Rowbir one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Rowbir here.

I could not walk this route. Very disappointed. Clearly needs reworking. The review by David Sanderson sums this up nicely.

I did this walk from Birmingham to Rowley on a rather wet day. The main section of the walk provides a very varied range of environments - canal, parkland, Warley woods - through an otherwise suburban landscape. The Hagley Rd and Bearwood High St. stretches are very busy with traffic but at least provide opportunities for shops, cafes and buses.
HOWEVER - the two ends of the route are not passable (though alternatives can pretty easily be foun). After leaving the New Street Station area there is no crossing over the Smallbrook Queensway dual carriageway at the point indicated nor access to the canal shortly after. At the Rowley end, building work on a bungalow has blocked the access to the footpath along the southern side of the M5. Some of the plotting along the initial stretches of the canal are also a bit vague as to which side of the canal to be on.

UNWALKABLE. I attempted this route from the Birmingham end. The general idea of it is good but it is critically flawed in 3 places which makes it unwalkable.
1 Crossing Suffolk Street Queensway. Rather than passing under via Navigation Street you are directed up Brunel Street to what is a slip road on to the A38 south. You can not cross here (pictured)
2 Joining the canal from Holliday Street...you can't (pictured)
3 The footpath under the M5 is behind a locked gate at SO 9884 8643 and can not be accessed. This might be because of new housing built adjacent to it.
4 Added to this, the plotting is inaccurate in places (it veers across the canal in Birmingham leaving you unsure at what point you are supposed to cross it and then if you have, why you crossed it). I was able to walk an adapted version of this route and will submit it shortly.

Great route to walk from Rowley Regis into the center of Birmingham - mostly roads towards the Rowley Regis end but includes a walkway, parks and canals to walk along. Also suitable for bikes, although can be quite narrow on canals in Birmingham (maybe worth crossing to the other side of the canal as the path is a little wider). Would definitely recommend this route.

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