Tag: Burntwood

January 11th – Burntwood Church is lovely, although arguably, it’s not in Burntwood itself, but Fulfen. Built in 1819 by Joseph Potter of Lichfield, it’s a very square, squat design in very red red brick. It’s in a lovely spot, overlooking open countryside, and within sight of the thatched Fulfen Cottage. 

Also nearby in the centre of the road junction Christ Church overlooks, Princes Park, said to be the smallest park in the world.

Burntwood is a place it’s easy to pass through without looking. But stopping and taking time to see the place really rewards the inquisitive.

June 16th – Not sure what the deal is here, to be honest. At Peggs Row, just on the corner of Coulter Lane and Farewell Lane in Burntwood, there’s a lovely cottage with a quite ornate chimney. I’ve noticed recently – after being taken in by it – that there’s a decoy bird of prey on the chimney pot, which looks like a peregrine. I’m not sure if it’s ornamental, or serves a purpose; I was fooled by the silhouette enough a couple of weeks ago to actually go for my camera, before realising the model raptor wasn’t real. 

Nice to see it’s fixed down well. Can anyone shed any light on this?

March 16th – You ever have one of those days when nothing goes right? Yes, that. I set out to visit a pal and never found them, cycled down to Burntwood to buy something that wasn’t in stock, and then left my bike lock key on the doughnut counter in the supermarket (there’s a lesson in there, somewhere). It’s only Saturday evening, and already this feels like Lloyd Cole’s Lost Weekend. 

Crossing the bypass on my empty handed return from Burntwood, I stopped to look down the road towards the M6 Toll. I don’t know why, but I love this view. The distant, windy sweep of cars on the motorway; the endless points of sodium light; the red beacons of the Sutton Masts in the distance. The air was hard and clear, the clouds dramatic and threatening. Apart from the periodic moan of cars beneath my feed, I was alone.

Then I didn’t feel alone anymore. Something was with me. I turned around, and on the bollard at the end of the footway, perched an owl. We made eye contact, but as soon as I went for my camera, he was gone, into the darkening night.

 Somehow, it was soothing, reassuring and beautiful.

October 20th – That something good was one of the most remarkable sunsets I’ve seen for a while. It happened as I crossed Chasewater Dam on my way to Burntwood. Taking just twenty minutes in total, it was fleeting, ever changing and magical. I walked the length of the dam path, stopping to take photos every couple of minutes. I was very lucky to see this.
There are more images on my main blog. I feel the need to point out again that these images are not enhanced – it really was this beautiful. 

October 14th – At the junction of Woodhouses Road and Lichfield Road at Edial, near Burntwood, there’s an imperious horse chestnut tree, and this season it has fruited in abundance. I have never seen so many conkers littering the ground. I mentioned my love of the brown, shiny nuts a week or so ago. I just had to stop and take a few home. Just instinct.

October 2nd – A bit grisly, this, but I feel it needs saying. Myxomatosis never really went away, but it seems to be sweeping through South Staffordshire again. This wild rabbit – spotted wandering helpless on a grass verge in Chorley, near Burntwood – is blinded by this dreadful rabbit plague. Introduced from Venezeula to Australia in the early 20th century to control the burgeoning rabbit population, this pernicious disease was accidentally imported to France by scientists. Soon it came to the UK. Causing blindness and tumours, it’s a horrid disease and a prolonged, hideous death. I’ve seen five or six bunnies in this state recently – this one so impaired that it was unaware I was a couple of feet away. I can’t bring myself to kill animals, but I hope foxes or the buzzards strike soon.

There is a light on the horizon. Studies show that the rabbit population – increasing, currently – is becoming gradually immune. Next time you see some agribusiness wonk on TV telling you that science is the solution to agriculture issues, remember this rabbit.

If you keep pet rabbits, take care if your garden backs onto open land, or where they may come into contact with their wild cousins. 

September 29th – I’ve been passing this odd little feature for years without realising what it was, only learning of it’s true nature a year ago. The ‘park’ – such as it is – lies in the triangle of the junction where Farewell Lane meets Church Road in Burntwood, just by the parish church. Who’d have thought such a small, railing enclosed verge could be classed as a park? It’s a lovely thing, but I wonder which tree is which? 

August 20th – A late afternoon ride to keep the legs moving after a tiring morning at work. I spun around Chasewater, then headed down through Burntwood to get some stuff from Waitrose in Lichfield. On the way, I passed the former old people’s home Greenwood House, near Swan Island. Empty and decaying, this modern, well loved facility was closed by Lichfield Council as part of their hated ‘Changing Lives’ project, created solely to farm social responsibility onto the third sector and offload all those expensive vulnerable people into the community. This building has been empty for over two years now. An utter waste. Welcome to the social state in the UK in 2011. Utterly bankrupt, both financially and morally.