June 11th – When I finally got to Pelsall Canal Festival at about 2pm, there was a sharp downpour. For 20 minutes, everything was wet and miserable, but then the sun came out. Whilst wandering around looking at the boats, I noticed this fine old Raleigh roadster complete with steel rims, hub dynamo and 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears. Sadly, the Brooks leather saddle wasn’t looking in the best of condition. The hipsters in london would kill for a bike like this.
June 10th – By the time I got to Stubbers Green, the rain was torrential. Cycling was impossible for 5 minutes or so, and all I could do was wait and watch. Oh, to be in England, in summertime. My gloves are still soaking wet.
June 10th – The day was fine until late afternoon. Leaving work, I called at the shops in Aldridge and then dived into Morrisons for some bits and pieces. It started to rain lightly. Thinking it would come to nothing, I headed for home via Stubbers Green. As I left, the sky looked ominously dark.
June 9th – Many folk don’t realise that the UK is crisscrossed by pipelines. Not just water and gas, but oil and fuel lines too. Formerly secret, information about them and their routing is now available online. Primarily to connect refineries and storage depots like Kingsbury in Warwickshire to high-volume users like airports and processors, the construction of the network commenced before the last war.
This pipeline marker identifies the route of a buried oil pipeline, and contains information about location, flow direction and size of the line concerned. It stands on the canal bak just near to Spaghetti Junction.
June 9th – A free afternoon and a bimble along the canals into Birmingham, via Great Barr and Saltley, a stop for tea at the wonderful @urbancoffeeco before heading home on the the waterways through Smethwick, West Brom and Darlaston. I love cycling the urban canals here – a 45 mile run around the best – and worst – our conurbation has to offer. The sheer variety of texture, surface, architecture and wildlife has to be experienced to be believed. The day was changeable with sun, overcast periods and light showers, and thankfully, little wind. A fine ride.
June 8th – Cycling the old railway route up through Goscote to Walsall often throws up unexpected challenges – gangs of loafing youth, grass fires in summer, intemperate canada geese. By far the most frequent seems to be negotiating the wrath of often rather stroppy horses. This particular equine highwayman casually stops me, presumably after a mint or food, receives a bit of welcome fuss and then lets me pass.
June 8th – Returning from Rushall Junction up the canal to Brownhills is nice, but a bit of a slog – all the locks are uphill, so there’s lots of climbing, and the footpaths are awful. Not just poor, but really, really bad. Perseverance, however, is rewarded by great wildlife and lovely countryside vistas. House martins and kingfishers skimmed the limpid water; water lilies and fowl graced the surface. Orchids, foxgloves and rushes were in bloom and brightened the towpath and hedgerows. Here at Clayhanger, there is a carpet of sweet-scented honeysuckle from the towpath to the bog at Jones’ Pool.
June 7th – The old St. John’s School and adjacent bungalow in Walsall Wood continue to deteriorate unloved, as they have done for 30 years or more. This formerly handsome, well liked building is slated for demolition and redevelopment, yet nothing ever seems to happen. This belies a tale of neglect, bad management and community frustration. It’s sad to see a beautiful building, a gift to the community of Walsall Wood over a century ago, just rot away on the whims of those after a fast buck from the property market.
June 6th – Cycling home, enjoying the sun I took to the canal through Pleck, south Walsall. Passing under the bridge, I slowed to a crawl as I couldn’t see the towpath ahead. True to form, a prat hurtles round the blind corner, nearly ends up in the canal, and as he steers around me I notice he has a toddler in a child seat at the rear of his bike. The kid is strapped in. If he’d gone in the water, there’s a real chance the child would drown.
Moron.
June 6th – There seem to be two types of lilies on the canals of Walsall; this type, which seem more traditional, are prolific through Pleck, south of Walsall. They have beautiful, open blooms and form a lovely green and white carpet on the surface of the water. The other type are similar, but have a closed, globular yellow or white flower. Due to pollution, both would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. A sign of an improving environment.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 