Tag: dawn

October 26th – British summertime ended this weekend, which means my evening commute is abruptly plunged into darkness, but for a short time at least, the opposing morning journey is in the light once more.

When I passed Grove Hill this morning, the sun was well up and with the green on the lower slopes and soft light, this could be a spring morning in April.

October 22nd – A great dawn in fine weather with a much appreciated tail wind was a real joy to ride in, and a marked difference from the day before when I got soaked in persistent, heavy rain.

At Mill Grren, I stopped to watch the sun rise over Hill Hook and towards Tamworth. A massive, red-smeared sky opened out minute by minute, and was truly captivating.

Mornings like this make me much more comfortable with autumn, for sure.

October 20th – Passing through Mill Green at dawn the countryside was magical. Very slightly misty, with high cloud, nonetheless the top of Sutton transmission mast was obscured.

Usually, I’m running too late to take pictures in the morning, but I see some beautiful sights. Now winter is coming I must allow extra time so I can share more of these wonderful views here.

August 5th – I was feeling OK, it was just after sunrise on a bright summer day and so I decided to head to work via Aldridge and the Chester Road at Stonnall, just to catch Grove Hill in the soft light. There seems to be a crop of potatoes growing around the iconic tree, but the lower field of wheat has been harvested.

In the early morning light the stubble looked golden and beautiful, and I was puzzled by the one remaining stack of square straw bales. You don’t see many square ones these days. Unusual.

I love this spot and haven’t photographed it for ages. But it changes little, and always retains it’s magic.

April 20th – A shock this morning. I had a train to catch so left as the sun rose. It was very, very cold with a light ground frost, inadequate a significant mist. Still, it shrouded Grove Hill in Stonnall beautifully, and gave the pylons at Mill Green an other-worldly, sinister presence, and the sun soon burned it off.

November 19th – Heading out at dawn for a meeting in Telford, before returning at lunchtime. On the way, they sun caught the clouds over Mill Green, and made the sky precious.

A beautiful sunrise, and I was honoured to see it.

In the words of Joni Mitchell ‘it’s coming on winter now’ – the commutes are progressively getting colder and I think before long the frost will be here.

I have no idea why, but this year i’m actually enjoying it.

November 29th – I was out early, as the sun rose. I had to go to Telford, and the morning skies were great. It was a shame I was running to close to time to stop and take more pictures. I’d forgotten how wonderful a winter sunrise could be.

At the other end of the day, I returned to Shenstone on a very black, cold and damp night; the weather couldn’t make it’s mind up to be wet or dry. There was a keen breeze that teased me all the way home. 

Although it was Friday, the homeward journey was hard, and seemed to take ages. I’m slowly getting into winter mode, but it’s still tough.

February 4th – It’s the start of a transient period, and it didn’t start well. Over the next few weeks, I’m all over the place, and today, I had to go to Telford. Leaving early, I pointed the bike at Shenstone, and went for it. Checking the train information before I went out, I was happy my train was on schedule. Getting to the station, I found it had been cancelled. To add insult to injury, the train that usually makes an extra stop in such circumstances didn’t, and thundered through the station leaving me forlorn for 30 minutes as it got light. This meant I’d miss my connection to Telford and be an hour late.

Fortunately, I got to New Street just as the late-running Aberystwyth train pulled in – a Benny Hill style dash through the station ensued, and I just caught the train, meaning I was only 15 minutes late after all. 

I had plenty of time at Shenstone to muse on the dawn, Monday mornings and the skyline. There’s something about that tower and it’s gargoyles that fascinate me.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be less stressful.