Tag: Anglesey Branch

#365daysofbiking – Interregnum

February 5th – In that odd, vague and lifeless interregnum between ‘rather ill’ and ‘quite a bit better’ I found myself bumbling around the canals of Brownhills on what was not an altogether bad day.

Here at Middleton Bridge – overlooking open farmland not a ringtoss from where the Staffordshire Hoard found a local metal detectorist – it’s hard not to look at this view and reflect.

On the left was a chemical works in the late Victorian period, that made tar and other such products; latterly an alloy smelter that seemed to process war scrap. Local kids were attracted to the yard full of warplane fuselages and engines for scrap, and for fun, but down in the valley, real metal riches lay just below the surface in a ploughed field.

This stretch of canal is still called ‘The Chemical’ by older locals.

It looks a damn site better now the scrapyard has gone, mind…

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/38AKHps
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Listed

January 5th – I went for a spin up the McLean Way – the rail to trail cycleway that Brian Stringer and Back the Track have been reclaiming on the old South Staffordshire Railway line that runs through Brownhills.

It’s a bit muddy in places but easily rideable on a mountain or off-road bike. The mud is shallow, and sits mostly as a 3 inch layer on top a solid ballast base, so once you cut into in, it rides well.

On the whole it’s brilliant, it really is and a credit to all involved.

This aqueduct over the former railway conducts the Anglesey Branch Canal from it’s terminal feeder point at Chasewater to Ogley Junction. The bridge is a nationally listed building, considered almost unique in construction and style.

It’s in a sorry state, and I think the Canal and River Trust will have to do a fair bit of maintenance before too long.

But it’s a beautiful thing, and incredibly well thought out.

Unusual to see if from underneath.

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2tz7OkE
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Grebious

May 24th – Spotted on an evening spin out to Chasewater on a test ride following some essential, pre long ride maintenance – great crested grebes on the canal near Wharf Lane.

Unusual to get a shot of these handsome creatures without them diving at the critical moment.

What I’m curious about is despite the huge amount of fish in the canal (and it is alive with fry at the moment) I hardly ever see grebes upon it. Wonder why? Plenty on the main lake at Chasewater, though.

A mystery.

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here.

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2YNZXdw
via IFTTT

August 17th – I see there are patches of scum on the canal again in various spots. These seasonal bands of detritus are ugly, but are organic in origin – usually pollen, blossom debris or seed mast. 

I couldn’t work out what was generating this one, and it’s sporadic, but suspect it’s connected with nearby trees.

It’s a sign of the much cleaner times that such events are now so noticeable.

June 24th – Pottering up to Chasewater for the vintage festival, it turned out a pleasant, warm afternoon, so I had a gentle trundle round the park. It was good to see that after weeks of complaining by concerned wildlife enthusiasts, notices have finally been put up about the Little Ringed Plovers nesting on the shoreline. The delicate, fragile little fellows are often disturbed from their ground nests by dogs and walkers who don’t know they’re there. It seems very difficult to get the park management team – still from Lichfield District Council until 2014 – to do anything much these days. A complete change from previous regimes.

Coming back along the canal, another avian issue: the swan couple, who abandoned their nest of eggs earlier in the year are back. I have no idea what’s going on here, but it’ll sure be interesting to watch…

Jun 2nd – On the way to Chasewater, I spotted this fine cargo boat heading for Anglesey basin. It was a very unusual craft, and I wonder as to it’s history. I regret now not asking the chaps on board about it – but I was so surprised to see such a huge narrowboat that I just took pictures, awestruck. I love how the front end, unladen, seems almost proud of the water. I guess there was a time when these types of freighter were an everyday sight here, plying their trade from wharf to wharf transferring coal, clay or other essential goods to drive the industrial heartlands. A fine thing, to be sure.

July 16th – A very wet, miserable morning was met by a gorgeous, clear afternoon and evening, replete with the most spectacular golden hour. I cycled out to Lichfield, via the Anglesey Branch and Hammerwich, and paused to reflect at Ogley Junction, on the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal, which used to run from this junction and progress to Huddlesford, near Lichfield, via Wall, and a considerable number of locks. At least the old boat yard seems to be finding use again.

June 21st – A late run out took me to Chasewater along the canal at dusk. If you’ve never walked or ridden the canal from Brownhills to Chasewater, do so as soon as you can. The canal forms a hard boundary between urbanisation to the south and west, and open countryside to the north and east. It’s rare one can see such sharp division, but the waterway is a quiet, winding route punctuated by gorgeous vistas. I never tire of it.