Tag: Coppice

#365daysofbiking Diffuse

January 23rd – The murk continued through the next day, too, and it was beginning to get on my chest. Cycling in it, with it’s grim cocktail of traffic fumes, damp, road spray and smog is not inspiring.

However, I had to nip up to Coppice Side on the way home to see a pal. As I crossed the old Jolly Collier bridge, the urban lights and mist combined to make something special.

The diffuse glow of the gas discharge lamps suddenly made a very ordinary place extraordinary, and I was captivated.

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December 10th – I continued from Chasewater up around Engine Lane and down to old railway trail to the old cement works bridge overlooking the council depot, where gritters and ploughs were coming and going in a constant stream.

There was a lot of angst on social media about grit, road treatment and ploughing, and as ever, I felt particularly for the poor folk doing this hard, almost thankless task.

Elsewhere, the swans weren’t bother by the cold from what I could tell, and Morris seemed happy with his new white mantel.

Temperatures were dropping as it got dark and it would be interesting to see what happened next day as the freeze deepened.

July 5th – Coppice Woods, or to give this small copse it’s proper name, Goblins Pit Wood is what I believe to be the last remnant of the holly and oak woodlands that used to cover our area before the industrial revolution. Quite why it survived, I don’t know, but now part of the Jockey Meadows SSSI, the future of this woodland seems secure.

There’s still plenty of oak and holly, but other deciduous trees make for a variety of habitats for bats, mustelids, rodents, birds and insects.

On this sunny evening ride home, Coppice Woods were a peaceful, sleepy sanctuary from the rush-hour traffic on Green Lane.

April 30th – So, there I’d done gone and promised to bring ny ill mate the best of summer, and it rains, and blows, and hails on a very blustery, intemperate Saturday. Just where do you find the beauty?

You slip out as the worst is passed, and get your feet gloriously wet in the local bluebell wood, and remember what it is to be alive in the outdoors, with the smell of wet earth, pollen and rising sap.

Just wish the light wasn’t so poor.

June 10th – Passing Goblins Wood (or Coppice Woods, for the hip modern kids out there), I noted how beautiful they looked. This mostly deciduous, well managed woodland is very old and suspect the only local remnant of the traditional English oak and holly copses that once dotted the area.

These woods, and the trees therein have seen many seasons, and every summer they look superb. Long may they remain (and they are protected by law now, too.)

August 20th – In late summer, in an overcast moment, Coppice (or Goblin) Woods between Walsall Wood and Shelfield are silent, dark and beautiful.

I think this is probably the oldest oak and holly deciduous woodland for miles and miles around. This is very traditional British woodland, of which there is precious little left.

If you fancy a walk out this weekend, why not pop down and explore it?