Tag: 365daysofbiking

October 8th – Unusually, I’d had to go into Walsall and on to Wednesbury on a Saturday. The thoroughly uninspiring, grey afternoon was sad, as the forecast had been quite good. It was a good ride though, and I got lots of stuff done. Retuning at dusk, I span through the ‘Civic Quarter’ of Walsall , and stopped to look up Tower Street.

The Council House and it’s belcote are still impressive, but I dislike the striped paving and excessive street furniture here immensely – and the blue lights on the Gala Baths don’t help; but this was a quiet, pleasant place to reflect on the unexpected beauty of Walsall and what wonderful, clashing influences make up it’s urban core.

October 7th – I’m fascinated by the way the scrub on Clayhanger Common has formed into a tunnel over the footpath behind the overflow at Clayhanger Bridge. This footpath is used enough to be fairly well worn, and the creepers, brambles and scrub have turned the track into a foliage arch which is quite charming and could, for all the world, be a portal to some kind of wonderful netherworld.

October 6th – I’d had to nip into Birmingham and Lichfield on the way home, and came back down the A461 at Summerhill long after darkness had fallen, so I thought I’d try some long exposures from the M6 Toll bridge there. 

They didn’t come out too badly for 30 second shots. Interesting that the traffic is so light, vehicles rarely stray out of the inside lane…. 

October 5th – This is an odd one. Drifting for a while on the canal around the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood, this abandoned pleasure craft does seem to have been someone’s home for a while, with boards tied at a broken side window, and signs of recent life inside. There’s no boat registration visible, no apparent engine and the craft is just drifting.

I had thought the boat had originated locally, but I think that assumption is wrong, having studied previous photos.

I guess, if abandoned this can be considered flytipping, and I suppose the Canal and River Trust, the people responsible for the canals, have a procedure for this sort of eventuality, but it must be a real pain hauling it out of the water and disposing of it.

A curious thing indeed.

October 5th – Of all the flowers hanging on in this odd autumn, the butter and eggs is one of my favourites. It’s still flowering well along the hedgerows and towpaths of Walsall Wood and Brownhills, and this example was spotted near Walsall Wood Bridge.

It’s getting colder now, though, and it won’t be long until the first frost, which I think should put an end to this unusually long flowering season.

Which is a shame. The flowers have been wonderful this year.

October 4th – I was surprised to note that the warm autumn, which has seen dead-nettles enter a second flowering cycle, odd aberrations of occasional foxgloves still in bloom and dandelions still out in pastures has resulted in some unusual sights, but I was surprised to note this ladybird still quite active on Clayhanger Common.

One thing’s for sure – when the cold sets in, it’ll be a shock to the system…

October 4th – Winching myself up Shire Oak Hill at Sandhills at sunset, I noticed the potatoes in the fields that stretched to the canal had been stripped of their foliage ready for harvest. I love that view of Ogley Hay and St. James from here, and it looked beautiful and autumnal. 

Elsewhere, harvested fields have already been ploughed, harrowed and replanted, with spring-like carpets of green sprouting winter crops, with almost springlike colour.

Whatever time of year, the farming continues.

October 3rd – I had somewhere to call on the way back, and returned in darkness, but I couldn’t resist checking up the little forest of glistening ink caps on the edge of Clayhanger Common. 

Grown well, these curious toadstools have peaked now and will soon decay to mush.

I have no idea what triggers these busy, short-lived clumps but they’re fascinating to study.

October 3rd – Spinning through north Walsall on the way home, I was held up by this little thing peering up the road. Tiny, but with enough cute for several litters of kittens, she was apparently waiting for her owner who she’d spotted up the road.

The joy at the reunited pals, separated by a day at work, was beautiful and infectious.

A gorgeous little young cat, brimming with charm and life.