Author: BrownhillsBob

I told the truth - but told it bent. Wandering around bemused and ranty since 2007.

May 7th – High on Morridge, on a farm access track, a wee lamb was spotted trapped but unhurt in a cattle grid, his momma close by calling mournfully for help with his siblings stood close by.

Approaching gently, the lamb – surprisingly heavy and very muscular, much more so than a dog the same size – was lifted free and offered to the mother gently. He bounded to her, and she bleated loudly, then they all ran off.

I’d like to think the ewe was thanking me, but it sounded more like ‘sod off!’…

Good deed for a long, sunny ride.

May 7th – The third day of a long weekend, May Day bank holiday, and I knew what to do. The forecast was for a beautiful, hot day so I hopped on a very early train to Macclesfield, and rode back via the Moorlands, Roaches, Morridge and Weaver Hills.

You can see a full gallery from this ride on my main blog here.

Just on the moors near Thorncliffe, I found this curiosity, something I’ve never seen before – a UK Meteorological Office remote weather station. I have no idea why it’s here specifically, or for the oblique angle it subtends to the road, but it is fascinating, populated with a host of instruments measuring rainfall, win speed, polled count, air quality and other metrics of the atmosphere. All this seems to be remotely operated by telemetry link.

Also in the compound is a GNRR sensor for the Ordnance Survey, a Leica device to provide calibration for GPS signals.

A fascinating and slightly haunting thing, right in the middle of nowhere.

May 6th – Riding back through Haunton to Whittington via Elford, I passed the derelict Royal Observer Corps bunker post at the top of Willow Bottom Lane, just in the corner of the field.

Someone has made a half-hearted attempt to lock it again: It won’t stay locked for long, it never does.

This underground nuclear bunker was intended to house 3 volunteers in the event of nuclear war; they would monitor damage after a blast, and report back on conditions if possible. Their monitoring was on a crude ‘If we survive’ basis, and this bit of Cold War history is obscure and grim.

Since being stood down in the early 90s, these posts – hundreds over the whole country – have been discovered, raided, trashed, demolished and sold; few survive intact and this one itself has been burned out.

But it remains, a grim memorial to a very paranoid time.

You can read more about ROC posts here.

May 6th – Another fine, hot day, another long ride – this time a 55 miler out via Hints and the canal through Tamworth to Orton on the Hill, Austrey and Honey Hill.

You can see a full gallery for this ride on my main blog here.

At Orton, I stopped to study the fine, Francophile church there, and noticed the classic demonstration of weather erosion on the masonry – on the windward side, the deep pits of direct wind and rain abrasion, whereas on the leeward side, the lines cause by lateral pull and frost; on side planar side, the lapped waves of parallel forces.

That church has seem some weather over the years.

May 5th – In a world of fakery and things not as they appear to be, this really shouldn’t surprise me, but I was stunned.

On a building site near Rosliston, South Derbyshire fake chimneys, ready to go on the roofs of very expensive new build houses, complete with pre assembled pots and flashing.

I feel betrayed.

May 5th – A gorgeous day for riding, hindered by the need to do favours for mates and a bit of a bad tummy saw me leave for a fast, warm and beautiful sSaturday Evening ride that really did catch the best of Staffordshire and all that I had been missing with the dreary spring.

You can see a full set from this ride on my main blog by clicking here.

On my way out, I noticed that my favourite tree, the horse chestnut on Home Farm at Sandhills, visible from the canal at Catshill, is now in leaf.

I love that tree. I gauge the seasons by it. It looks beautiful and green.

Summer has begin!

May 4th – I’ve noticed over the ;past few days that engineers have been examining a lot of local roads since the cold, wet winter left many in a parlous state.

Walsall Council on the whole have been very good at dealing with damage, but more can always be done. Here in Darlaston on a number of streets – but most noticeably Station Street and Darlaston Road – technicians have taken periodic core samples to see how thick the road surges is and what it’s composed of. 

This helps with resurfacing, and knowing how much to plane away before laying new tarmac.

When the sample is taken, the perfectly round hole left is filled, leaving this curious scar.

Looks like we’ll be getting some better road surfaces in Darlo soon, then…

May 3rd – Nearby, in Pleck, a sight curiously not seen often, which is odd considering the proliferation of Canada geese: A nest being sat by a parent. Interestingly, unlike a swan nest, I could see no obvious partner nearby. 

The sitter seemed comfortable, but the nest was much smaller than that of a swan. 

It’s be interesting to see when the new arrivals make an appearance. I’d guess they’ll be hatching soon.

May 3rd – On the way to work on a sunny morning, the canal in central Walsall was beautiful.

All the weeks and months of riding in the rain, cold and dark, dreaming of rides like this.

Yet again, another winter is survived and the warmer, longer days are here: Nature is greening, the weather is good and the light is upon us.

Always worth the wait.