Tag: crossroads

#365daysofbiking Crosstown traffic

September 20th – That evening, coming up from Stonnall as dusk fell I was, as I usually am, held at the lights.

There are few homecomings more significant to me that this small, triumphant wait – having climbed a large hill, all that’s left between me, a mug of tea, home and family – and often, the food in the pannier – is a long, pleasurable freewheel down the hill, over Anchor Bridge and into Brownhills.

Just got to wait for the lights, and I’m nearly there…

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October 26th – Another horrible, snatched image, but it shows a place I don’t go so much these days because it’s undergoing change which makes it hostile to cycling.

The Shire Oak Crossroads is an important junction in south Brownhills, with a landmark pub and atop a large hill. Carring to major routes, the traffic lights here have always been busy and daunting, and the junction is currently being remodelled, and is replete with barriers, closed footpaths and added, surprise potholes.

While it’s so unpredictable, it’s best avoided on a bike, particularly at night, as many drivers take wide corners or get confused with positioning.

Hopefully it’ll all work out better in the end.

March 31st – Also seeming to prosper at the moment is the Shire Oak, a pub that up until the last change of stewardship last year was experiencing difficult times. After a period of closure, the lights are back on and welcoming in the dark of the night.

The place always seems busy and I’ve not heard anyone with anything bad to say about the place.

Must take a trip up the hill sometime and try it out.

January 29th – I came home fairly late and had to pop into Stonnall. Coming back up the hill was hard – I have a cold and my energy was nearly gone. But there’s something about reaching the Shire Oak junction – maybe it’s just being at the top of the hill, or the fact that it’s all downhill to Brownhills from here, or maybe just the welcoming lights from the pub – that’s almost cathartic.

The working week ended here, and it was a soft roll down into the weekend, sleep and a good deal of rest.

Bring it on.

December 23rd – After a long weary haul up Shire Oak Hill with a heavy saddlebag full of goodies, I paused at the top to take a picture of the reborn again Shire Oak pub. Refurbished extensively, it’s a different pub to the one that closed here in late summer. Lots of work has been done in and outside. There’s a new, sage-green paint job. I love the exterior lighting.

Most of all, it looks warm, welcoming and busy – it’s good to see a local pub saved for once.

July 10th – Mission complete. It’s been a hard few days working on a rush job, and I finally handed it on now, and the crisis has passed. I returned home via Stonnall in the late evening light, almost too tired to cycle up Shire Oak Hill.

Cresting this hill – always, always hard work from any direction – is a personal nemesis and when tired, it’s punishing. But once at the top, it’s pretty much a freewheel downhill to food, rest, a good cup of tea and the welcome of family.

It’s over, for now. A great relief.

November 3rd – The Shire Oak pub has stood at this junction for over a hundred years. Forming the bottom – or top, depending on your perspective – of Brownhills, it’s a busy crossing of two arterial routes. The Chester Road crosses the Lichfield Road, and it’s a busy, often difficult proposition to negotiate – particularly if turning right. It doesn’t bother me these days so much, I often cross it twice a day, but getting stuck turning right here can be scary. I once fund myself stranded in the 6 foot void between to lorries travelling in opposite directions. The junction stands near the brow of Shire Oak Hill, itself named after the tree that stood near the old junction with Holly Lane, further downhill to the southwest, as the boundary marker between parishes.