Author: BrownhillsBob

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

October 17th – Well, if the day before had gone unexpectedly pink, the sunset when a gorgeous purple over Brownhills.

Rolling down the hill happy after seeing the deer, I was greeted by the most gorgeous sky. Unusually, I ducked off the High Street at Anchor Bridge, and on to the canal to catch it better.

Within the space of ten minutes, it had gone.

I was very pleased to have caught this. We’re having a great sunset season this year!

October 17th – My deer magnet hasn’t been great lately, so returning from a Birmingham train at Sandhils, I was surprised and pleased to note this pair browsing the healthy-looking winter crop at Home Farm, Sandhills.

Terrible long range images in very poor light, nonetheless they amused and pleased me, rightening an otherwise dull commute.

Of course, the farmer won’t be so pleased, these animals – breeding well and expanding in numbers rapidly – are beginning to cause appreciable dame to crops and fences.

October 16th – With the sun more or less returned to normal and a ferocious tailwind, I hammered back to Brownhills late afternoon for an appointment. Watching me from the far side of the canal near Silver Street, a familiar character who clearly doesn’t care for my sort much, but that’s a huge bruiser of a cat. A real character.

At the old market place by the Pier Street Bridge, I’m happy to see the housing development is using forward with footings already in for the first houses.

It’ll be so nice to see this place inhabited and alive again.

October 16th – An very strange weather day. We were expecting severe storms in the afternoon, and in the morning, to a gradually increasing wing, the sky and light turned pink. Not just a light, gentle pink, but a deep, strong pink that suffused everything and made one think the end was coming.

It actually turned out to be pollution and sand dust in the upper atmosphere caused by the oncoming, dying hurricane, but the effect was bfar better than any eclipse I’ve ever seen. 

For an hour or so on an otherwise unremarkable October morning, the world went a little bit strange for us all.

October 15th – Sometimes, all you want to do is tear up the trails and get rid of the pressures of the previous days, and on a borrowed 29er, that’s exactly what I did.

It’s amazing how, late on a Sunday afternoon with dusk encroaching, the Chase is deserted, as if most of the bikers, dog walkers and explorers are only fair-weather friends. But this period – with empty trails, beautiful subdued colour and a wealth of fungi, flora and wildlife, is a magical time.

I crossed Rainbow Hill to Birches Valley, then up Penkridge Bank to Rifle Range Corner, down Abrahams Valley to Seven Springs, back to Stepping Stones, up the Sherbrook Valley and back via Brindley Heath, much of it in peaceful darkness.

Flowing down the trail, hearing owls, dear and startling rabbits and badgers, a fantastic evening ride that was just what I needed to refresh my jaded mind.

October 15th – And then came a new day, and a restorative, happy ride to Cannock Chase – but before that, a quick call to check out Brownhills Parade, where the avenue of roadside trees is an autumn favourite.

Not quite at their peak, this spot will be a favourite with local photographers for weeks now, and rightly so, it’s a magical, beautiful reminder that the town I live and in and love is actually surprisingly beautiful.

I remember when these trees were planted.

October 14th – A terrible, awful down day marked by frustration, local tragedy and blustery, unfavourable weather. A late ride our to Chasewater taking in a loop of Brownhills rewarded me with suitably sombre views, the gathering dark gradually enveloping the town. 

Some days, you’re just glad to make it back to bed in one piece.

October 13th – Chester is always a delight from the cormorants loafing on the Dee like old men on a park bench to the chimneys and remarkably diverse architectural threads, and in autumn, it’s amplified, particularly on a day with such dramatic skies.

I love the central shopping area with the ‘rows’ – upper tier walkways, bridges and balconies that weave and dodge, reminding you of Pratchet’s Ankh Morpork.

A great afternoon.

October 13th – I had a morning meeting near Middlewich, Cheshire and after the customary John Wyndham/Cuckoo jokes, drove up with a colleague with my bike in the car. Finished at Lunchtime, I rode to Chester for an afternoon exploring. 

I used to come here a lot when I was younger, but hadn’t been for years. It’s still a fantastic place – the walled central city with the mixed architecture and the amazingly intact wall linking everything together.

I took time to go see a house I’d admired for years. Just look at the details here – even the open balconies between bays,

A fabulous afternoon.