This is trail 6 of 6 in a series, developed in conjunction with the Canal & Rivers Trust, which runs through Birmingham and the Black Country. The trails are a variety of lengths and can be paddled at your leisure. Explore just one, or complete all six in a multi-day expedition.

The Forest of Arden once covered a vast area and was the setting for the Shakespeare play, As You Like It. The Romans built no roads through this forest as the woodland was too dense. Much of the forest was cleared in the middle ages and you are now more likely to see Christmas trees than oak trees, grown at the nearby Christmas tree farm!

Dickens Heath is a new village, created by Solihull Council, in response to their need for new housing. It was started in the late 1980’s and now houses around 4000 people.

Earleswood Reservoirs; Engine House, Windmill and Terry’s Pool. Created to feed the Stratford canal, they are now used for fishing, sailing and as a wildlife reserve. There is a large craft centre by the lakes.

Further information can be found on the following websites:

• canalrivertrust.org.uk

This section of canal is almost entirely rural, following the Stratford Canal on the final leg of the Birmingham & Black Country Canoe Trail. Starting at Shirley Drawbridge, the journey is a gentle paddle, under brick bridges, through fields and small villages.