Tag: dispute

365daysofbiking Ladies, please:

October 7th – I was also hacked off I was without a functioning camera when I witnessed this – something I’ve never seen before. Female deer, arguing.

At Chasewater, my light scared a group of red deer off the dam path down on to the dam itself. They were all females of varying ages, and there was some jockeying for position as they hurried away. 

In these three photos you can see the two deer of the left square off, one refuse to defer to the other, then they both buck and kick each other.

It was over in an instant, but the sound of their feet clattering against each other is something I’ll not forget.

Neither is the spectacle of two female red deer, bickering.

March 16th – I had to nip up to Burntwood after an early return from work, and I took a muddy, wet canal towpath up to Chasewater.

My favourite tree at Home Farm, Sandhills seems to be getting into a spring jacket ever so slightly, and the greens were just a bit brighter than a week ago.

Ogley Junction bridge is now finished, and it looks great. The metalwork and bridge deck have been superbly refurbished, but it’s sad the brickwork didn’t get any love. Maybe that’ll be a separate job. 

At Chasewater, I was surprised to see the reservoir overflowing. It’s normally allowed to fill and overflow at this time of year, but the valves are still closed and the spillway is flowing with water. In light of the dispute ongoing between Staffordshire County Council, the owners of Chasewater and the Canal and River Trust who use the water it contains, it’ll be interesting to see how long the lake continues to overflow.

February 25th – I raced back to Chasewater to catch the sunset as I had planned to do they day before, and although inevitably the sunset was not as dramatic, it was very beautiful and calm, but my hands were frozen. It really was very cold indeed.

I noted while there that Chasewater is now about 150mm from full, as it usually is at this time of year. It will be interesting to see what happens this year – if the reservoir is allowed to continually overtop or if the dispute with the Canal and River Trust is resolved and the water is released into the canal.