May 29th – At Bentley Bridge, in Darlaston, I noticed these workboats pulled in to the bank. Two tugs and a dredger, they seem to be engaged in some heavy canal-cleaning by the looks of the buttes in the distance. This is good to see – these waterways have been kept very clean in recent years, and it’s good to know the spending cuts don’t seem to have affected this vital task yet. Long may it be so.

May 29th – The south end of Green Lane in Shelfield has been resurfaced by contractors working for Walsall Council. The technique – known as ‘Micro Asphalt’ invokes spreading a layer of aggregate and polymer over the pre-existing road surface after slurry sealing. Generally an adequate solution, it’s better than a tar and chip. One of the disadvantages of the process is that it results in the necessity to rework the interfaces with ironworks – manholes, drains and so forth. Sadly, here in Shelfield, they’re halfway through this process. Some genius has excavated a bunch of ironworks to a depth of 25-40mm, and just left them for days on end. No warning signs, no temporary fill, just a man-made trap ready to take the wheels from under a cyclist or motorcyclist.

I don’t know which intellectual giant is responsible for this, but it’s bloody atrocious. We’ve gone from rectifying potholes to creating them. Idiots. 

May 28th – Leaving Aldridge and heading for Stonnall for a fix of countryside in the sunshine, I pottered down Hobs Hole Lane on the Lazy Hill/Aldridge border. Here, in the lee of the ridge that stretches like a spine from Shire Oak to Barr Beacon, the oilseed rape was just going over, and smelled sweet and sickly. Near the Chester Road, I hung a left up onto Back Lane, another unmade track that runs behind the Plough and Harrow pub and comes out near Wood Lane. It was a tranquil, green haven. Sadly a hotspot for flytipping, it was also clean today, which made for a pleasant surprise.

May 28th – Oddly, I found myself in Aldridge this afternoon. I’m not a huge fan of ‘the village’ myself; the Shopping Centre is soulless, and I find the place a tad unfocussed and a bit up itself, to be honest. However, it’s very green, and whilst cycling up the croft, I had an idea. I cycled up the car park ramp and took a look at Aldridge from on high. What did I find? Lots of trees. Lots of dull, utilitarian architecture. An almost unknown row of modern tenements. A place of contrasts, and an interesting way to see it.

May 27th – One of the routes I took yesterday is a very old, unmade track. Salt Street connects No Mans Heath and Norton-Juxta-Twycross. It’s rough, unmade, and passes a waterpower and one of the microwave transmitters of the cold-war communications system. A great, hilly ride, it’s a blast on a warm, summers evening. From here, I came over Honey Hill near Clifton, and back through Whittington, Wall and Lichfield. A great day.

May 27th – Another great day for a ride. I headed out through Middleton, visited the Hall, and then skipped through the old quarry and onto the canal by Bodymoor Heath. I travelled up the canal to Polesworth, and headed out to Warton, Orton on the Hill and Twycross. Returning via No Mans Heath and Clifton Campville, a great 70 miler on a hot summer’s afternoon.

May 26th – In the pretty Derbyshire village of Lullington, right in the centre of the village, is this grizzly curiosity. One of the houses has a garage built on the edge of the street, and high up on the wall, the owners mounted two animal heads. I’m not sure if they’re some kind of deer or what, but the ravages of weather and time have stripped the skin from the skulls, and now, it’s just those that remain. A horrid thing, and I can’t imagine what the people who retain them are thinking, to be honest. A very peculiar sight in an otherwise beautiful place.

Thanks to Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, who spotted these first in his Panoramio gallery some years ago.

May 26th – A great ride today in blazing sunshine which I recorded in this post on my main blog. But while heading out, I noticed  that these old cottages in Footherley Lane, near Shenstone, had at last received some attention. All the surrounding scrub has been cut down. Hopefully, this is a precursor to someone actually turning them back into homes. Derelict for since I was a child, there’s no excuse for allowing good house to just crumble, unoccupied and unloved. The people who did so should hang their heads in shame.

May25th – Also wearing a fine summer coat is the avenue to Home Farm and Lime Barns at Sandhills. Last time I pictured this, the trees were bare and stark; today, on a fine, arm summer evening, it was a green tunnel, the leaves rustling beautifully in the breeze. How I’d love to cycle down here… but sadly, it’s a private road.

May 25th – Nipping down to the chip shop in Stonnall for a Friday treat, I took a loot at the early summer view towards Lichfield from Shire Oak. Beautiful as ever, the change in foliage and colours perfectly complimenting the elegant spires of the Old Lady of the Vale. I adore this view, and could study it for hours on end.