October 24th – The grim weather continues. Every commute is an effort this week – really poor visibility coupled with slippery, greasy roads and a fine, penetrative drizzle that soaks everything. I just want a clear, bright, cold day for a change. It’s also really, really difficult to take photos. The exposure on the camera slows down to sub-handheld speeds, and pictures are washed out and grey, just like the landscape. 

Passing the junction of Forge Lane and Walsall Road, this is the old village of Little Aston, before the money moved in. These cottages, behind the venerable scots pine, are very old indeed. Just up forge lane, the original smithy still stands, up until a couple of years ago, still a blacksmith’s sop. Even on a grey day, it’s an attractive place hinting at a more rural past.

23rd October – As I headed homeward, conditions – and the light – didn’t improve, but at least the wind was almost behind me. The amount of motorists I saw without lights was astounding, and by the time I was negotiating Shire Oak Hill, it was both raining steadily, and very nearly dark. This weather is difficult to ride in – not just for practical visibility and comfort reasons, but the rain makes people drive oddly, and it puts me on my guard. One would imagine that bad weather would make people drive more carefully, but the opposite seams to be the case. Most bizarre.

October 23rd – The bleak weather continues. Thoroughly depressing commutes were lightened only by getting a decent train service for the first time in weeks. Despite the mass cancellations, I for once fell lucky and managed to get on 2 trains that were on time and 2 that were only a few minutes late. This may seem unremarkable, but the service has been so bad of late it’s been adding whole hours to my commuting time. As my train home rolled into Shenstone, I felt quite pleased, but noticed the announcement as I alighted that the following train was 15 minutes late. That one was set to be seriously overcrowded. The local rail system really is useless at the moment.

Shenstone Station, however, is still beautiful, even in the half-light of a miserable day.

October 22nd – The day remained grim and unphotogenic. My return was marred by a heavy headwind, and very, very fine drizzle – the kind that soaks your clothes and trickles down your neck without ever having the decency to actually rain properly. The light, and consequently the photography, were awful. At Jockey Meadows, near Walsall Wood, the fields were misty and dank. The last of the beans remained in the field by the road, as the ground was too waterlogged to harvest them. This doesn’t look like OCtober, it looks like December. Let’s hope the weather picks up soon.

October 22nd – The trains were lousy again, so I opted for a day in Darlaston instead, so I didn’t have to catch any. The commute was evil – raining, wet with really, really bad visibility. I was shocked to see so many drivers without lights – which makes spotting them over your shoulder in these conditions difficult. At Scarborough Road, in Pleck, the trees of this interwar period avenue are beautifully golden, and they cheered me. But the day remained grim.. I think it’s in for the week…

October 21st – I see lots of sweet chestnut trees about – particularly around Shugborough and Longdon, yet little decent fruit, which has always puzzled me. This year in no exception. Inside these very sharp, defensive husks, the chestnuts are thin and small. I don’t know if they’re just an ornamental strain, or whether the crops need more attention than they get in the wild. Still, the windfalls are always impressively spiky.

October 21st – Up on the The Chase and over Shugborough for an afternoon ride. Autumn has really taken hold now. The pines in Abraham’s valley are a lovely yellow, and everything had an aura from the low sun. Soon, the clocks will go back and I’ll be doing this run at dusk. The year advances, slowly, inexorably… where did it go?

October 20th – That something good was one of the most remarkable sunsets I’ve seen for a while. It happened as I crossed Chasewater Dam on my way to Burntwood. Taking just twenty minutes in total, it was fleeting, ever changing and magical. I walked the length of the dam path, stopping to take photos every couple of minutes. I was very lucky to see this.
There are more images on my main blog. I feel the need to point out again that these images are not enhanced – it really was this beautiful. 

October 20th – I knew it was going to be a good ride – and I had no idea why. The bike felt good beneath me after some long-awaited fettling. The wind was low, the air keen, but pleasant. I had energy in my bones. I felt good, the light was starting to get good. I came up from central Brownhills, over Catshill Junction and off towards Chasewater. The golden hour was lighting up the autumn colours. It was peaceful and beautiful. It may only have been a short spin, but this is what cycling is about, and no mistake. I felt that something good was just about to happen…

October 19th – The refilling of Chasewater has been very swift and remarkable. Saved by a very, very wet season, it occurred to me today looking at the new outfall arrangement that there’s only a shade over a metre to go until the reservoir is full and flowing into the Nine-Foot. Of course, there’s a huge increase in area to cover in that metre, so it won’t be quick. On the 30th of September the level was just off the 148.35m AOD start level of the scale, maked ‘9’. Today, it’s at 6.5. Since the scale is marked in decimetres, that’s a 250mm rise in 19 days to approximately 148.6m AOD. That’s incredible.

It’s nice to see healthy birdlife return, too. Long time since I’ve seen a heron loafing on the waterski jetty.