April 15th – Zipping over to Tipton and Great Bridge on a sunny spring afternoon in Moxley, closing the Black Country Route I looked right to see Moxley Church, marooned by urban development, but still presiding over the urban chaos beautifully.
A wonderful afternoon, and a joy to be out.
March 24th – From Fallings Heath, the twin sisters of Wednesbury: St. Bart’s and St. Mary’s looking splendid in the evening sun.
I know I keep banging on about it, but the TZ70 is light years ahead of the old camera. Very pleased with this shot.
March 17th – Heading to work on a misty, smoggy morning, the sun trying desperately to break through the murk and light up the day, but not quite managing it.
Spinning down the canal over Bentley Aqueduct, the twin sisters of Wednesbury on the skyline were as beautiful as ever. This view fascinates me.
February 20th – When one talks about the excellent architecture in Darlaston, it’s easy to convey the impression that interesting and beautiful buildings are confined to a small area in the town centre around Victoria Park. While there are many fine examples there, the sheer joy of this wonderful place is that there are fine buildings waiting to be discovered all over the place, and this is really the story of not just Darlaston, but the wider Black Country, too, which hides many of its finest gems under its bushel.
This fine old townhouse – now bedsits I think – has the most remarkable circular ‘tower’ bay with conical roof and gorgeous gables. Everything about it is perfect, from chimneys to lintels, and it sits in a nondescript, unremarkable location on the Walsall Road.
Everywhere you turn, there’s another wonderful building.
Christmas Eve – On the way back I also had to nip into Walsall Wood, and dropping down from Shire Oak Hill, the sunset view over the Black Country to the South West caught my breath, as it often does. Considering the time of day on Christmas Eve the traffic was quite heavy, but it did feel very much like Christmas.
Greetings of the season, everyone!
October 14th – Even on the dullest, wettest days this autumn has been outstandingly beautiful. In darkest Wednesbury, the foliage near Steelpark Island is gorgeous.
October 2nd – I sotted these remarkable willows turning for the leaf-fall on an ordinary, unremarkable industrial estate. They’re almost luminous. They’re stunning.
Never seen anything like this before. Beautiful.
September 30th – Once you get used to the idea (and it does take me a good while to do so), Autumn is beautifully enjoyable. The colours are astounding. Everything from fallen conkers, to bright orange berries, to golden leaves and dew-collecting spiderwebs makes it beautiful to be riding right now.
All on one short section of road on an industrial estate.
August 19th – This is Victoria Park in Darlaston, once a railway line.
This is in the centre of a heavily urbanised, industrial area in the Black Country. It is a green oasis in a sea of roads, buildings, traffic and noise. It is clean, well maintained and a credit to the town.
This is why I love this place.
July 11th – Of all the little towns and villages of the Black Country, one of the places I’m fondest of is Great Bridge. Still bustling and busy, almost orphaned by the Black Country Spine Road, it survives almost in defiance of nearby out of town developments and larger town centres.
It’s a place where it pays to look up. Lost above the shop fronts (which curiously often don’t alighn with the storey above), a remarkable stucco and ghost sign.
Down a side street, one of the best Carribean meals you can find for miles around.
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