At the Bar

Stick with me on this because even the most sharp eyed amongst you won't be able to see a bar. This is Gas Street Basin and the water in the foreground is part of the BCN (Birmingham Canal Navigations). The water to the right leads under Broad Street and thence on to the NIA and beyond. The barges are moored against the 'Worcester Bar' which is an 80 or so yard barrier between this canal (the BCN) and the Worcester & Birmingham Canal - which you can't see. It was built at the insistence of the BCN to prevent the Worcester & Birmingham Canal sharing their water. The black and white foot bridge on the right allows access to the bar over the bar lock which was eventually cut through the barrier after twenty years in accordance with an Act of Parliament. Even after the creation of the lock, both companies erected lock gates and levied tolls upon eachother.

Much of what you see on the right of the frame is Grade II Listed. That's obviously The Cube (again) in the background then student accommodation to the left of it and finally the derelict James Brindley pub where our band once played (those two facts aren't related).

This shot has been bugging me for a good few months now and I've had a few goes at it without getting a result I liked. I hadn't set out to do it today but this is where my feet took me and the conditions for once were just about right. I only had the pocket camera with me but I think it's done a fine job. This is a two shot panorama stitched with Microsoft ICE again. I see no join.

Finally, for soap fans of certain age, one of the cottages was apparently used as a home for one of the characters in Crossroads. I reckon that must have been Miss Diane & Benny.