May 1st – This house, on the corner of Hollyhill Lane and Footherley Lane near Shenstone has always captivated me. I love the gables and chimneys, and the general air of rural seclusion it conveys. When I was a kid, one would often see a real fire in the hearth on winter days through the french windows at the front. It always looked so warm and cosy.
For those wanting to find out more about the last post, The Defence of Britain Project can be found here.
The record for that individual pillbox can be found here.
Do please explore, it’s fascinating.
May 1st – The Tame and Trent through Staffordshire are littered with the remnants of the Second World War, mostly old concrete blockhouses like this one in a field between Tamhorn and Hopwas. It took me a while to work out the logic of the seemingly random placements, but they all cover strategically important bridges. I guess those miltarians who planned gravely for the possible invasion of Britain recognised the value of pinch-points that rbridges formed.
Many of these fascinating structures are now listed, and there’s lots of information including a live gazetteer in Google Earth provided by The Defence of Britain Archive, a project by the University of York.
1032 miles later…
By any normal yardstick, my 30 days of biking project should end here. I’ve ridden, and posted, something for every day in the month of April. You’ve followed me pottering round the common, off into the Peak District, through the mean streets of Redditch, and on early morning commutes. I’ve been cut up, knackered, amazed and awestruck.
The biking everyday thing will be no surprise to my regular readers at The Brownhills Blog; I cycle virtually everyday anyway. All that really changed was that I documented what I did and saw.
I’ve really enjoyed sharing this stuff with other people. It’s really great to make what is often a very solitary experience a communal thing in a small way. It’s nice to show that cycling isn’t a superhuman effort, and can be a pleasant experience, even for a non-lycra clad, non-helmet wearing middle aged bloke like me.
With all this in mind, I’m going to continue to operate this project, and somewhat ambitiously, rechristen it 365 days of biking. All the same stuff will be here, but I guess we can watch the seasons change together.
As long as folk are interested, I’ll keep going. Last night I took a straw poll on twitter, and the consensus was to continue, so the adventure continues.
Please let me know what you think…
Best wishes
Bob
April 30th – The wind was so strong from the northeast that the usual descent from Aldershawe into ye olde city was more like a crawl. Stopping by the old lodge house at the northern gate, I noticed a view I hadn’t stopped to take in for years; the old lady of the vale in all her three-spired glory. Worth battling the wind for, and it did blow me back up Pipe Hill.
April 30th – a bright, warm sunny day, unfortunately tempered by a headwind forged on Satan’s back doorstep. After some routine mechanical attention, I set off to Lichfield to get a little shopping in. Here at Lower Stonnall the wind was pulling pollen from the oilseed rape and the scent was intense. Nature felt more alive today than it has done on any day this year.
April 29th – A return along the canal prompted me to photograph this fine piece of history. One of only two listed structures in Brownhills, it used to carry the South Staffordshire Railway over the Wyrley and Essington Canal. It’s now slowly decaying, with large holes in the bridge deck and the metalwork corroding steadily.
Sadly, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for this unloved bridge. It’s a shame, because I think it’s a fine example of victorian utilitarian architecture – simple blue brick, lightly decorated, totally functional.
April 29th – The former railway track that ran over the common at the end of Engine Lane is now long gone, but the sturdy trackbed it left behind forms a gorgeous, wildlife rich greenway. Sadly, it’s plagued by offroaders and scramblers, which the police do a fine job of apprehending.
Thankfully, today it was peaceful.
April 29th – A late afternoon escape found me spinning round Brownhills Common in a fruitless hunt for deer. I pottered on up to Engine Lane, and remembered the shaft located on a small mound by the old level crossing. Brick-lined, capped about six feet down with old railway sleepers, I think it must have been an air shaft for a nearby colliery. It’s not really wide enough to be a working shaft, and it’s termination at a considerable height above surrounding ground level suggests that the constructors wanted to avoid surface water draining down it.
A conundrum indeed.
April 28th – The Sandhills Pumping Station – built by the private concern of The South Staffordshire Waterworks Company in 1935 – still pumps fresh water to this day from two 400 foot deep boreholes drilled into the bunter pebble beds under Springhill. This station – and others like it dotted throughout our area – are handsome period pieces of civic architecture that speak of a better, more socially aware time, when the supply of basic services like clean water was seen as a noble activity and not a purely profit driven enterprise.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 