Tag: canal

#365daysofbiking Repellent magnetism:

September 22nd – There’s a current fad happening on local canals at the moment that’s really bloody irritating.

Magnet fishing.

Well, perhaps not the activity itself, but the end result. Chancers get hold of very strong magnets on the likes of eBay and then tie them to a line and dredge them along the canals to see what metal they pull out.

I guess they’re looking for interesting stuff, but nobody’s going to pull out gold coins, only ferrous stuff, obviously although I’m not sure the anglers have twigged that yet.

The problem comes when they pull out worthless junk: They just leave it on the towpath for some other poor sod to deal with, where it blocks access and really makes the canals look messy.

To my mind, these people are, at the very least, littering and should be prosecuted if caught.

Thankfully, selfless and dedicated volunteers in collection boats – here seen passing through Tipton – are working to clear up the mess left by these irresponsible, greedy scavengers.

#365daysofbiking Warm rain and what lies beneath:

September 22nd – Thanks to a reminder from the most excellent Stymaster, I got to attend the Tipton Canal and Community Festival, all be it on a really wet, rainy dray. The weather notwithstanding, I had an excellent time, as can be seen on my main blog here.

Having ridden to Tipton from home in the rain, I decided to carry on down the canal into Birmingham following the old mainline into Birmingham.

This time of year, the Galton Cutting is gorgeous, and it’ll be even better when the leaves really start to turn.

The huge maze of scaffold under the M5 viaduct at Oldbury is hugely impressive from underneath, too. I wonder how many delayed, queueing motorists above know the complexity of what lies underneath them?

#365daysofbiking Duck tales:

September 21st – The humble mallard duck doesn’t get much love, but I’ve always held that, like magpies, if you study them in any more than the most cursory fashion, they’re absolutely beautiful. The iridescent, shimmering greens of the males are lovely enough, but also the females are very much more than drab brown; if you study them, they have the most gorgeous blue and white flashes on their wings.

But better than appearance is their personality and social behaviour – here on the overflow in Brownhills near Silver Street, the ducks were in parliament doing what ducks do – sat in running water, dozing, chattering and generally being the best ducks they can ever be.

Such contented creatures.

#365daysofbiking Portal:

September 18th – Still surviving and developing is the fascinating green tunnel over the desire-path behind the canal overflow at Clayhanger. Now completely overgrown and just the right size for an adult to squeeze through, it’s a fascinating product of what I suspect is a regular dog walking route.

I hope this continues to be used – it’s such a lovely, happenstance thing

#365daysofbiking Still hanging on:

September 15th – Back on the canal in Brownhills on the way back home, the autumn was far more subtle. The hawthorn hedgerows are very, very crimson this year with hawthorn berries showing a particularly heavy harvest,  and the reed beds, grass and waterside trees are still pretty green. 

If I tried hard, I could just forget the oncoming season and still convince myself these were the end days of a great summer.

#365daysofbiking Night comes in:

September 14th – The golden hour continued into dusk, and pottering down the canal by the Clayhanger overflow the sunset was stark, harsh and beautiful.

I love this view, it’s one of my favourite local views and I’ll never tire of it.At the end of a long, tiring week it was a great pick-me-up.

#365daysofbiking Up the junction:

September 10th – A quick hop up on to Catshill Junction Bridge which is always a good spot to note the passage of the seasons.

Forgetting the weather (which is decidedly grim right now) there’s a definite tinge of autumn in those trees, towpaths, banks and bushes. It’s still quite, quite green – but there is the kiss of gold at the extremities, and the green looks dark and weary.

And the season’s wheel grinds on.

#365daysofbiking Chips with that?

September 10th – I notice the Canal and River Trust have contractors out at the moment cutting back canalside tree and shrub overgrowth, which is a job that’s been ongoing locally most of the summer.

Here at Walsall Wood they’ve been quite ruthless in removing the lower beaches of trees and scrub over what is a very wide canal, so the growth would not have impeded the passage of boat traffic.

It has, however, removed cover for kingfishers, waterfowl and the mamals that live and hunt alone the bank. Periodically, piles of wood chips will be good for bugs I suppose.

Concerning, but I suppose it’s necessary.

#365daysofbiking Headache grey:

September 8th – My hopes for an Indian summer were looking a bit forlorn as I sneaked out in the evening for a circuit of Clayhanger and Brownhills, looping back around Chasewater. It was grey, wet and cold with alternate heavy showers and periods of light drizzle, but none when it wasn’t raining at all.

The green was trying to shine through, but fighting a losing battle under the headache-great sky, reflected off the canal and wet town.

Apart from the odd car, I don’t think I saw a single soul about. A hard, wet ride that I was glad to return from.

#365daysofbiking The trains don’t run here anymore:

September 7th – The weather was still grey and unpleasant, cold with a sharpening wind and summer seemed a long way behind me. But I felt like a bit of an explore on the way home so I hopped up onto the old South Staffordshire Railway that carried freight when I was a kid.

Carefully restored and maintained by Back the Track as a cycling and walking greenway, it’s peaceful up there and as Vivian Stanshall put it, you’re nestling in green nowhere.

There are good views of the canal, Clayhanger Marsh and Ryders Mere, and plenty of birds and wildlife to spot.

It’s also home to one of the most mournful monuments to a lost railway I know: The solitary remaining signal post of Norton Junction.

Still, the ladder makes a great vantage point for photographing the marsh…