June 19th – cycling back from Blake Street station, I took a spin up through the backlanes of Litte Aston and Stonnall. There seems to be a bit of a wildflower theme going on at th moment, and when I spotted this patch of poppies growing in a ripening oilseed rape field at Little Aston Forge,I just had to take a picture. In the distance is Shenstone. A lovely view.
I took the wrong turn today on my ride. Instead of turning towards Park Lime Pits at Longwood Bridge I decided I fancied a tour of Sandwell Valley and went in the opposite direction. Bad move. I should have remembered that we’ve had biblical amounts of rain. The tow-path was in a dreadful state….
June 18th – The farmer who planted such a fine crop of beans seems very sensitive to wildlife, leaving wide fieldmargins and nic patches of scrub. This benefits the who biodiversity – bugs, birds, animals and flora. Still beautiful, though, however common, is the humble buttercup, here in abundance with cow parsley, dandelions, cornflower and poppy. Gorgeous.
June 18th – I noticed cycling back home that the field between the sewage works and Goblin Wood in Walsall Wood seems to be host to a crop of broad beans, or at least, beans of some variety. Last year this field grew quinoa, and I guess growing a legume will re-nitrate the soil for good crop rotation. The crop looks healthy, despite being a little ravaged at the southern edge due to the weather. An interesting and unusual sight.
June 17th – My deer magnet is clearly functioning well right now. These two delightful yearling hinds were grazing on the scrub adjacent to the railway track at Chasewater Heaths. Note that they’re still very young, and have the traces of their juvenile whit spots still present in their summer coats. They happily browsed the vegetation whilst keeping an eye on me, eventually wandering into the thicket nearby. A lovely sight, and one I still pinch myself in disbelief, every time I see it.
June 17th – Birdsfoot trefoil is one of the great flowers of summer for me. Often called deer vetch or eggs and bacon, it grows in sandy soils in rough grass and heathland. This example, at Anglesey Basin, near Chasewater, is in fine health. This is one of the yellow blooms that dapples verges and meadows this time of year, along with ragworts and buttercups. It’s normally a mixture of yellow and crimson blooms, but there doesn’t seem to be much of the crimson component this year. I’m wondering if there’s a climatic effect evident there…
June 16th – First time I’d been to Walsall on a Saturday for over 18 months, and I quickly remembered why. It may have just been the rain, but the lack of anything decent in the town centre, the grinding misery of the shoppers, and the general air of shabbiness the place wears just ground the joy out of me. I walked up Chuch Hill, and then cycled to Caldmore to pick up my favourite sweets and savouries, then back to Crown Wharf and Maplin. Not finding what I was after, I went for a coffee in Starbucks, and locked my bike to the railings out front, as many others were doing. As I left the retail park, I noted with a wry smile that the cycle parking provided – a large quantity of Sheffield stands – was unused. Hidden away, with no CCTV cover, you’d be mad to lock your ride there. These town planning types just don’t get it, do they?
June 16th – I ad to go to Walsall to pick something up from the central sorting office. The weather was atrocious – windy and rather wet. I bit the bullet at lunchtime and pulled on shorts – wet legs dry quicker than wet trousers – and actually found it to be warm and oddly pleasant. I cycled along the canal, and noticed the flowers were in fine form, if a little battered. Orchids and waterlillies graced the Wyrley and Essington, whilst in the Goscote Valley upon my return, dog roses and sweet peas grew in scented abundance. Not a bad ride, all in all.
June 15th – The signal box at Chasewater Heaths, on the preserved coal line around Chasewater, has an interesting provenance. It originally stood at Hademore, near Fisherwick, east of Whittington, Staffordshire, where it controlled the level crossing. Upon expansion of the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Mainline, two more tracks were laid though the site of this box, and the crossing removed. The signal box was shipped, almost intact, to Chasewater Heaths to control the sidings proposed there. I have to say, I preferred it in white, rather than mustard brown… many is the time when I shouted conversation with the signalman as I waited at that crossing. Sadly, it it’s new home, it seems unmanned.
June 15th – Chasewater was deserted as I cruised round in the early evening. I’ve noticed in recent years that the park has a burgeoning rabbit population, and when there’s few folk around, they come out of hiding and take the air. This fellow was on the dam by the Downes house. I hope the engineers are keeping an eye on the rabbits… badgers caused the collapse of a canal in Llangollen a few years ago. Mind you, knowing badgers, they could have used explosives or anything. They’re truculent little buggers…
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 