Tag: Cycleway

May 19th – In Telford for the day, and what a day it was. Bright, warm and sunny, the flowers and greenery have come on here apace. I noticed my first ox eye daisies of the year, replete with spiders, and cotoneaster in flower, still with some berries from last year. I’ve never seen that before – the fruit is beloved by blackbirds and other songbirds, but the shrub is so prolific here, and the crop so abundant last year that I just don’t think there were enough birds to eat it all.

It makes an attractive display, for sure…

May15th – I finished up early, had something to eat and then returned to Birmingham on the Snow Hill line. I used to trave that service a lot, but for five years now I’ve barely troubled it. Many of the landmarks from the line I knew have gone, or changed. 

When I got to Brum, it was too nice to hop on another train, so I dropped onto the canal, and rode home through Bordesley, under Spaghetti Junction, over to Pipe Hayes and along the Plant’s Brook Cycleway to Sutton. From there, I rode through the park home. A great ride – Brum canals are at their best in sunshine, and even the heron was out sunning itself. The dogroses at Tyburn were beautifully scented, and the canal limpid and lazy. 

Plant’s Brook cycleway is lovely, and I shall use it more often. Even the rabbits in Sutton Park performed for the camera. 

A wonderful afternoon.

May 4th – This is, as they say, boiling my piss. 

Pardon my language, but these signs have been put up recently by Sustrans rangers (who are volunteers) maintaing the cycle route through Brownhills. The aim is innocent enough, I guess.

The cycleway runs along Wharf Lane, onto the canal at the old bridge, then as far as Anglesey Wharf (fifty yards or so), then alongside the new bypass on the embankment, and on to Pool Road at the top of the dam. As a route, it’s crap, frankly.

Far better is to ride straight up the canal, past the basin and up the slope to the dam. It’s a fifth of the distance, on wide, well made tracks, and makes perfect sense. 

Likewise one can head to Brownhills along the very good towpaths and find a much better route than the Sustrans National Cycle Network one.

These signs only indicate that the route beyond this point is not part of the National Cycle Network, but they look like – and people are reading them as – cycling prohibition notices.

Why bother with them at all? The routes have functioned for 15 years without them. These are just a waste of time, money and effort.

Sustrans are supposed to be supporting and promoting cycling. This is a whole bag of fail.

Rant over.

March 20th – It’s been a very, very tough week, and I was glad of the peace and quite when I found myself having to visit Telford. Cycling to Priorslee on the cycleway, spring is on the way there, too; this line of blossom (probably blackthorn, but maybe wild plum – thanks, Linda!) along the embankment was impressive. Spring is really here now, and I’m loving it, even on this dull day.

February 7th – I was over in Telford early, and returned to Darlaston at lunchtime. In contrast to the day before, the weather started out rainy, but turned springlike pretty much as soon as I left the house. The cycleways of Telford were beautiful in the sunlight, and the station at lunchtime oddly quiet, but a much nicer place to be for a bit of sunlight.

Why does the weather keep taunting me like this? Why am I scaring the sun away?

January 20th – It was an awful day for travelling (and work generally, really). I went a long way on a fools errand, and on my return, got tangled up in travel chaos on the Cross City line. 

In between, however, the day was misty, bright and cold with a beautiful frost. Sadly, I spend most of my cycling time dashing late from one place to another and didn’t get chance to take many pictures.

I’d like a few more days like this if possible…

January 16th – After yesterday’s tree trapped through a post and rail fence, I was on the lookout for more similarly entrapped flora. Again, in Telford, I spotted this sapling consuming a mesh fence. It’s really quite impressive. 

Elsewhere, on the same cycleway, I noted that the moss thinks spring has come. I know nothing about moss whatsoever, but this one is beautiful close up, vivid green and very fresh. 

I hope any cold snap doesn’t ruin it.

September 9th – I got soaked again on the way to work this morning, less that 12 hours after getting similarly wet the night before. I’ve certainly not had much luck with the showers this last few days, and there’s now a permanent rainbow over my boots. The rain on the rowans and other shrubbery beside the cycleway at Telford looked nice, though.

Here’s hoping for a drier week…