Tag: chorley

#365daysofbiking Still amazed:

November 9th -One thing I never take for granted is my biking technology. From disc brakes to LED lights to tough tires, things are very much better in the saddle these days than the four decades or so ago I started to ride a bike.

One thing that would have blown my mind even in the 1990s is the current GPS bike computer technology available to me. I ride down darkened lanes, with the soft glow of a device on my bars indicating my position on a scrolling Ordnance Survey map. Overlaid on this are street names, and I get warnings of sharp bends and hazards. 

Of course, I know these lanes like the back of my hand, but when off-piste, it’s a godsend. If anyone had shown the young me this device, it would have blown my tiny mind.

Old hands scorn the modern technology, but not really is a wonderful thing.

August 6th – Today’s ride was, oddly, mostly observed by cats. Dozing cats. Strolling cats. Stalking cats. Cats taking the air, the afternoon off or the initiative. From Brownhills to Croxall and back, it was all about the felines.

I saw all these fine examples on the same rife, and more I didn’t manage to photograph. No idea what drew them all out this afternoon, but I hope it happens again.

April 9th – A wet, but warm day with quite a strong southerly wind. I only set out to go round Chasewater, but the riding was good and the weather didn’t seem so bad, so after a hearty lunch at the cafe, I headed up over Shute Hill and Chorley to Farewell, then down through Longdon Green, Hanch, Seedy Mill, Curborough and Lichfield, before returning through Abnalls and Fulfen. I got soaked, but there was hardly anyone around, and the roads were fast and challenging. Poor bank holiday weather by any standards, but I enjoyed the ride anyway.

November 17th – I had hoped to break the chain of night photos today, but it wasn’t to be. The daytime was grey and distinctly unphotogenic, and coming back from Rugeley in the dark at 6pm, passing through Chorley, near Burntwood, I took this. The Nelson isn’t a pub I’ve frequented much, but in winter, or when returning from a long ride at night, the lights of this welcoming, handsome inn tell me that I’m nearly home. 

October 2nd – A bit grisly, this, but I feel it needs saying. Myxomatosis never really went away, but it seems to be sweeping through South Staffordshire again. This wild rabbit – spotted wandering helpless on a grass verge in Chorley, near Burntwood – is blinded by this dreadful rabbit plague. Introduced from Venezeula to Australia in the early 20th century to control the burgeoning rabbit population, this pernicious disease was accidentally imported to France by scientists. Soon it came to the UK. Causing blindness and tumours, it’s a horrid disease and a prolonged, hideous death. I’ve seen five or six bunnies in this state recently – this one so impaired that it was unaware I was a couple of feet away. I can’t bring myself to kill animals, but I hope foxes or the buzzards strike soon.

There is a light on the horizon. Studies show that the rabbit population – increasing, currently – is becoming gradually immune. Next time you see some agribusiness wonk on TV telling you that science is the solution to agriculture issues, remember this rabbit.

If you keep pet rabbits, take care if your garden backs onto open land, or where they may come into contact with their wild cousins. 

June26th – Farewell church is so secluded, one might not realise it existed at all. There has been a religious presence here since 1140, and this is a very old place, the current St. Bartholomew’s church was built in 1745, and hides down a narrow, leafy track that dives sharply from Stonywell Lane. Here one is truly far from the madding crowd, the shady churchyard being a favourite haunt of cyclists and ramblers alike.

June 26th – After the Canal Festival at Brownhills I took a lazy, hot ride up over Longdon Edge. Climbing Shute Hill near Burntwood is always a challenge, but is rewarded by excellent views and the most wonderful sequence of tumbling, twisting lanes. From the top of hill, the view northwards over the plains is stunning and green. Is there anywhere finer than Staffordshire on her summer throne?