September 2nd – one of the joys of Autumn, once I’ve got over the shock and low mood created by the end of summer, are cyclamen. To me, these autumn flowering plants are the last gasp of floral joy. I’m not sure if they’re native or not, but delicate shades of purple, blue, cream and pink will dot the hedgerows, verges and churchyards for the next few weeks. Beautiful, delicate little flowers. This is the first I’ve spotted this year, growing in the hedgerow at Forge Lane, Little Aston.
September 2nd – another harbinger of autumn is the change in landscape colour; gone now are the vivid, glowing, bright greens of high summer, receding are the golden shades of harvest. Appearing now is the dun-coloured freshly ploughed field, smelling earthy and shocking in it’s uniform brown hue. The first is at Lower Stonnal, the second a view over Stonnall from the Chester Road.
September 1st – I’ve followed this guy and his wonderfully joyous dog down the Arrow Valley cycle route in Redditch a couple of times this week on the way to work. There’s something infectious about the way the dog is so happy to run with his cycling master – I love the way he looks back at me and to his companion, almost as if he’s laughing. The happy tail and general air of enjoyment make me sad to overtake this pair on what must be a regular fixture. Look out for the quick glance rightwards as the dog crosses the road, and his expert negotiation of the barriers. Love it.
September 1st – An hour and a half later I was cruising to work down the Arrow Valley cycle route in central Redditch (Part of route 5, the same one that traverses Walsall from last weekend) and the morning was blessed with a mellow, hazy sunlight that lit everything in a kindly glow and highlighted a remaining, soft mist. I stopped to watch it rising of the boating lake. This part of Redditch is rather beautiful, and all credit to the authorities for that.
I often see that guy with the dog running beside his bike. The dog is free and not on a lead, and loves to run with his mate. He looks back at me smugly every few yards – I swear that mutt is laughing. I rarely have the heart to overtake these friends enjoying their morning communion.
September 1st – Autumn continued to tap me on the shoulder as I left at sunrise for work. The cold night air had caused the finest, lowest of mists that hung in hollows, against hedges and huddled round houses. This was truly magical, and I seemed to enjoy it almost alone. I saw few others – if only the people of England could see it. I was very nearly late for my train as I spent too long taking pictures. By the time I reached Four Oaks, the mist had burnt off and this rare beauty passed unknown to the yawning commuters who joined my train, bleary and yawning.
August 31st – There has been some discussion in the Stonnall History Group on Facebook about the old garage that used to be on the corner of Main Street and Cartersfield Lane. It was an old fashioned affair, and I don’t think it was self service but relied on an attendant to fill your car for you. It lasted until the late eighties or early nineties I think, and I can remember buying sweets there when out riding as a kid – it was the only such place open on a Sunday afternoon in those days. Jayne Preston remembered her relatives, the Lawless family owning it back then. the main building is the cream house with the fantastic barley twist chimneys, now fully converted back to a hose. The forecourt was to the left, where there now stands a new house built in the space.
August 31st – Horse chestnuts (conkers) and sweet chestnuts are completely different, but both are growing all around right now. Neither are yet ripe, but there seem to be handsome crops of both. The horse chestnuts here are showing the effect of the leaf miner moth, whose larvae hatch inside the leaf structure and kill it from the inside, turning the leaves patchy brown very early in the summer. The fruit, however, is unaffected and well familiar to blokes everywhere who are genetically programmed to pick up fallen conkers, whatever their age or status. The hard spiky shells are a stark contrast to the ferocious-looking sweet chestnuts, which are actually relatively soft. The Sweet chestnuts have leathery, shiny dark green foliage, too, giving them a slightly continental appearance. Both trees were spotted in Stonnall – the sweet chestnut on the verge at the junction of Main Street and Church Lane.
August 29th – The ford at Hints, where the Black Brook crosses Rookery Lane is highly seasonal and is currently dry as bone. In dry weather,the brook ru s in a series of culverts around the site of the former mill and forge, remnants of which can still be seen from the beautiful pedestrian footbridge nearby. As I stood on this bridge, a Kingfisher flew under the arch. Far too fast for me to catch on camera, the cobalt blue flash is still a heart stopper.
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.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 