Explore Birmingham Curzon Street: A self-guided walking tour
HS2 is helping to transform Birmingham, regenerate Digbeth and breathe new life into the area around Curzon Street – once home to Britain’s first intercity railway station, now the site of its newest, high speed terminus.
This isn’t the first time the city has evolved. This self-guided walking tour of Digbeth opens up Birmingham’s past – through its historic landmarks, canals, railway stations and industrial heritage – to explore how transport infrastructure has shaped the city.
Trains, cranes and canal boats
The opening of Birmingham Curzon Street Station in 1838 cemented the city’s place at the heart of the UK transport network. The station’s rebirth as a new high speed terminus signals a wider resurgence, as investment steams into Digbeth and the surrounding area.
This self-guided walking tour will take you on a journey from Victorian Birmingham to modern-day Brum. You’ll delve into the city’s past as a powerhouse of the industrial revolution, explore how evolving transport infrastructure has shaped our streets, and learn how continued investment – driven by HS2 – is growing the city’s skyline.
The route
Start your journey opposite Old Curzon Street Station (1) and head east along Curzon Street. On your right, you’ll pass the construction site for HS2’s Curzon Street Station (2).
After about 200m, turn right onto the Curzon Street Canalside Walk (signposted) to join the Digbeth Branch Canal (3). Follow the towpath for roughly 350m, take care through the Curzon Street tunnel, then bear left under the footbridge to reach the Warwick Bar stop lock.
Continue along the canal for another 500m, cross two footbridges, then pass under Duddeston Viaduct (4). Turn left up the ramp onto Great Barr Street.
Walk over the bridge and take the first right onto Fazeley Street. You’ll pass through the Digbeth Creative Quarter (5), with sights including The Bond, Digbeth Loc. Studios, and MasterChef’s Banana Warehouse.
Turn left onto Pickford Street, then right onto Bordesley Street, passing the BBC’s future headquarters at the Tea Factory. Take the third left onto Allison Street, then turn right before the railway bridge onto Shaw’s Passage. Turn left under the bridge and take the next right towards Moor Street Station (6).
Follow Moor Street Queensway for about 350m, then turn right just after the Clayton Hotel onto Masshouse Lane. Continue slightly left, cross at the pedestrian walkway, and you’ll find The Woodman Pub (7) about 100m ahead.
Stop 1: Old Curzon Street Station
What better place to start than at one of Birmingham’s most historic railway landmarks?
Curzon Street Station was Britain’s original intercity terminus. The route between London and Birmingham was drawn by George Stephenson, the father of the modern railway, and was the very first direct line to be built between two cities.
The station welcomed its first service from the capital in 1838 and was designed by Philip Hardwick to match the Euston Arch, built to his design the previous year.
The route was a triumph, and early services travelled the 112-mile route in just under five hours, a dramatic improvement on the two-and-a-half-day journey by horse-drawn coach.
However, by 1854 all services had been directed to the newly opened Birmingham New Street Station, and Curzon Street operated as a single goods station until the 1960s.
The station finally closed in 1966, but the Grade 1 listed building will find a new lease of life next to HS2’s new Curzon Street Station.
Did you know? Beneath this strikingly beautiful building lies a gruesome secret. In the 1980s, builders unearthed a mummified cat under the floorboards of the station. In Victorian times, it was customary to place a live cat under the last floorboard, or behind the final brick in a wall – said to bring good luck to passengers and station staff.
Stop 2: HS2 Curzon Street Station
HS2 is Britain’s biggest infrastructure project, linking its two biggest cities. This new terminus will connect Birmingham to London in just 42 minutes, on British-built trains capable of reaching speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.
Curzon Street will be the first new intercity terminus to be built in Britain since the 19th Century – and one of three new stations built along the line, alongside Interchange Station in Solihull and Old Oak Common Station in West London.
The station’s design takes inspiration from the old and the new. An elegant arched roof will pay homage to the Victorian railway pioneers, while the design will meet the most stringent modern sustainability standards.
Foundation works for the new Birmingham Curzon Street Station began in January 2024, and work so far has included the installation of around 2,000 concrete columns. These columns, or piers, will support the viaduct that will bring high speed trains into the city.
Did you know? Below Curzon Street’s modern engineering lies a piece of fascinating rail history. Archaeology teams working for HS2 unearthed what is now thought to be the world’s oldest railway roundhouse. Built to a design by Robert Stephenson, the roundhouse was used to manually turn trains around after they arrived at the station, so they could return the way they came. Modern trains have driver cabs at both ends, allowing the driver to walk from one to the other to change the train’s direction. The Curzon Street roundhouse became operational in 1837 and is believed to predate the current ‘world’s oldest’ by two years.
Stop 3: Digbeth Branch Canal
Before the Victorian railway boom, there was another key transport artery shaping Britain’s towns and countryside.
The 18th Century saw a surge in canal building and the dawn of a new ‘Canal Age’. The success of the waterway system, and the industries it supported, had a major effect on Britain’s economy and in particular its cities.
In the 1800s, boosted by its place at the centre of England’s canal network, Birmingham had become the hub of the Industrial Revolution – with 11 different canals converging on the ‘city of a thousand trades’.
