We joined a sold out guided tour of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham

We joined tourists as they gathered for one of the first guided tours of Spaghetti Junction[1] which are proving so popular organisers have now SOLD OUT for the next two months. The events at Britain’s busiest motorway junction[2] are being dubbed the “most unlikely tourist attraction” in the UK – and they are simply fascinating. For GBP13.50 a head, people get an organised tour learning what lies beneath the labyrinth of winding roads that carry the M6 over Birmingham[3].

On Sunday (September 14) we joined a dozen punters who took the opportunity to see the hidden charms of the Gravelly Hill Interchange. We spent one hour and 45 minutes exploring canals, rivers, a park, a lake, towpaths, wildlife and street art.

Tourists receive a guided tour of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham; the UK’s “most unlikely tourist attraction”.

Among the group was physiotherapist William James, 27, who wanted to learn more about Birmingham after recently moving to the second city. He said: “I actually really like how it looks.

It’s quite strange and dystopian. Everyone has seen it from above but I’ve never been beneath it before. “The tour stood out to me because I find things commonly thought of as being undesirable or ugly innately interesting.

“I’m aware there’s distaste towards things like Spaghetti Junction and it not being something to be proud of in Britain. “But stuff like this is a crucial part of our history. “I just wanted to take the opportunity to do it and be informed by somebody who is passionate about it as well.

Guided tours of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham are so popular they have sold out

“It’s been really good.

I now like Spaghetti Junction even more than I thought I did. “To learn about its history and relevance and how it still has a vital role in modern society and how important it is to Birmingham was really interesting. “And how also so many people were displaced when it was built, I don’t think many people consider that, but it gives context to the monument that is the motorway.”

The tangle of roads along the M6 is one of the biggest motorway interchanges in Europe and more than 200,000 vehicles travel on it daily. The 52-year-old concrete structure even appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the most complex interchange on the British road system’.

Guided tours of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham are so popular they have sold out

Organisers Explore Birmingham said all four tours so far were fully booked to their capacity of 12 and they have now sold out for the next two months. Tour guide Al Hassall, 49, said: “It’s just unique to Birmingham, you don’t really get places that look like that here.

“I believe the popularity is down to it being a lot more interesting historically than people think. “Everyone knows it. It’s synonymous with Birmingham for not so great reasons.

It was a hugely impressive feat of engineering in the first place. “But most people don’t realise it’s got a complex water system below it. It’s got a lot of history.

There was a whole community and shops that were lost. “For me, I live nearby, but had never actually been under it. I only went underneath it 18 months ago and it’s not as loud as you think.

“I used to commute through it. On a misty day with the columns looking up at you, it’s quite a sight to see. “People do look for things that are a little bit different.

We did sell out. I focus on small groups, only 12 people. “Now I’ve moved the tours until twice a month, the next two months are sold out too.

Scenes from a guided tour of Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham

“It’s actually a 1hr 45 minute tour.

We meet at Aston train station and walk down the canal and discuss that. We talk about everything. “The way I do my tours and approach them is to make them more personal.

“I don’t stick the headphones in their ears and make them follow me around. I’m always interested in people’s perceptions. “The majority of people start with a ‘I haven’t given it much thought’ approach.

Then most of them come away with a new level of understanding.” Spaghetti Junction was opened in 1972 and took some four years to complete at a cost of GBP10 million. It has 559 concrete columns – some reaching 80 feet high – is reinforced by 13,000 tonnes of steel and covers an area of 30 acres.

If you wanted to drive along every road at Gravelly Hill Interchange, you would need to travel about 73 miles and it also serves 18 different routes.

References

1. ^ Spaghetti Junction (en.wikipedia.org)
2. ^ Britain’s busiest motorway junction (www.expressandstar.com)
3. ^ Birmingham (www.expressandstar.com)