canal – Page 161 – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

July 2nd – Heading for the canals again, I hopped on the cut at Coalpool, and followed the waterway north and westwards to Wolverhampton. The towpaths were good, and the canal surprisingly clean and green – even in the worst bits of the inner city. Heading down the mainline, I came through Coseley, Tividale and hit the Toll End loop under the M5 at Oldbury, near the old Chance Glassworks. From here I crossed Brindley Place and headed from Salford Junction under Spaghetti out to Minworth and home via MIddleton. A pleasing, easy 60 miler.

I never tire of canal rides.

June 29th – Nipping to Aldridge later that day (I cruise through all the posh places dontchaknow), I took the canal up through Walsall Wood. As summer advances, the floral pallet changes. The hedgerows and wasteland are now full of beautiful white bindweed, or Creeping Jenny as it’s sometimes known. Although considered a weed by most, I love the ivory white flowers and variety of bugs they attract.

June 27th – The hot weather of the weekend had clarified the canal water and the fish that normally dwell in the town’s waterways were clearly visible all around Walsall. I know nothing about fish, but there were some fine specimens visible on this hot afternoon. They seemed unsettled – I wonder if they were fearing their sudden exposure to fisherman and heron alike?

June 21st – A late run out took me to Chasewater along the canal at dusk. If you’ve never walked or ridden the canal from Brownhills to Chasewater, do so as soon as you can. The canal forms a hard boundary between urbanisation to the south and west, and open countryside to the north and east. It’s rare one can see such sharp division, but the waterway is a quiet, winding route punctuated by gorgeous vistas. I never tire of it.

June 20th – I had a number of pictures to choose from from today’s commute, but you can’t beat a good heron. This fellow waited until I was within a couple of feet of him to make his presence known, all feathers and flapping as he rose in panic from the Birchills canal bank. I love everything about herons – their size, their oddly dishevelled appearance, their Heath Robinson looking legs, but mostly, I’m always impressed by their size and unexpected grace in the air. A fine specimen.

June 20th – As the summer progresses, the flowers change. I notice in the last week or so more and more wild roses seem to be in bloom. The delightful cerise blooms were growing amongst the reeds and long grass at the side of the canal near Bentley Bridge, Darlaston.

June 11th – Retuning via the canal, l noted that the condition of the towpath between Pelsall North Common and Highbridges, is as atrocious as it ever was. Concentrating carefully on riding, I nearly missed this fine display of semi-feral roses tumbling over the rear hedge of a Pelsall garden. A spectacle of true beauty.

June 9th – Many folk don’t realise that the UK is crisscrossed by pipelines. Not just water and gas, but oil and fuel lines too. Formerly secret, information about them and their routing is now available online. Primarily to connect refineries and storage depots like Kingsbury in Warwickshire to high-volume users like airports and processors, the construction of the network commenced before the last war.

This pipeline marker identifies the route of a buried oil pipeline, and contains information about location, flow direction and size of the line concerned. It stands on the canal bak just near to Spaghetti Junction.

June 9th – A free afternoon and a bimble along the canals into Birmingham, via Great Barr and Saltley, a stop for tea at the wonderful @urbancoffeeco before heading home on the the waterways through Smethwick, West Brom and Darlaston. I love cycling the urban canals here – a 45 mile run around the best – and worst – our conurbation has to offer. The sheer variety of texture, surface, architecture and wildlife has to be experienced to be believed. The day was changeable with sun, overcast periods and light showers, and thankfully, little wind. A fine ride.

June 8th – Returning from Rushall Junction up the canal to Brownhills is nice, but a bit of a slog – all the locks are uphill, so there’s lots of climbing, and the footpaths are awful. Not just poor, but really, really bad. Perseverance, however, is rewarded by great wildlife and lovely countryside vistas. House martins and kingfishers skimmed the limpid water; water lilies and fowl graced the surface. Orchids, foxgloves and rushes were in bloom and brightened the towpath and hedgerows. Here at Clayhanger, there is a carpet of sweet-scented honeysuckle from the towpath to the bog at Jones’ Pool.