Route from Worcester to Tipton (Dudley)

EyesintheSky

Hi there this is my first post in road, I'm a mountain dweller (ooooooohhhhhhhh) usually. I need to cycle from Worcester in the west midlands to Tipton on the outskirts of Dudley and google maps tells me to take the A449. Reading a couple of Internet posts leads me to believe the road is rather dangerous, can anybody suggest an alternative route which would be safer? And just how dangerous is cycling on A roads? Any help would be greatly appreciated for this road noob

megilleland

I wouldn't want to cycle on the A449, a fast dual carriageway, plus as you get nearer to Birmingham a lot of traffic going back and forwards to the suburbs and heading for the M5/M6/M42 motorways.

The Worcester and Birmingham canal links the two cities, built to connect the River Severn in Worcester to the Birmingham Canal System via a quicker route than the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. You can get good maps here. A quieter route but with several diversions. Not sure how far you can ride into Birmingham, but the canal network goes to Tipton Junction from Gas Street Basin in the heart of the city.

Worcester County Council has devised a route from Worcester to Droitwich

If you want to keep on tarmac try this 48km route.