Danger spots

Birmingham is laid out as a series of arterial roads (Pershore Road, Hagley Road, Stratford Road and so on) which cross the Middleway ring road on their way to the city centre. The roundabouts are known as Circuses, presumably because they’re regularly frequented by clowns. There was once an inner ring road, the infamous ‘concrete collar’ of the Queensway: this was partly dismantled in 2002, but much still remains as a fast motor road.

These busy main roads are famously cycle-hostile and cyclists will need no encouragement to stay away from them when possible. Belgrave Middleway, to the south of the centre, is particularly troublesome – the Gooch Street junction is notorious, despite the cycle crossing. Ladywood Circus, to the west, is another blackspot: the City Council is proposing to add traffic lights and new cycle paths.

Five Ways roundabout (on the Middleway) and Lancaster Circus (on the Queensway) have cycle underpasses which are a must for staying in one piece. Elsewhere, you can sometimes avoid the roundabouts with cut-throughs on local streets: for example, Bordesley Circus can be bypassed via Adderley Street and Kingston Road, or along the Grand Union Canal past Camp Hill Locks.

Solihull to Birmingham by canal

The Grand Union Canal connects Birmingham with the outskirts of Solihull – and if you keep going, Warwick and London. However, until you reach the locks at Camp Hill, the surface is uneven, and its situation in a wooded cutting means it can be muddy.

Ward End Route from Castle Vale

This is a signed, on-road alternative to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, starting near Castle Vale with its own extensive network of cycleways.

Cole Valley Route

This traffic-free route from the eastern edge of the city is less well known, but well-surfaced and traffic-free. At present it peters out at Small Heath; you can make your way to the Grand Union Canal here and continue to the city via Digbeth.

Rea Valley Route

Birmingham’s best-known and busiest traffic-free route, this length of NCN 5 runs from Lifford to the centre. It’s traffic-free for the first 60%, passing through Cannon Hill Park, then drops onto quiet roads. (NCN 5’s entrance to the city centre, via Hurst Street, is admittedly horrible.) A very worthy alternative to the Pershore Road, it’s popular both with rush-hour commuters and weekend leisure riders. The tarmac surface is preferable to the canal alternative.