Month: June 2016

June 10th – Anyone interested in the canals of the Black Country knows about Smethwick Galton Bridge – the beautiful cast iron structure; the multiple railways, roads and two canals intersecting at different heights.

However, there’s something not half a mile away that’s as wonderful; where the M5 crosses a railway, which is running alongside two canals, and crossing a third.

This is a fantastic thing – right next to the sadly derelict Chance Glassworks, Victorian Aqueduct jars with 60s brutalism, which pays no heed to the water. A fine, fine thing that makes one wonder at the progress of engineering, the wildlife that perches in such situations, and the smallness the scale makes you feel.

You may not agree, but it’s beautiful in it’s harshness and ingenuity.

June 10th – I slipped out of work for the day near lunchtime, and pottered through the Black Country down the canals into Brum, then back home on the waterways to Aldridge. Unlike Brownhills, I had a mostly dry, temperate afternoon, and life is everywhere, from the lounging cat to the aggressive geese. Flowers and greenery are everywhere, and as ever, the landscape was the star.

It wasn’t a long ride at 35 miles, but the stop at a favourite Jamaican cafe for curried mutton, rice and peas and a good mooch around the architecture was good for my soul.

A lovely afternoon.

June 9th – I have no idea about Lepidoptera, but spotted this lovely moth (I think) in the flowers near the new pond in Clayhanger. It was beautiful and very active – and along with the bees and a whole host of other bugs, shows why margins and scrubs left to run wild are so very important for biodiversity.

June 9th – Such a profusion of flowers at the moment, for which pink and purple seem to be the current fashion. Roses, orchids and one I’m not sure of all brightened my commute.

The orchids are particularly welcome growing along the towpath near Clayhanger, and on the slope to the new pond. I just adore them.

June 8th – I hopped off the canal at Bentley Mill Way to check out the work on the aqueduct from ground level; as the road is still closed, I was curious; it seems there’s work on the north side that can’t be seen from the canal. 

I’m sure whole canals were dug by hand faster than this project has limped to completion.

One of the first things I noted was the new towpath surface ends at the top of the steps here, so I guess the intention is you get here using the shared-use path, then hop on the canal for Walsall. 

Only a non-cyclist could have thought this was a good idea. The steps, even for a fairly strong bloke like me, were a nightmare with a bike. There’s no handrail. No wheeling channel. The steps are at an awkward pitch, and overgrown. This is lousy, and I strongly advise cyclists not to use it.

Off the bridge, the roadway has been lowered considerably to accommodate taller vehicles, but I’m not sure that’ll help much as the width is very restricted.

As I said before, I hope the pumps hoovering the water from those drains are reliable.

I don’t want to dislike this – but this has cost millions, for no real improvement and it stinks of being someone’s pet project.

Dire.

June 7th – Yellow is the colour of the canals at the moment, as the flag irises and water lilies are out and forming a beautiful accompaniment to the greenery around the banks and towpaths.

Even after these last few years I still can’t get used to seeing such flowers on canals – the ones I grew up with were so filthy and dirty.

Not all change is for the worst…

June 6th – Well, we had the large cocks last week, and now I found a pair of balls.

There I was, cycling up the Mellish Road (some way from the golf club and driving range) in the early morning, having picked up some components from Aldridge, when I spy an egg in the road. 

It wasn’t an egg, it was a golf ball. A little further on, uphill, I found another. 

A curious find.