It was opened in 1847,[3] and included nine locks, a flight of seven near the middle with two more just before the end-on junction at Longwood, which raised the level of the canal by 65 feet (20 m).

In the other direction, the canal heads to the south east, passing under a towpath bridge and the eastern sliproads of the M5 motorway.

It reaches the top lock of the 13-lock Perry Barr flight, which drops the level of the canal by 106 feet (32 m) after 2.2 miles (3.5 km).

The towpath is on the western bank, and the canal is level for 0.9 miles (1.4 km) to the bottom of the Rushall locks.

It is made of cast iron with abutments of brick and sandstone, and the balustrades consist of a latticework of saltire crosses.