September 25th – Meanwhile, a few hundred yards away at the main junction in Shelfield by the old Spring Cottage pub, I noticed this great sight; cycling dad and child out and enjoying the fresh air. I don’t see many child trailers about locally and I was really cheered to spot this. The young passenger was clearly having a ball. I just had to capture it for posterity.
September 25th – We seem to be being blessed with a gorgeous spell of beautiful weather – this warm, sunny and dry indian summer is really accelerating the leaves turning. I noticed on my way home from work that even mundane places – like this normally ordinary spot in Shelfield where the old railway used to run – is rendered gorgeous in it’s seasonal hues of gold, green and brown. Long may it continue!
September 25th – Another afternoon ride on and around the Chase, I again crossed Shugborough – this time in the other direction. I’d headed over Longdon Edge and through Rugeley, then from Milford Common I’d visited the Stepping Stones, Seven Springs, Wolseley Plain and Hednesford. I don’t normally cycle this route in this direction; it was a hard ride over the Chase, but well worth it. My, the rise from Milford to Stepping Stones is a hell of a challenge.
September 25th – The fungi season is upon us. This fine example of Fly Agaric – the classic white spotted red toadstool – grows near silver birch trees and these were no exception, on the canal bank just by Wharf Lane, Brownhills. Widely considered to be poisonous, they are eaten in some cultures and are considered psychoactive.
After you, Dylan…
September 24th – Having had a look at the bike shop in Milford, I cut through the Shugborough estate to Great Haywood. The seat of the late Earl of Lichfield is by turns wonderful, quirky and depressing. There are magical corners to this estate, from Tixall ‘wides’ – the canal widened to look like lakes – to the deciduous woods and odd, ugly follies. It depresses me as there’s little to actually do here that doesn’t cost money. I’d stop for tea in the cafe, but you have to have a ticket. It’s all a bit sad, really.
There’s a lovely small rare breeds farm, and I’m rather taken with the miniature goats.
September 24th – Up on Cannock Chase, I decided to pay a visit to Brocton Field. I hadn’t been here for eighteen months or so. The monuments here – the ornamental and functional – are a desolate as ever. The triangulation pillar here is one of the last three to survive on Cannock Chase, the one at Castle Ring long since removed. I’m not sure what the stone memorial is. Coming down into Brocton, a small group of fallow deer were in the trees to the west, but sadly, the photos of those didn’t come out to well.
September 23rd – The old boatyard and basin at Ogley Junction have a chequered history, really. Once the home of a commercial boatyard, the truncated stub of the closed Lichfield and Hatherton canal is now being rented out for private narrowboat mooring, and is also in use as a work yard for British Waterways maintenance crews. Hopefully one day, the canal will once again extend from here to Huddlesford, near Whittington, but for now it stops at The Long Pound. Quite what’s going on with the half-car on the trailer is anyone’s guess…
September 23rd – Taking a breather round Chasewater late afternoon, I happened upon a small group of wild red deer. These majestic animals are a common sight on the heaths and grasslands of Brownhills. This group consisted of five does, who stood there defiantly watching me as they cropped on the grass.
September 22nd – There’s no excuse for this – it’s irritating the hell out of me. Gentlemen, I wish you success in your new venture, but for heaven’s sake please learn the name of our town. That’s Brownhills. With an ’s’. There’s something awfully off-putting when you set up a business, name it after the town it’s in and sometime later you discover you’ve spelt it wrong. Get a grip.
September 22nd – Taking a shoot round Brownhills, I saw that old Brownhills pub, The Prince of Wales, is up for sale again – I don’t know if it’s still open in the meantime or what. The parent holding company have crashed into administration. I’m hoping the pub finds a buyer soon – it’s one of the few traditional boozers left in Brownhills.
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