September 18th – A glorious run on Cannock Chase from the Hednesford Hills to Seven Springs. Plenty of young cyclists out learning to ride – see if you can spot the girl with the teddy bear in her front basket. The journey actually takes about 45 minutes, but is condensed into two minutes 46 seconds.
Soundtrack is the gorgeous ‘Clockwork’ by Buttcher Boy.
September 18th – One of the more curious love affairs of my life has been with Rugeley Power Station. This 1950’s temple to the power of electricity and the new technological age looked to have an uncertain future when Lea Hall pit closed, but now fed by Daw Mill Colliery in Leicester, it has been fully upgraded and now is amongst the cleanest coal-fired station in the country. I find this industrial behemoth endlessly fascinating, awe inspiring and hugely ugly. A symbol of the modern age, I never tire of taking in this view.
September 18th – Autumn means a return to Cannock Chase. I prefer the forest in it’s autumnal state; it’s far quieter, with few venturing into the corners of the chase where I go. The pines and spruces turn a gorgeous, fluorescent yellow and everywhere smells of musty beauty. The wind was behind me as I sped through Hednesford and doubled back from Seven Springs via Colwich. A great afternoon ride.
September 17th – An intemperate day of showers, sun and gusty winds made Chasewater a bit challenging in my slightly one-degree-under state. The remains of the evening were brightened, however, by a rainbow out to the east. Fortunately, I just managed to get home before the heavens opened on me.
September 17th – Ducks have a very relaxed attitude to mating. In short, if it looks like a duck, it’ll attempt to start a family with it. This results in a number of curious examples of interbreeding in the wildfowl frequenting the boating lake at Chasewater. On an evening spin around the park, I stopped to study the waterfowl and noted this curious bird. Is this a tufted duck cross? The tufted barnet is actually quite amusing…
September 16th – We’re comng into the season of fungi. I’m not actually sure what these are – they were growing on the short grass on the canal bank in Walsall Wood. They’re quite large – three to five inches in diameter, fleshy and clearly ageing. Anyone got any ideas?
September 16th – Pottering along the canal near Stubbers Green, I stopped to study the remains of the railway bridge that used to carry the spur line into Leighswood Colliery, later the site of Duckham’s Lubricants. It’s an interesting remnant, and several bridges crossed this canal in the space of a mile or so, all carrying railways into coal yards for loading. If one looks carefully, large sandstone capstones can be found in canal side undergrowth. I was intrigued to note that this bridge had a similar wooden plank insert under the deck as the Black Cock Bridge. They look of similar construction and age. The wood must have been as a cushion, I guess.
September 15th – Returning to Brownhills late in the evening, I thought I’d practise a bit of night photography. With the dark nights coming, there will be lots more of this.
I, like most of Brownhills, like Morris, the Brownhills Miner. I don’t think he was money well spent, and he’s done bugger all for the town except inflate a few egos, but he is an ingenious, clever sculpture. Shame about the hard hat, though – he wouldn’t have been wearing one in the time that Brownhills was mining, and that pick doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen. The curious decision to illuminate him with gimcrack blue LED lights was also peculiar; it makes Morris look like a cheap Christmas decoration. Still, he compliments the lights on the hatchbacks cruising the High Street at that time of night.
September 15th – Business took me and the bike to Leeds. I’d never been here for more than a very short time before, and I really enjoyed it. Having finished my meeting, I had the afternoon to myself. The Cross-country trains cycle provision was as dire as ever, but the ability to put my bike into secure storage at Leeds Station was handy. Leeds turns out to be a beautiful, bustling city. With a far bigger shopping area than Birmingham, and a huge, lively warren of markets, I could have spent a lot more time here. I also took the time to investigate custom frame builder Bob Jackson Cycles, over in Bramley. I have a plan brewing.
September 14th – the overcast nature of the early evening continued through the journey home. Here, at Summerhill, the skies had cleared, but at 7pm the light was already dying. Another harbinger of autumn. At least it’s still warm.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 