edgbaston reservoir
A surprising number of Brummies have no idea that Edgbaston Reservoir (formerly called Rotton Park Reservoir) exists. Yet there are several entrances to it, the main one being to the car park off Icknield Port Road, but my favourite is the half hidden gate off Rotton Park Road itself.
At the dam end, the view is a city scape, with the city centre high rises evident, though just behind the Tower Ballroom the walker on the dam notices the golden pagoda of a small Buddhist Temple.
Of older but less likely provenance as this city is so far from the coast, are the TS Vernon Sea Cadets HQ and their rafts. Birmingham Rowing Club also have their boathouse here, as well as the Midland Sailing Club.
From the dam itself, looking back towards the Rotton Park Road end, the view is that of the countryside with St Augustine's Church spire rising above the wooded end of the reservoir.
Just under two miles around its 80-acre circumference, it is a delightful walk. At one end is the 330m dam shutting off the smal streams and a feeder from Titford Pools (which allows up to 300M gallons of water to be stored). Originally a fish stock pool, it was extensively enlarged by Thomas Telford between 1824-1829 to supply water to his ever-thirsty Birmingham and Wolverhampton levels of the BCN system via the meandering Icknield Port Loop. Telford also built the octagonal gatehouse in typical BCN style, now a listed building.
In 1873, the reservoir was traversed by the then-famous French acrobat and tight-rope walker Charles Blondin on a tightrope. His feat is marked by a 1992 statue on the newby Ladywood Middleway.