Tag: Catshill

September 3rd – The old flour mill on the canal at Catshill, Brownhills, was converted into flats a long time ago. I keep meaning to research the history, but never quite get round to it; I know it milled flour for years, and then was a factory for a while. I think it made some kind of pressings which were sprayed, as I remember the extraction vents having different coloured paint around them when I was a kid – sometimes red, sometimes navy blue. The house nearby, just visible beyond the fence – looks really quite old.

May 26th – On a windblown canal near Catshill Junction, I noticed the swans had two very young cygnets. These cute balls of grey fluff were relaxed and happy to be fed by their parents, who didn’t show any of the usual signs of swan aggression towards me. Not sure if this is the pair from by the Watermead Estate or the former mill at Catshill, but it’s nice to see. I do find myself wondering why we’re no longer seeing the broods of 8 and above as we did a few years ago, though.