Tag: Black Cock

March 12th – The Black oak bridge has been in a grim state for a while, having recently lost some of it’s guard rails. When I noticed last week that the bridge was to be closed today for repairs, I was interested to see how the people repairing it overcame the problem of the the rotten angle iron rail supports that hold the guard planks up.

It seems we’ve been visited by Bodgitt & Scarper. When I crossed the bridge tonight, I too a look at the fix. The planks were only painted one side, and not cut or erected very well. On the northern side, they aren’t fixed to the uprights, but fresh supports have just been hammered in between the top and bottom rails to do the same job. 

It’s a fix, of sorts, but it isn’t well executed, and on the northern side, will probably fall apart at the next vehicle scrape. I know the Canal & Rivers Trust – formerly British Waterways – are short of cash, but there’s little excuse for such poor work.

Disappointing, I’d say.

February 27th – What a difference a day made. Yesterday I was lamenting the grey, the cold and the murk. Today, it was grey in the morning, but as I came home – in the light – the sun shone softly and the sunset was terrific – so much so that I was contacted by friends who asked me if I saw it.

Sadly, as I was returning from Walsall at the time, I couldn’t get a good vista on it, but I managed to catch a little of it at Bullings Heath as it died to  darkness. 

A beautiful, beautiful evening that brought joy – and spring – to my soul. Just what I needed.

February 3rd – Out at sunset again, and another good one. I had something to deliver up the Wood so headed up the canal. As I rounded the bend at Catshill Junction, the quality of the sky really stunned me. I followed it up along the canal looking for a good vantage point, and never really found one; there would have been some great views over Bullings Heath were they not impossible to get to due to the canal bank copse and barbed wire. As it was, I contented myself with the three bridges – Clayhanger, the Black Cock and Lathams Bridge, behind Barons Court.

You can’t beet a good winter sunset.

January 29th – The wind and rain drag on. The day started decent enough, but by midday, dissolved into a morass of squally showers and buffeting winds. With an eye to the wind direction, I got the train back to Walsall and let the wind blow me home, which it did wonderfully. Bullings Heath – the old name for the area around the Black Cock pub and bridge in Walsall Wood glistened in the drizzle, the light reflecting off the wet asphalt.

In a way, it was beautiful, but I wish the rain would stop for a while.

October 2nd – The condition of the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood seems to be deteriorating, but I’m not sure who’s responsible. This steep sided, notorious canal crossing is over a century old, and is made of brick and iron. The guard rails are wooden, and bolted on to angle-iron posts, which have now corroded away causing the guard rails to fall off. For a month or so now, someone has erected and re-erected orange webbing fencing to cover the hazard, but they’ve been so idle about the task that rather than cut the excess off, they rolled it up and stuffed the remainder in a gap. It regularly falls out and flaps in the road.
I hope someone, somewhere is planning a more permanent repair. 

September 19th – I wasn’t feeling lucky, but it seemed fortune was on my side. I came back to Walsall on the train, and rain ominously flecked the windows. Emerging into the light, the rain – which I was dreading, with no waterproofs – hadn’t reached Walsall. I raced home, the sky to the north east getting darker and darker. Arriving home dry, I was feeling rather smug… But as it happened, the threatening skies never delivered, so I was safe after all.

June 11th – Summer’s cauldron continues to simmer. I noticed whist climbing the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood that the wild honeysuckle – or woodbine – I talked about choking the lupins was growing over the guard rails on the souther flank of the bridge. A riot of colour, these gorgeous blooms, when fully open, will smell wonderful. I never thought I’d see such a thing growing wild in this post-industrial landscape.

February 28th – Returning very late from work, cresting the Black Cock Bridge (no sniggering at the back) I stopped to take a picture of the night-time view of Camden Street down towards Oak Park. When I turned around to climb back on the bike, I realised the view behind me was far more interesting. This footbridge (actually green in the daylight) was added to the canal bridge in the 1980’s, and is made from tubular steel, which, when lit by my rear light, looks quite stunning… beauty in unexpected places.

October 13th – Due to the unseasonably warm weather, some plants seem to be confused, and have started flowering again. I believe this antirrhinum shouldn’t be in bloom at this time of year, but there are several of these delightful yellow flowers on the canal bank between the Clayhanger and Black Cock bridges. I’m not sure even if the species is native, or an escapee from domestic gardens, where it’s more commonly known by the name snapdragon. In summer, it’s a favourite of gardeners as a bedding plant.

July 9th – researching the latest post on the Black Cock Bridge subsidence mystery, my path inevitably wandered toward lunch in Pelsall. Coming back through High Heath, I spotted this lovely, ripening field of wheat on the corner of Green Lane and Mob Lane. I reflected as I cycled down Mob Lane that since I was going downhill toward the old Bullings Heath, High Heath was suitable named.

Funny how you only notice these things peripherally – and who would have thought such a beautiful sight were possible in such a post-indurtial place?