July 21st – In a slow potter back through Walton, Croxall, Edingale, Darlaston and Whittington the sunset was gorgeous, make better by some really great cloud formations.
The Trooper at Wall always looks great at night, too.
Couldn’t help notice though that the darkness is now coming on earlier and earlier. Autumn will soon be tapping me on the shoulder…
June 9th – I carried on from Clifton on a weary, hot but enjoyable ride around Netherseal, Lullington, Edingale and Croxall. The countryside was showing itself beautifully, and the willows over the Seal Brook are still timeless.
One small complaint, though. Country pubs, that people tend to drive or cycle to: I don’t drink when riding for the same reason I wouldn’t if driving, but I do like a nice alcohol free beer. So why not stock it?
Nothing worse than sugary, sickly syrup parading as a soft drink when you’re really looking for something cool and bitter to take the edge off.
Country pubs: Look after your nominated drivers and responsible cyclists and you’ll get repeat custom!
August 6th – Today’s ride was, oddly, mostly observed by cats. Dozing cats. Strolling cats. Stalking cats. Cats taking the air, the afternoon off or the initiative. From Brownhills to Croxall and back, it was all about the felines.
I saw all these fine examples on the same rife, and more I didn’t manage to photograph. No idea what drew them all out this afternoon, but I hope it happens again.
March 3rd – The Four Crosses at Shelfield is a classic community boozer. Basic, but comfy, it serves fine real ale and is friendly and welcoming. I love the place. It’s telling that this small pub survived, while the plusher and larger Spring Cottage less than 50 yards away closed and became a retail grocery store.
Recently, following a frankly bizarre planning application, the venerable pub has been declared an ‘Asset of Community Value’ by Walsall Council. This declaration is essentially meaningless, but does show the council’s commitment to support this tiny pubs existence, which is appreciated.
The other pub I know to be listed in such a manner is The Black Horse at Edingale, which closed some time before it came to Lichfield District Council’s attention,and was awarded the status primarily to prevent the former inn being converted into flats. When I passed the other day, the Black Horse was still closed, and appeared to be in use as a private dwelling.
The unescapable fact of these things – ACVs, Local Listing and other such declarations – is that although planning can sometimes stop stuff being changed, you can’t force a business to continue to exist; you may well preserve a building, but not the pub itself.
A quandary for our times, and a demonstration that planning, heritage and community are uneasy bedfellows.
I wish the Four Crosses, it’s regulars, landlord and community well. If ever a pub deserves to thrive, it’s that one. Long may it do so.
June 8th – From Lichfield, out to Croxall, Edingale, Harlaston and back via Hopwas. The countryside is a riot of colour and biordsong right now. The meadows are stunning with dandeliions and buttercups, oilseed rape in still flowering strongly, and all the fresh foliage glows in the sunshine.
I love the view of the wind turbine from Huddlesford: such a graceful machine.
July 8th – When the summer floods come, I head for the floodplains of the Tame, Trent and Mease. Around the National Memorial Arboretum and Croxall, the Tame always bursts its banks and spills onto the A513. Between Edingale and Harlaston, the Mease floods. Back at Elford, the Tame reclaims the nearby farmland.
I love to ride through these floodwaters. Very challenging, it’s a fun, demanding thing to do. On this Sunday evening, in sandals and shorts, the water came above my wheel hubs, but wasn’t as bad as 2007, when almost the entire bike was submerged. An impressive, destructive thing.
July 10th – First good run out for a while, and some time since I’d cycled into the Tame floodplains north of Tamworth. Heading through Lichfield and Croxall, I cruised through the delightfull little village of Edingale, on the Stafordshire-Derbyshire border.
Endingale and it’s near neighbours – Harlaston, Lullington, Clifton Campville, Rosliston and Coton in the Elms typify the quiet, rural idyll of the English village. Sleepy main streets, secluded closes of old houses and lovely old churches and pubs. How I adore Staffordshire.
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