Tag: Footherley

May 9th – It was still summer when I came home – but it was a typical English summer, in that it was raining. But it was a soft rain, the kind of gentle, warm rain you get when the air is still. A vague haze sat over the countryside, and everything smelt of growth and pollen. I actually enjoyed being out in this, it was refreshing and sweet. The roads were quiet and I enjoyed gliding through the wet, glistening, growing countryside. 

In Shenstone, St. Johns Hill was back to being the green canopied tunnel it normally becomes in high summer, and at the Footherley Brook, I understood just how far things had come in a few weeks. 

April 26th – I came home under a cloud, as I often do. This one, however, was meteorological rather than psychological. It was grim when I left Leicester, and trying to rain; my train was delayed, and then I got bumped onto the next one 40 minutes later due to lack of space. Arriving at Shenstone an hour later than usual, the black skies were gathering. My mood, and the outlook, was black. Yet the rain held off, and the countryside of Footherley, and the sight and sound of a healthily flowing Footherley Brook cheered me. Oddly, I arrived home in quite a good mood, albeit rather late. I guess that’s why I cycle.

April 12th – I don’t know much about the Little Holms in Shenstone. This secluded, rather pretty public open space runs from the railway bridge by the Pumphouse along the banks of the Footherley Brook. It’s been there as long as I can remember, and is delightful at any time of year. A great spot for quiet contemplation. It’s also a great place to appreciate the bridge and it’s architecture. 

April 5th – It was a long short week in Telford. Work has been heavy going the last couple of weeks, and I’m glad that today was my last working day of the week. Again returning from Shenstone for the tailwind, the day was gorgeous when I emerged from the train at about 6pm. I opted for the back lanes through Footherley in order to catch the evening sun, which after the snow of yesterday, was warm on my back. The lanes looked beautiful, and I stopped on the hump bridge one the Footherley Brook to study the inscriptions. Generations have carved their marks in the soft sandstone capstones, the oldest I think being the inscription from D Rushbrook, apparently from 1931. I’ve searched locally for the name to no avail, and I often wondered what became of him, or if Billy and Trace, who declared their love in stone on the 20th April 1983 are still an item, 29 years later. I do hope so.

December 11th – A warm, damp evening following a blustery, wet afternoon. The wind had died down, the rain ceased and the temperature had risen by the time I ventured out for a lazy loop of Stonnall and Shentsone. I’ve always been fascinated by the single, rather aged mercury streetlamp that stands sentry on the junction of Footherley and Hollyhill Lanes; it illuminates the fingerpost and is like a beacon to the weary cyclist. Many times I’ve been glad of it’s welcome sight on a cold, dark winter evening.  

July 24th – I would expect that if the weather holds, the harvest will begin in earnest soon. Near Shenstone, the rapeseed either side of their path to Footherley is bone dry and very ripe. Full of bugs and animals, pretty soon this field like so many others will be stubble, and then ploughed again. It’s odd to think that all the drama of the vivid yellow flowers, the scent, the visual assault… all for a tiny black seed, laden with oil.

July 3rd – The fete was in full swing when I rolled past at 2pm. I decided to take a look – organised by and held in the grounds of the Sisters Hospitalers ladies nursing home near Shenstone, the Footherley summer fete is a typically English concern. The nuns of the home mingle with residents, families and villagers. The grounds of the former hall are gorgeous and beautifully manicured.

May 18th – Derelict, abandoned and crumbling for as long as I’ve been cycling, Keeper’s Cottage on Footherley Lane refuses to actually fall down. I first explored the shell of this building in 1982, and it has remained, unloved, ever since. It’s not the only derelict home in the area – there’s a boarded up bungalow on Lynn Lane and a row of similar terraced cottages in Footherley itself. All have been 3 decades empty. This is criminal. One assumes the same owner is responsible for all three.

May 18th – After a rainy, hard, grim day, returning home from Shenstone Station into the wind was hard work. The weather had brightened, however, and the sun was coming out. On the way to Footherley, along Hollyhill Lane, this path through a ripening crop of oilseed rape caught my attention. Leading to Footherley itself, the path is well used by walkers and locals alike.

May 1st – This house, on the corner of Hollyhill Lane and Footherley Lane near Shenstone has always captivated me. I love the gables and chimneys, and the general air of rural seclusion it conveys. When I was a kid, one would often see a real fire in the hearth on winter days through the french windows at the front. It always looked so warm and cosy.