The Digbeth Branch Canal is a key connection on Birmingham’s canal network. This short stretch, which also crosses the historic River Rea, links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal with the Grand Union Canal to London. The canal’s prime location attracted a number of businesses that relied on it to receive and transport goods. One prominent example is Typhoo’s tea factory, which will soon be the BBC’s new Birmingham headquarters.
However, by the second half of the 19th Century, most new trade was carried by a new mode of transport – the railway.
Did you know? Canal towpaths were originally built for horses to pull boats along the canal. As you round the bend opposite Birmingham Proof House, look at the iron bars supporting the walls of the footbridge. The grooves you can see are the result of thousands of ropes towing boats along the canal over many decades.
Stop 4: Duddeston Viaduct
From the first-ever fare-paying journey in 1825 linking Stockton to Darlington, the romantic notion of rail travel captured the hearts and minds of Victorian Britain.
Railway pioneers raced to build new connections across our towns and cities. By 1850 a quarter of a million workers, known as ‘Navvies’, had laid down 3,000 miles of railway line across Britain, connecting people like never before.
But not all of these lines were a success. Duddeston Viaduct stands as a reminder of the cut and thrust of the early railway boom.
Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel around 170 years ago, the 355-yard viaduct was originally intended to connect Great Western Railway to Curzon Street Station.
However, the project fell victim to railway politicking when the newly formed London Northwestern Railway blocked access to the station, meaning the structure has never actually seen a train travel across it.
Stop 5: Digbeth Creative Quarter
Once a heartland of heavy industry and manufacturing, recent years have placed the Digbeth area of Birmingham at the heart of a creative revolution.
On the site of the former canal carriers, Fellows, Morton and Clayton, Digbeth Loc Studios is one of many creative projects giving a new lease of life to the area’s vacant post-industrial warehouses.
Opened in 2023, the £100m studio is the brainchild of Brummie and creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, who named HS2 as one of the driving factors behind the project.
Having already formed the backdrop to Netflix’s upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, the studio joins a growing cluster of facilities dedicated to film and TV.
Nearby venues include Alfie Bird’s Custard Factory, now a hub for digital and creative businesses; The Bond, a former HP sauce factory which is the location for Channel 4’s Late Night Lycett; and the Tea Factory, soon to become the BBC’s new home in the West Midlands.
Just a short walk from Curzon Street station, these exciting new developments will help filmmakers from London and abroad to access the West Midlands’ abundance of young talent, enabled by high speed rail.
Stop 6: Birmingham Moor Street
One of three railway stations in Birmingham City Centre, Moor Street tells the full-circle story of the growth, decline and rebirth of rail travel.
Originally built by Great Western Railway in 1909 to relieve traffic to Snow Hill, Moor Street was a terminus for trains from Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon (then a main line).
However, part of the station fell into disrepair when the tunnel link to Snow Hill was closed in 1968, and the old station eventually followed in 1987.
Yet thanks to a growth in services, the Grade II listed building was restored by Chiltern Railways 16 years later – making Moor Street one of the few stations in the region to have been completely renovated.
Today, it is the second busiest station in Birmingham, playing an integral role in serving travellers to and from London Marylebone. And, sitting just a short walk from Curzon Street, the station will soon have an even greater role in connecting passengers to high speed rail services.
Stop 7 (end of tour): The Woodman pub
Our tour finishes outside the historic Woodman Pub. Although this Grade II listed watering hole didn’t open its doors until Old Curzon Street station had closed, its Victorian grandeur belies the city’s past at the heart of the industrial revolution.
Opened in 1897 for Birmingham-based Ansells Brewery, the Woodman is one of a number of notable city pubs designed by James and Lister Lea architects. Others include the Anchor, the White Swan, the Wellington Hotel and the Barton Arms in Aston.
The pub boasts many of its original features, including a smoke room, a library room and a magnificent Minton-tiled bar.
Its prominent location means this historic pub has a bright future, and will remain a key marker point for those arriving and departing into HS2’s new Curzon Street Station.
Look around! The changes to Birmingham’s transport network have helped to make it the city it is today and a look at the city’s emerging skyline demonstrates how Birmingham is changing still. Research has found that HS2 will generate £10 billion for the region’s economy over the next 10 years. This includes a 200% increase in planned developments, such as One Eastside, the Octagon and Beorma Quarter – all of which you can see from here.
Practical information
- Total distance: 2 miles
- Conditions: Step-free and mostly flat, with some uneven footpaths.
- Equipment: Sturdy footwear and weather-appropriate clothing advised. Torch may be advisable on canal path.
- Hazards: Pedestrians and vehicle traffic throughout. Take extra care in tunnels and along waterways and follow the Towpath Code.
Disclaimer
This walking route is provided by HS2 for information purposes only. Individuals choosing to follow this route do so entirely at their own risk.
HS2 accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, injury, or incident that may occur to individuals or their property while undertaking this walk. By using this route, you acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for your own safety and that of any companions.
We recommend exercising caution, wearing suitable footwear, and taking all reasonable safety measures when undertaking this walking tour.