovely Gornal accent

Hope the people who think it is a stupid idea will post here too, I do love controversy

[RickH]

Bear in mind that at Ironbridge, the bridge itself is plastic wrapped (& will be for most, if not all, of the year) while restoration work is underway. Everything else should still be open though.

A slightly left-field suggestion is to take in the Netherton Tunnel - approx 1.75 miles long. I did it as part of a loop across from Birmingham University (mostly on road), through the tunnel from the southern end and back to the University along the canals via Gas St Basin.

[pwa]

In the summer I will be spending a week on a hired narrowboat. I've done it before and I love it. Birmingham is the heart of the canal network and I wonder if a tour of the Black Country could be a wider tyred affair with considerable use of the towpaths. From the canal you see towns with their guard down, scruffy and interesting. You have the centuries old infrastructure of the canals and the remains of old industrial buildings. I know it would be slow compared to riding on the open road, but if the aim is seeing places in a different way it could be a winner.

My own canal boat holiday will take in Stourport (billed as the World's first inland port) and Stourbridge, which is also supposed to be worth a look. I'll start at Norbury on the Shropshire Union Canal, and top speed will be 4mph.

As for Ironbridge, when I went there I was amazed that people were all over the bridge and other attractions, but my family were the only people who were at the most significant site, the remains of the blast furnace where, in 1709, Abraham Derby (the 1st) became the first person to successfully produce high quality iron using coke rather than timber as the fuel. That breakthrough is arguably the start of the Industrial Revolution that changed human life around the planet. As many will know, that was up the road in Coalbrookdale).

[Si]

The canal tow paths in brum have all been resurfaced and are mostly good to ride on. Those beyond are still the normal mix of some stuff you can use a road bike on and some stuff an mtb might struggle!

As you say...lots of histotical industrial archaetecture can be experienced that youd never drwam was there if you stick to roads.

[the_twin]

There’s an excellent map called Birmingham Greenways you can get which shows all sorts of largely off-road routes around Birmingham and the Black Country, along with things to see etc. http://www.birminghamgreenways.co.uk

[the_twin]

And for Shropshire area these people have some route maps you might want to get https://www.wheelywonderfulcycling.co.uk/maps

[the_twin]

You could also have a look at this book for some inspiration https://www.amazon.co.uk/Os-Cycle-Tours-Birmingham-Ordnance/dp/0600586235/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523799723&sr=1-2&keywords=Gordon+selway. I'm pretty sure this is the same as the Philips book, so don't get both.

The best bet might to escape the city on the canals taking in some industrial history and then link into minor roads heading towards the Severn valley. Beyond there you can find some serious hills around Cleobury Mortimer if that's what you're after. The Netherton tunnel is a good suggestion, bearing in mind that it's unlit for nearly 2 miles and a lot of water comes through the roof!

[JakobW]

Following this thread with interest; I'm based on the North-East fringes of the Black Country, and would be intrigued to see if you can put together a tour there - for a tour, most local cyclists I know would skirt the Black Country and/or get on a train towards Wales... I have to say, I'd not particularly want to cycle through much of the Black Country itself; the West Midlands conurbation has a surfeit of car-centric road designs, and of terrible drivers to go with them. On the other hand, the dual carriageways and motorways bestriding the landscape mean that you can hit quiet lanes clear of through traffic surprisingly quickly once you're headed out of the urban sprawl. Because of where I am, I mostly head into the Staffordshire countryside - the rides library of my local CUK affiliate (the erstwhile Walsall CTC) is here: http://www.walsall-cycling.co.uk/routes_library.html

Other points of interest you might want to visit: The RAF Museum at Cosford is free, and has some excellent displays (and is close to Ironbridge); both Wolverhampton and Walsall have excellent art galleries (though getting there may well involve a fair bit of urban sprawl); the Victorian farm in Sandwell Country Park is suprisingly interesting (and it has a hothouse that grows pineapples and bananas!). Obviously Brum has its fair share of attractions; if you are doing a canals ride going past the University, it has three rather good museums - the Barber Institute for art, the Lapworth Museum for Geology, and Winterbourne House for a preserved Arts and Crafts house with botanic gardens. Going further afield, both Lichfield and Tamworth are worth a visit, but are definitely no longer Black Country.

I picked up the Philips cycle tours around Birmingham book a while back and have been slowly working my way through the rides; I think I've done about a quarter of them, and they're pretty good. The main thing to be beware of is that the maps and routes are now fifteen years old or so, so I've had the occasional surprise when I've just taken the book rather than checking it against my OS maps (new housing estates and street layouts, or, on one memorable occasion, a whole new motorway!) I also have the Birmingham Greenways map (though I can't find it right now), and found it less useful - unfortunately a traffic-free route does not guarantee it will be rideable without a fatbike... I've not cycled any of the canal towpaths in the Birmingham Canal navigations, but I have walked a fair number, and there are always a fair number of MTBs going up and down. In the dry I reckon you'd be fine on a tourer, even on most of the unsurfaced bits, but in the wet those will be boggy; I'd also be a little leery of some of the flights of locks, as the slopes on the towpaths are surfaced in slippy-looking bricks.

[the_twin]

It's worth bearing in mind that the canal towpath from the centre of Brum to the university is currently closed while they widen the towpath through one of the tunnels. The locks going through the middle of the city are a blast, at least going down.

[Cyril Haearn]

It's worth bearing in mind that the canal towpath from the centre of Brum to the university is currently closed while they widen the towpath through one of the tunnels. The locks going through the middle of the city are a blast, at least going down.

A blast? I would prefer riding up, it is much safer

[Si]

Im a member of a facebook cycletouring group.....everyday people post images of their rides in wonderful exotic places. Imagine my surprise when i found pictures of my commute to the office.....up through farmers locks from under spaghetti junction to the city centre.....talking about the wonderful heritage and culture. Everywhere is someone's exotic place even if its someone else's mundane daily commute!

If on thzt bit of canal its also worth jumping off to see aston hall. And if going out the other side its worth going to bournville (village rather than cadburys).