Tag: canal

February 4th – I came back to Brownhills late, and hopped on the canal from Walsall Wood. Leaving the towpath at the Anchor Bridge, I realised how odd the landscape is here. The canal, of course, remains level (473ft above mean sea level for the anoraks out there), yet the landscape rises above it gently, and the Chester Road crosses above with barely and undulation.

It made me wonder if the canal was channelled out here and what the landscape of the late 1700s looked like before it arrived. 

The night was chilly and blustery and I was tired. I suddenly realised I’d been stood for five minutes or more in pitch darkness contemplating the physical geography here absent mindedly, whilst freezing cold.

Cycling catches you like that sometimes.

February 2nd – I had to leave work and pop to Walsall mid morning, so I hopped on the canal. Passing through James Bridge, I noticed a works compound had been set up, and butties and a utility boat were blocking the canal under the old IMI bridge. From the contents of the compound, it seems a particularly daft folly is about to commence: the tearing up and resurfacing of one of the best canal towpaths in Walsall.

The stretch from here to Walsall is being relaid by the Canal & River Trust, apparently as a cycle route, for reasons I’ve been unable to discern; but one thing I’ll guarantee is the person who decided it was needed was not a cyclist.

The towpaths here are wide, smooth and well made, in contrast to those from Aldridge to Rushall Junction, which are unusable in winter, or those through Pelsall to Goscote. The money spend here will be an unneeded waste.

Breathtaking folly.

February 1st – A little over 30 minutes later, thanks to a following wind of epic proportions, just preparing to head into Brownhills.

Catshill Junction, long exposure in a wind so keen I had to hold the camera to stop it blowing off the rail.

This spot has become much more interesting since the new build.

January 30th – Further up the canal on the Aldridge/Walsall Wood border, the canal was also looking good from Northwood Bridge, over the marina there, and in the other direction, up past the brickworks at Stubbers Green. 

The canal here looks so serene and peaceful, that only a vague chemical smell in the air and low background susurration would tell you that nearby there was a toxic waste handling facility, a large landfall, marl pits and two brickworks.

Impressions can be deceptive sometimes.

January 24th – An awful image, snatched at dusk through a hedgerow at Newtown, Brownhills: four red deer females loafing and grazing in the field between the canal and Chase Road.

After years of seeing them around Brownhills, I’m still not over the frisson of noticing them: they feel so out of place and exotic, even though this is their home.

A lovely thing on an otherwise dull day.

January 21st – I returned to the scene of previous photographic crimes to try an experiment. I set the camera down on the Clayhanger canal overflow brickwork, set it on a 15 second exposure, then used my bike light on brightest setting to slowly light up the scene.

It worked well – a trick I’d scene drain explorers using – but sadly it highlighted all the detritus sitting on the melting ice layer on the canal surface.

I think this merits further experimentation.

January 20th – A beautiful, cold winter day – exactly the kind I’ve been hankering after. As I rode to work the light was beautifully soft and lit Darlaston up, but it was still hovering around freezing, which gave the air a keen nip.

The swans on the canal at Pleck seemed annoyed by ice that wasn’t easy to break by swimming, but wouldn’t sustain their weight if stood on. Darlsarton’s parks – Victoria and Kings Hill – were as beautiful as ever and I see work on the old church at Kings Hill is ongoing.

A wonderful day to be on a bike, just enjoying the ride.

January 17th – We had snow. Not much, maybe half an inch, and it was very, very wet. It was enough though, to be beautiful, and so I headed out into it as soon as I could. The light was pretty poor though, and the photography didn’t work out so well, but it was a nice experience apart from the endless mud.

Still, it’s better than the endless rain, and seeing the gorse flowers in the snow was lovely.

January 7th – The canal is still chewy, to say the least, particularly after another day’s heavy rain. But the overflow at Clayhanger was flowing well and made a reasonable photo, again in the bike light.

Also, at Catshill Junction, now the leaves are off the scrub, the lights of the new Courtyard development compliment Humphries House well.

Let’s hope there’s some real winter rolling in now…