It was best foot forward for Birmingham walkers as they stepped
out on a tranquil summer's morning to go back in time for a guided
tour of the city's Heartlands Ring.
A group of 10 curious sight-seers from the local not-for-profit
training organisation Enta had the opportunity to discover the
heritage and surprising beauty of the Heartlands Ring area of the
city, thanks to the first in a series of guided canal walks led by
local historian Richard Trengrouse.
The inaugural weekend tour started with a hearty cooked
breakfast at Enta's new city centre Canalside Café, adjacent
to Aston Lock. The café, which is run by students studying
for catering qualifications as part of the organisation's entry to
employment (e2e) training programme for 16-18 year olds, also
rounded the morning off with some very welcome refreshment at the
end of the three-hour trek.
The circular, 4.5 mile route took in the Ashtead and Digbeth
Tunnels, plus a variety of landmarks and sites of historical and
contemporary interest, ranging from the never used Duddeston
Viaduct to The Bond Warehouse at Warwick Bar, from Selfridges in
the Bull Ring to some Grade II listed urinals in Digbeth.
"It really was a great event… First Class and we all
really enjoyed what turned into a memorable morning," was the
verdict of one of the walkers, John Powell, who joined the Enta
wanderers from the 14-19 Team at Birmingham City Council.
Following the success of the first tour, the walks will now take
place quarterly, giving more members of the public the chance to
get know this richly interesting yet under-explored area of the
city.
Kevin Hayes, chief executive at Enta, said: "We decided to
organise the walks as many people are unaware of the variety of
interesting buildings and historical interest that exists in this
area of the city.
"I'm delighted to say that the development of Enta's new
café has played a key part in regenerating that part of the
canalside and we look forward to many more walkers stopping by for
refreshment in the future."
The next canal walk is due to take place in October. Anyone
interested in taking part can contact Enta on 0121 380
4800.