Tag: Brownhills

#365daysofbiking Back to black

January 16th -Thoughts of spring had been very seductive, but as the following day had proven, it was way too early to call yet. A very wet, windy but warm day, I got soaked on the way in to work and soaked on the way home.

A day with bad traffic, near missed, lousy weather and terrible light.

Returning I had to leave the canal at Catshill Junction again, although I wanted to be well away from traffic, but the water on the towpaths was so bad I had no choice.

At least the lights of the Anchor Bridge Junction were pretty reflected on the canal.

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#365daysofbiking Ever falls the twilight

January 12th – I made it to Lichfield in good time, thankfully, and had a 30 minutes to mooch around the city at twilight with my companion.

The classic Stowe Pool twilight shot is always too good to resist, even though it’s a local cliche.I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it.

The heron on Minster Pool was a rare treat, as were the chimneys of Leomansley.

It was a day of dramatic skies, and until the English winter cold kicked in, a beautifully springlike afternoon.

Dare I dream?

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#365daysofbiking Beginning steps

January 12th – A better day to complete the errands I utterly failed at the day before.

I noted that on the Anglesey Branch Canal where it crosses the South Staffordshire Railway via an elegant Victorian cast iron trough aqueduct, contractors working for Back the Track had started to build a much needed and welcome stairway between the canal towpath and the cycle and walking route below – the McLean Way.

I’m glad I’m not building that. It looks like hard, precarious work. It also occurred that there’s no easy access to get the hardcore to the site, either.

My best wishes to the people building these steps, and thanks to the folk from Back the Track for dedicating so much time and effort to make things better for us all.

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#365daysofbiking One step forward, two splashes back

January 9th – It had been drying up since Christmas, the towpaths were getting nicely rideable again.

Sadly, overnight and during the day, the rains came again.

Back to square one, I guess…

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#365daysofbiking A dark chicken

January 9th – One of the more comedic things about curating this journal and blog is that I comment a lot about a geographical local feature with a very amusing name – the Black Cock bridge. Named after the pub nearby, the Black Cock has long been the source of much schoolboy innuendo and humour, but is actually a decent, old fashioned pub that always looks welcoming when I pass, particularly on a dull winter evening.

It does, of course, have a far cruder colloquial name I shan’t detail.

However, I do love the thought of sweaty-palmed people banging Black Cock into search engines, which then return multiple hits to this journal rather than the desired subject…

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#365daysofbiking Flocking hell

January 9th – I had to nip up to Newtown in the morning, and went via the canal  and Ogley Junction. I was intrigued on the bridge by a quiet but fairly large roost of birds in the trees behind the old lock cottage by The Long Pound.

It turned out they were just wood pigeons.

Whilst very familiar with these ambling, affable birds, I can’t recall seeing flocks of them like this before, but I guess it must be normal.

An intriguing thing on an otherwise very dull morning.

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#365daysofbiking Up the junction again

January 7th – It had been raining and the towpaths were gunny again, so I did something I now find myself doing frequently: Leaving the canal by Anchor bridge and continuing down the High Street. It’s longer, but cleaner and less slippery.

Auto mode on the G5X is weird. I honestly feel some aspects of this camera are not complete in terms of software, or have some issue.

Auto seems to go very graining in specific conditions. It really doesn’t seem to know what to make of very white-blue LED light. In such cases it tends to over-expose.

It’s a funny little camera but I do love it, for all it’s faults….

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#365daysofbiking On the dark side

January 5th – Not sure what happened here. it was a decent sunset as I headed from Newtown up to Sheffield on an errand, so I stopped to catch it at Clayhanger Bridge.

This image is not how I remember it: It seemed much lighter at the time, and far less dark.

It actually felt open, light and beautiful, not dark, brooding and dramatic as it looks here.

This camera is very strange sometimes, I must say. (And no, exposure comp wasn’t turned right down.)

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#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.

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#365daysofbiking Delicious progress

January 4th – And glancing at the GPS mid-ride, I noticed a simple, delicious fact: Sunset was now over ten minutes later than it was on the shortest day, ten days ago.

Already, we are reclaiming the night.

With drier, better weather this has meant the blessed, absence of dark until gone 4:30pm.

Winter, I’ll beat ya yet, you old rogue.

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