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The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal's original purpose was to provide a link between Birmingham and the south east of England, by way of the Coventry Canal and the Oxford Canal. John Smeaton was the engineer, and the canal was completed in 1789. The canal now runs from the BCN Main Line at Deep Cuttings Junction*, Birmingham to the Coventry Canal at Fazeley Junction, just outside Tamworth. The length is 15 miles (24 km), and it includes 38 locks. There is also a short branch to Digbeth, Birmingham. A further extension was built along the planned course of the Coventry Canal as far as Whittington. (Information from Wikipedia Link )

* Note: The two hundred metres between Deep Cuttings Junction and Farmer's Bridge Top Lock (by Cambrian Wharf) was originally part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (Newhall Branch).

When the canals (or railways) were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were often routed in such a way that farmers and other landowners had their land bisected, so bridges had to be provided to allow access to fields on both sides of the canal. These bridges are frequently referred to as accommodation bridges, and however solid and well constructed, often don't lead anywhere except from one field to another.