Brindleyplace here in the centre of Birmingham has historically been the hub of the West Midlands canal system. These waterways play a huge role in not only the history of the region but also the whole world. I'll be stepping onto one of the many narrow boats here for a guided tour.
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00:00When we take this boat out, we are showing more than 250 years' worth of the industrial
00:06heritage of the Birmingham and the black country of Asia. I don't think you can actually get
00:11more history than what we're looking at right now. We've got brand new buildings, we've
00:16got 1800s buildings, we've got literally the carbon reclamation centre over the road, and
00:26that heats everything around here. A statement often heard by locals, possibly thousands
00:32of times over, is that Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice. The waterways
00:38of the West Midlands are more than just an emblematic icon of our region, their global
00:43historical significance transcends mere visual charm. Birmingham Canal Navigations kicks
00:49out of the Industrial Revolution, there's no denying that. I'm not trying to claim that
00:54the Industrial Revolution wouldn't have happened, I'm just stating we literally kick-started
00:59it in this region. Mainly down to iron ore, coal and limestone all being available in
01:07the black country within, well, 18 and a half miles originally, 18 and a half miles once
01:12the Thomas Alfvén and Firth came along. You can't beat the history that we've got in Birmingham.
01:18Associations with industry may evoke images of stark brutalism, yet nature has proven
01:25resilient. The canal system has been reclaimed and embraced by wildlife, transforming it
01:31into a thriving habitat. On this trip we tend to see a couple of herons, there's kingfishers,
01:39I know there's otters in the canal but they're quite elusive, I've not seen them yet, water
01:45voles and at this time of year especially you've got all the chicks. Although the canal
01:51system might be deemed a functional relic of modernity in economic terms, the significance
01:57it holds in shaping our history and understanding of our cultural identity is beyond measure.
02:04I think the main thing people don't realise is what we've got in Birmingham and what is
02:09available. The number one thing people ask me, what should I look at when I leave your
02:14country? And I tell them, well back to the train station, look up. Because where every
02:20town centre, every city centre in the world looks exactly the same at ground level, you've
02:25always got the history above it. You've always got the history above it. As the global spotlight
02:30has shone over Birmingham in recent years, it has welcomed visitors from across the world
02:36to visit these canals and explore the living echoes of our rich industrial past. We have
02:44people from all over the world, tourists come over here, not just to see our boat, but I'd
02:48love to say that was the case, but China, Japan, the Philippines, Germany, France, Belgium,
02:54Holland, Italy, you name it, we get all sorts come over here.