Tag: Brownhills

May 28th – It’s good to see a narrowboat using the moorings at Brownhills – you don’t see that too often. This one has been here for a few days now, and it’s bringing a splash of real colour to the canalside. 

I noted today that all the market stalls have been removed from the marketplace, and the market seemed to be closed. Another failure?

May 27th – Riding home along the canal, I noticed that in the field behind Sandfields, in the land between the Canal and the old Watling Street, there were some ewes with quite late lambs. They looked happy and well cared for, not noticed them before. It’s unusual to see livestock in the fields around Brownhills, so this is quite a novel sight. I’ve no idea who they belong to.

May 27th – I’m developing a casual interest in the architectural quirks of chimneys. It’s something I’m going to cover on my main blog at some point soon, but in looking for stuff to photograph while out on my bike for this project, I’m noticing more and more things about the world around me. This is not trivial, I’m absolutely serious.

There is something about a nice chimney that completes a house – a roof looks bare without one. This example, on the derelict and abandoned Pear Tree Cottage pub in Albutts Road, Brownhills West, was clearly built to do the business. If only a buyer could be found to breathe life into this lost pub once again.

May 26th – On a windblown canal near Catshill Junction, I noticed the swans had two very young cygnets. These cute balls of grey fluff were relaxed and happy to be fed by their parents, who didn’t show any of the usual signs of swan aggression towards me. Not sure if this is the pair from by the Watermead Estate or the former mill at Catshill, but it’s nice to see. I do find myself wondering why we’re no longer seeing the broods of 8 and above as we did a few years ago, though.

May 21st – NCN 5 – the cycle track from the former cement works canal bridge near Pelsall Road to the the old level crossing at Engine Lane. This is either alcoholic OCD or too much time on someone’s hands. It’s a bit odd, because if you remove the cans, they’re replaced soon after. I don’t know either. Brownhills never has operated in the conventional space-time continuum.

May 19th – The Swag, as it’s commonly known locally, is part of the wetland band that occupies the hollow between Shire Oak Hill and Pelsall. A wet area for centuries, it stretches for miles, from the common to the north, across Clayhanger Marsh, Jockey Meadows and Stubbers Green, into the Goscote Valley. Pictured looking north from the old railway line parallel to Pelsall Road, it’s easy to see the very old spoil heaps from bell pitting in the area two centuries ago.

Nowadays, they are a peaceful, post industrial wildlife haven, as is the trackbed I stand on to capture this odd little sunset. Turning around, I see an old dog fox trotting off into the distance. This is both his territory and mine, and we are familiars. No doubt having watched my approach, he’s content that everything is in order and is away on his rounds.

May 13th – Finally break the longstanding deer deficit. At the rear of the old Rising Sun Inn, on Brownhills common, I come upon this old doe. I scared her, actually, coming around a blind spot in the track. Clattering feet, snapping saplings, she headed for the thicket where she glared at me, my infernal bike, and chewed solidly.

She looks a bit mad, actually. Since that heron, all the wildlife I see seems to have a vague look of mental instability. Is it a sign of something?