May 18th – Derelict, abandoned and crumbling for as long as I’ve been cycling, Keeper’s Cottage on Footherley Lane refuses to actually fall down. I first explored the shell of this building in 1982, and it has remained, unloved, ever since. It’s not the only derelict home in the area – there’s a boarded up bungalow on Lynn Lane and a row of similar terraced cottages in Footherley itself. All have been 3 decades empty. This is criminal. One assumes the same owner is responsible for all three.
May 18th – After a rainy, hard, grim day, returning home from Shenstone Station into the wind was hard work. The weather had brightened, however, and the sun was coming out. On the way to Footherley, along Hollyhill Lane, this path through a ripening crop of oilseed rape caught my attention. Leading to Footherley itself, the path is well used by walkers and locals alike.
May 17th – Exploring a bit more of the Arrow Valley cycle route in Redditch on the way to work, I took a trundle round the central lake in Arrow Valley Park. Home to a boat club and an outdoor centre, it’s clearly a popular, well maintained amenity, teaming with wildlife.
It’s easy to knock the town, and I often do, but this route and park are wonderful, and a credit to their designers.
May 17th – Shenstone Pumping Station, one of the earlier examples of the great South Staffordshire Waterworks tradition, is a dark red, victorian edifice, originally designed for a steam pump. Brought into use in 1892, it pumps water to this day from a 131 feet deep, 12 foot diameter well, with a 597 foot heading. The steam pump was retired in 1957, and now a 60 horsepower submersible well pump tops up a 10,000 gallon tank under the pumphouse.
After treatment there, water is pumped by 200 horsepower pumps up to Barr Beacon reservoir for distribution. These pumps can supply 1,500,000 gallons per day, and are backed up by emergency generators.
Shame about the hideous air intake grafted into the front doors.
May 16th – Redditch. Pouring myself liquid downhill here is a joy, usually, but one has to beware of vehicles – it’s a bad place for dooring and being pulled out on. This example of shocking, idiotic driving is why I give so much time to maintaining my brakes. Ah well, replacement pads are only fifteen quid a pop…
May 16th – another popular crop this year seems to be potatoes. A few weeks ago, I photographed this field belonging to Home Farm at Sandhills, freshly ploughed with Brownhills Church in clear view. The church is still visible, but the neat rows of spuds will soon be growing tall. I love the way the regimented green tramlines highlight the undulating contour of the field.
May 16th – with the fine, early spring the showery weather has spurred all the local crops on. This field of Barley near Lynn, Stonnall seems very well advanced for the time of year. There seems to be lots of barley this year – prices must be good.
May 15th – Further into the same ride, I dropped through the lovely village of Weeford. It’s proximity to, and isolation caused by the nearby A38 puts many cyclists off coming this way. A new cycle & equestrian bridge and cycle route were constructed in 2005, yet few realise as it’s not on many maps yet. It really is a dream, and you never have to deal with the dreaded dual carriageway.
May 15th – Teenagers, huh? This one, ambling up Rookery Hill in Hints, despite being warned by (presumably) her mother, didn’t once look up from her mobile as I headed towards her. Ah, bless.
May 15th -South Staffordshire is currently littered with oddly placed scaffold towers like this one, either side of the Birmingham Road at Shenstone Woodend. Their placement and purpose has caused some consternation, but there’s a simple explanation. Having upgraded the Ray Hall to Drakelow high voltage feeder line last year, Electricity Alliance are now upgrading the parallel one that also connects to a switching compound at the former Hams Hall station in Warwickshire. The towers – with nets suspended between them – prevent cables dropped from the transmission lines above from falling into roads and railway lines.
I’m wondering if this is a precursor to building the new gas combined cycle power station at Drakelow…
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