Tag: camp hill

#365daysofbiking Really Greet

Wednesday, October 7th 2020 – I was once again visiting a client near Tyseley, and the meeting was done and dusted quickly. I’d got there by hopping onto a train to Aston, and dropping on the canal. On my return, I visited one shops in the Balti Triangle for snacks, treats and ingredients, then rode back on the canal home.

Birmingham’s inner city captivated me as it always does – but the plight of it’s Victorian pubs is concerning me, with the Swan and Mitre in Aston up for auction again, and the Marlborough in Greet still decaying, slowly.

Few things comment more eloquently on urban decay than stopped public clocks.

It was, of course, the canal and its culture that was the star. Nice to see Anatomix’s Tangram Fox is still proud on the side of the Bond, and Bill Drummond has been at it again under Spaghetti junction. But the colour was not limited to the graffiti: Autumn is really setting in now.

A lovely ride on a nice day – but quite chilly.

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July 19th – Ducking off work early for probably the last sunny afternoon of the warm spell for now. I hopped on the canal at Tyseley, then cycled into the city centre, and out via Smethwick, Great Bridge, the Tame Valley canal and Walsall. The canal was beautiful, and the scenery great, but my energy reserves were low and I found the going hard. I was reminded again, however, how green and beautiful our local waterways are, from inner city budleia to Smethwick’s hanging ivy; from the water lilies of Park Hall to the thistles of Rushall Junction. A great, but enervating ride.

October 9th – At Moor Street, I was held up waiting for the train, and took a long shot down the platform to the south. I actually love this photo. It’s got Tyseley Incinerator – not far from my destination; Camp Hill church, and Bordesley church too. I love the way the tracks shine in the haze. This is my Birmingham, and pictures like this confirm why I love it so much.

August 30th – An odd day. I only had one thing to do – go and meet someone in Tyseley, Birmingham. I set off for the 9:20 train from Shenstone, but a fallen tree at Erdington stopped all services. So my easy day turned into a cycle your of Birmingham. I raced into the city through Sutton, Wylde Green and Erdington, hopped on the canal under Spaghetti Junction, pausing only to photograph the oddest, most scary scaffold tower setup I’d ever seen (Yes, that is on a raft, held on with a ratchet strap, no, I don’t know why either). I continued to Tyseley through the city centre on the canal, passing Camp Hill and the most unpleasantly surfaced canal footbridges I’ve ever experienced. On the way back, I called in at stops in Greets Green and Darlaston. I was knackered, frankly…