Tag: 365daysofbiking

September 10th – A leisurely Saturday breakfast followed by a spin up to Chasewater saw me call in at Ryders Mere. At this point in the day it was sunny, warm, and we seemed to have far more sky than we normally do. Looking over the mere from the Pelsall side, it becomes clear just how green this area of Walsall is. Never underestimate this. Lots of people will tell you that we live in an ugly, urban sprawl – which partially, we do. But it’s punctuated by fantastic green spaces that are a joy to the heart. Get out and explore them.

September 9th – on a late afternoon visit to Chasewater to check out the dam works, I was greeted by this small but rowdy group of pure white geese. Aggressive in the usual way, the honked and hissed at me for a while before returning to their previous activity of cropping the grass. I’m not sure what kind of geese they are – they look domestic, but are they snow geese perhaps?

September 8th – The main watercourse through Redditch, the River Arrow is highly variable in character, depending on the season and the weather. What can be, at the height of a wet winter, a raging angry torrent, is today little more than a limpid, sleepy brook. this summer has been so dry that even the rains of the last few days haven’t changed it’s state much. I don’t see many kingfishers here at the moment, which is unusual. I don’t think the Arrow is supporting much in the way of fish right now, limiting the feeding potential.
I’m sure the river will have plenty of opportunity to recover over the coming winter months.

September 8th – Arum Maculatum is a common sight in hedgerows and woods at this time of year. Known variously as Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve and even Naked Boys, it’s a very unusual plant which sheds it’s foliage before fruiting leaving a 6 to 12 inch high column of bright orange-red berries. These berries are highly poisonous and this is the plant responsible for most hospital admissions due to accidental ingestion in the UK. The berries contain a toxin which makes the oral tract tingle, and causes sickness and swelling of the throat. Always avoid touching it, although the temptation to do so us great, it has an almost artificial appearance that renders it grimly fascinating. This example is growing, along with lots of others, on the riverbank near the Arrow Valley cycle path in Redditch.

September 7th – To the east of Redditch Church, there’s a small, open park-style garden, which is where I assume the name Church Green gets it’s name. It’s a lovely spot; not more than a postage stamp, it contains an intriguingly ornate fountain and a well looked-after bandstand. The green is pleasant, clean and tidy, and in spring, lined with blossom. Now autumn is coming, a host of seasonal hues will compliment it. Why did the town planners destroy what must have been a lovely old town?

September 7th – Redditch gets a lot of stick – not least from me – for it’s awful road system and urban design. There are some very surprising bits, however, like the church in the centre of town. It’s huge, dramatic and beautifully complimented by the surrounding market and gardens. The Church Green are is a reminder of a Redditch long since passed, of the old town before the development and Birmingham overspill. I love this building.

Setember 4th – One of the features of autumn I do like is the huge variey of fruits, nuts and seeds that proliferate in hedgerows and woodlands. I noticed on Milford Common that the beech trees near the A51 had a fine crop of nuts ripening. These slightly bitter, tannic-tasting kernels are edible, but don’t taste so good. I’m unaware of any culinary uses, other then giving their name to a type of chewing gum popular when I was a child. Does beech nut gum still exist? Certainly didn’t taste of beech nuts…

September 4th – A great ride over Cannock Chase and Shugborough to blow the blues away. The forest was as beautiful as ever, and there was little sign yet of autumn encroaching. Shugborough was also lovely, but it seems these days you can’t stop for tea without buying an entry ticket, which is rather sad. More pictures on my main blog.

September 3rd – out briefly in the late afternoon, I shot out to Chasewater, but the security fencing from Anglesey Basin had been secured again and there was no way through. Doubling back, I headed off the canal at Wharf Lane and noticed that a new gate had been erected to stop cars getting down by the canal. This is probably a good thing – there’s been a lot of flytipping and some antisocial behaviour there – but I do wonder how long a wooden gate will last before some rogue sets light to it. I wonder who erected it?