Tag: Brownhills

May 8th – It’s rare that I’m too early for something, but today I was just that. At Catshill, the swans who’re sitting the nest there have been causing some speculation. I think this is the third or so nest in exactly this spot, and a pair of birds have nested on this stretch of canal for at least five years, and in that time, none have yielded cygnets.

This year, I’ve avoided overt comment, as I didn’t want to jinx the couple. I’m not convinced it’s the same pair as last year, as I haven’t caught a glimpse of the legs and the rings yet. When I passed today, what I assume to be mum was on the nest asleep, and her partner nearby, similarly in repose.

Also watching the nest carefully has been Warren ‘Ogley Dirt Farmer’ Parry. We’ve both separately seen a bird turning the eggs. Today, the scene for me was serene and undisturbed.

Warren passed this way sometime after me, and observed no less than seven newly hatched cygnets, out with mum and dad. I feel quite emotional. 

They might hiss at me and flap, but I’m very fond of that swan couple…

May 5th – Up on the A5 at Newtown, Brownhills, things aren’t looking so good. The Terrace restaurant, once a popular establishment, closed just after Christmas and is currently vacant and up for sale, with no sign yet of a buyer – sad really. Back in it’s heyday the place was busy every night.

Meanwhile, almost opposite the Chase Inn is still up for sale. Still open and trading, it’s nonetheless been on the market for ages.

I know society and it’s drinking and socialising habits have changed, but it’s still terribly sad to see these places lost.

I hope they both find new ownership and prosper, I really do…

May 5th – Only a short spin around Brownhills as I’d had a bunch of unexpected work crop up. It was pleasant enough though, and decent weather for a bank holiday, to boot. 

It’s time for the annual warning – this scum on the canal isn’t pollution. Yes, it looks horrendous, but it’s natural – it’s wind-born debris from some shrub or other (never worked out which). It drifts over the surface of the canal and forms in scummy, oil-like ripples.

Nothing to be concerned about, it’s perfectly natural and soon disappears.

May 4th – This is, as they say, boiling my piss. 

Pardon my language, but these signs have been put up recently by Sustrans rangers (who are volunteers) maintaing the cycle route through Brownhills. The aim is innocent enough, I guess.

The cycleway runs along Wharf Lane, onto the canal at the old bridge, then as far as Anglesey Wharf (fifty yards or so), then alongside the new bypass on the embankment, and on to Pool Road at the top of the dam. As a route, it’s crap, frankly.

Far better is to ride straight up the canal, past the basin and up the slope to the dam. It’s a fifth of the distance, on wide, well made tracks, and makes perfect sense. 

Likewise one can head to Brownhills along the very good towpaths and find a much better route than the Sustrans National Cycle Network one.

These signs only indicate that the route beyond this point is not part of the National Cycle Network, but they look like – and people are reading them as – cycling prohibition notices.

Why bother with them at all? The routes have functioned for 15 years without them. These are just a waste of time, money and effort.

Sustrans are supposed to be supporting and promoting cycling. This is a whole bag of fail.

Rant over.

April 27th – I was working throughout the day, and only got out late evening.  It was threatening rain, and dusk was bearing down. I then realised I’d forgotten the camera, so had to use my phone. It didn’t really like the light, I think.

Nice to see that in the last week my favourite tree – the lone horse chestnut near Home Farm, Sandhills, has burst into leaf; I read the seasons by that tree, and now I know safe passage to summer is guaranteed. The canal all the way round to Newtown (and probably well beyond) is lush, and green, and beautiful. How I love this season.

Cruising up Short Street, I spotted the sky, and shot home before I got soaked. Interesting to note, though, that the street lights here have been changed for new LED ones; they’re very good, and are creeping onto many streets in Brownhills. Wonder what the rollout plan is?

So much nicer than the old orange ones.

April 26th – I spotted her on the opposite bank of the canal from Clayhanger Common. Sat on the canalside verge at the bottom of Silver Street, Brownhills, a proud mallard mum with a brood of very young ducklings, mostly well tucked in underneath and shielded by her wings. 

I’ve never seen a mallard do this before. The motherly pride in her offspring is quite clear – I found it delightful.

April 20th – For an evening spin, it was pleasant enough; the wind was grim, but at least I’d fixed the problem with my gears. At Chasewater, the sunset was nice, but unremarkable, and I was surprised at how tiny the gull roos was. I could hear an owl calling near the dame, but I couldn’t see it. On the way back home, the sky darkened, and it looked very, very black over Bill’s mother’s.

Luckily, I just got home and got the bike in as the heavens opened… I do hope that nice spell wasn’t summer.

April 19th – I was fiddling with a mechanical fault all day. I love my bikes, but the gears can be perplexing when not quite right. I spun out late to Chasewater, and unexpectedly bumped into a good friend while I was there, which brightened me up no end. On the way, I noticed the oilseed rape at Hammerwich was looking gorgeous. Still not quite peaked, it’s a lovely colour nonetheless, and I love how the tractor trails in the crop highlight the landscape contours.

As long as I live I’ll always love this changing, fascinating landscape.

April 14th – Clayhanger Common is wonderful. On this sunny, spring afternoon, it was green, clean and beautiful. The meadow looked verdant, and the forget-me-nots, cowslips and dandelions were all well in flower. 

The new pond too – usually the last place to green-up in spring, is looking great, although the swans don’t seem to be nesting here this year yet.

There’s little here to indicate the polluted, barren wasteland this all once was. A fantastic thing.

April 13th – Hmm. Something is happening. Put on to this by local history wonk [Howmuch?], he told me in the week that he’d noticed that there was a crew drilling a borehole on the former marketplace in Brownhills.

Today, I swung past to take a look. He was right – a pile of fresh earth, and an access cover. Marked further towards the pedestrian bridge, a surveyor’s mark ‘BH2’ – presumably borehole 2, yet to be sunk. If that’s all the spoil to be removed, they’re not very deep.

Coupled with reports of surveying in the area of late, someone’s either taking measurements in preparation of building something, or there’s a problem underground, like a leaking drain. 

Whatever it is, it’s very much worth keeping an eye on.