Tag: Cannock Chase

December 28th – It was so windy, the only place to head for a bit of decent cycling was the shelter of the Chase. Although the wind blasts through there as it does anywhere else, there is safe haven in the woodland tracks and valleys. I did the usual loop of Birches Valley, Penkridge Bank and Abraham’s valley, before scrambling up Hayood Warren at dusk and heading back up Haywood Slade and Marquis Drive to Castle ring across country in darkness. The fallow deer were in their usual spot, happily feeding. 80 or so photos, but the light was so poor only a few were usable. Curse the winter… I also saw 2 muntjac, a first for me. Hurtling out of the thicket near rifle range corner, they were a blur of red fur about the size of a labrador, and then gone. A wonderful sight.

Boxing Day – couldn’t resist a bit of ride footage. This one runs from the top of Wolseley Plain, down Abraham’s Valley, along the A51, hopping on the canal through Rugeley, then a little of Bardy Lane, near Upper Longdon. I touched 42mph, but note I slowed right down for the horse and dog walkers. People, if you have dogs off the lead and a cyclist is coming, don’t call them. The dogs are normally too interested in the smells of the open than the cyclist and won’t cause a problem. The lady calling the retrievers here actually causes them to run in front of me…

Boxing day – Cannock Chase was an absolute blast. Great to enjoy the company of fellow bikers, I span around Birches Valley for a bit, then headed for Abrahams Valley to really open it out. There was nobody to speak of down there, and that’s quite a top speed for a downhill run on a fire-road. Exhilarating and refreshing.

November 6th – First video for a while – they’re a bit thin on the ground at the moment. The camera doesn’t work too well in the dark, an my daytime rides are confined to the weekend right now, but the Chase was so lovely last weekend that I thought we could stand another ride cam from it. I’m loving going there at the moment. This run is from Brocton Field (near the trig point and glacial boulder at Chase Road), into the Sherbrook Valley below, and then to Milford via the Stepping Stones. I love this ride…

November 6th – A warm, pleasant day with little wind saw me yet again fail to resist the pull of Cannock Chase. We seem to be in the terminal stages of autumn, and the colours are spectacular, as we’ve yet to suffer a frost. Today, the trails were a bit muddy, but great fun again, and as I sped around the trails I saw many families out and about. I came off the Chase at Milford Common planning to go to Hoar Cross; but the sunset and scenery were so spectacular that I decided to head back to Seven Springs along the canal after cutting through Shugborough, and came back over the Abraham’s Valley in the dark. A visceral, wonderful experience.

October 23rd – Up on the Chase again today – can’t get enough of it at the moment. A climb to Pye Green, a bite to eat at the excellent Springslade Lodge cafe, and then over Brocton Field and down into the Sherbrook Valley, and thence up to Milford. Autumn is here, but failing to quite grip the Chase as yet. Most trees still have leaves and the bracken is still just turning yellow. An odd year, indeed.

October 1st – I’m really enjoying Cannock Chase right now. Exploring again Brockton and the Sherbrook Valley, I found Freda’s Grave, the memorial to the mascot of the New Zealand Rifles, stationed at Brocton during the first world war. I also crossed Shugborough again, but this time I headed up through Hixon to Blithfield and back through Handsacre. This indian summer has been a great tonic and I savoured every minute.

September 29th – A gorgeous indian summer day. I escaped to the Chase for the third time in a week, and explored again the area around Brocton and into the Sherbrook Valley. I made a half-hearted attempt to find Freda’s Grave, which is near there, but I didn’t have it marked on my map and was ultimately unsuccessful, but I’ll return another day. Freda was an army mascot for a regiment stationed on the chase, and a commemorative stone was laid in her honour. 

What I did find, however, was an astounding array of fungi sprouting up. Blumels, puffballs, chicken of the woods. This most peculiar autumn is well into it’s stride, but I think the sun has yet to get the message, thankfully.

September 24th – Up on Cannock Chase, I decided to pay a visit to Brocton Field. I hadn’t been here for eighteen months or so. The monuments here – the ornamental and functional – are a desolate as ever. The triangulation pillar here is one of the last three to survive on Cannock Chase, the one at Castle Ring long since removed. I’m not sure what the stone memorial is. Coming down into Brocton, a small group of fallow deer were in the trees to the west, but sadly, the photos of those didn’t come out to well.

September 18th – A glorious run on Cannock Chase from the Hednesford Hills to Seven Springs. Plenty of young cyclists out learning to ride – see if you can spot the girl with the teddy bear in her front basket. The journey actually takes about 45 minutes, but is condensed into two minutes 46 seconds.

Soundtrack is the gorgeous ‘Clockwork’ by Buttcher Boy.