Tag: cobbles

March 9th – Later on, in Lichfield, I cycled around the periphery of the market as it was winding down. There is a sad and unexpected joy here, that really shouldn’t be occurring. The cobbles here – laid only in 2006 at a cost in excess of £1,200,000 – are badly executed and in an apparently poor grade of York Stone. They have, in patches sunk – despite the relatively light traffic; about 40% are loose and rattly, and many have broken up due to frost, water ingress and abuse. As a consequence, when you ride a bike over them, it is to an accompaniment of rattles, clicks and clatters that really are joyful. 

I doubt I’d find the enjoyment so great had my own borough council paid so much for such a dreadfully poor job.

August 28th – Afternoon saw me again investigating national cycle route five, cycling into Walsall to see what the marketplace looked like without the Overstrand, then down through the Sandwell Valley and onto the canals through Brum. For a lark, thought I’d try my hand cycling up the treacherous cobbles of Church Hill to St. Matthews. Hardly Paris – Roubaix, but I was fairly pleased with myself…