June 20th – It was terribly wet on my way to work this morning, and on the way back I was too knocked to go to the best spot, but lupins, for a reader who’s unwell.
I know you love them, but don’t get them where you are.
Get well soon old chap. I’ll find you some better ones in the week, promise.
June 16th – By the old mill on the canal in Pleck, there’s a narrowboat undergoing renovation. I noticed today that you could clearly see the anodes, the silver ingots of (usually magnesium or zinc) fixed to the hull, under what would be the waterline.
The idea is pure science: the ingots form an electrical pairing with the hull and metalwork of the boat, and as a consequence, are depleted in preference to it – thus preventing corrosion on the boat itself.
The ingots are called ‘sacrificial anodes’ and are common on boats, pipework and other water-exposed metal items: galvanising is a good example of this science in action. Different metals are used in different environments.
You can read more here.
Real science – it works, folks…
June 16th – Thanks to whoever tipped me off (I think it might have been Dave Fellows), but my complaint about the lack of handrails on the steps down from the canal to (the still closed) Bentley Mill Way on the Darlaston/Pleck border were, it seems, premature.
This week, a new rail has been installed – and jolly nice it looks too.
Have to say though, the steps – implicitly on a cycleway – are still awful to negotiate with a bike, but at least we have something to grab now.
It’s a shame the shallower, easier to negotiate access the other side has been removed…
June 14th Every year, a couple of weeks after the yellow water lilies flower, out come the white ones, and this year there’s a fine display at Bentley Bridge.
Caught just after a rain shower, these looked splendid scattered with raindrops.
they always look so perfect, they could almost be made of wax.
June 10th – Anyone interested in the canals of the Black Country knows about Smethwick Galton Bridge – the beautiful cast iron structure; the multiple railways, roads and two canals intersecting at different heights.
However, there’s something not half a mile away that’s as wonderful; where the M5 crosses a railway, which is running alongside two canals, and crossing a third.
This is a fantastic thing – right next to the sadly derelict Chance Glassworks, Victorian Aqueduct jars with 60s brutalism, which pays no heed to the water. A fine, fine thing that makes one wonder at the progress of engineering, the wildlife that perches in such situations, and the smallness the scale makes you feel.
You may not agree, but it’s beautiful in it’s harshness and ingenuity.
June 9th – I have no idea about Lepidoptera, but spotted this lovely moth (I think) in the flowers near the new pond in Clayhanger. It was beautiful and very active – and along with the bees and a whole host of other bugs, shows why margins and scrubs left to run wild are so very important for biodiversity.
June 9th – Such a profusion of flowers at the moment, for which pink and purple seem to be the current fashion. Roses, orchids and one I’m not sure of all brightened my commute.
The orchids are particularly welcome growing along the towpath near Clayhanger, and on the slope to the new pond. I just adore them.
June 8th – I hopped off the canal at Bentley Mill Way to check out the work on the aqueduct from ground level; as the road is still closed, I was curious; it seems there’s work on the north side that can’t be seen from the canal.
I’m sure whole canals were dug by hand faster than this project has limped to completion.
One of the first things I noted was the new towpath surface ends at the top of the steps here, so I guess the intention is you get here using the shared-use path, then hop on the canal for Walsall.
Only a non-cyclist could have thought this was a good idea. The steps, even for a fairly strong bloke like me, were a nightmare with a bike. There’s no handrail. No wheeling channel. The steps are at an awkward pitch, and overgrown. This is lousy, and I strongly advise cyclists not to use it.
Off the bridge, the roadway has been lowered considerably to accommodate taller vehicles, but I’m not sure that’ll help much as the width is very restricted.
As I said before, I hope the pumps hoovering the water from those drains are reliable.
I don’t want to dislike this – but this has cost millions, for no real improvement and it stinks of being someone’s pet project.
Dire.
June 7th – Yellow is the colour of the canals at the moment, as the flag irises and water lilies are out and forming a beautiful accompaniment to the greenery around the banks and towpaths.
Even after these last few years I still can’t get used to seeing such flowers on canals – the ones I grew up with were so filthy and dirty.
Not all change is for the worst…
June 6th – On the canal near Clayhanger, it’s good to see the lupins out. A sign of summer, they spread welcome colour to towpaths, embankments and wastelands across the country.
The flowers are so beautifully constructed, and the bees seem to love them too.
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