Tag: Hammerwich

July 30th – The weather was sunny with squally, heavy showers and due to domestic complications I didn’t get out until late in the afternoon. When I did, I didn’t have a great deal of energy and the wind was a bit fierce so I took a leisurely bible to Chasewater and the surrounding area for a few hours.

With the bad weather it was very quiet, and also a splendid day for chasing rainbows.

I note the harvest is underway at Home Farm, Sandhills; that the birds foot trefoil has been rejuvenated by the recent rain; that the little pond right by the Burntwood bypass is absolutely teeming with busy water snails and that cows are roaming the north heath as well as the spillway area. 

It was a very dramatic day with some lovely sights but I do wish the settled weather would return for a bit.

July 8th – At Hammerwich earlier in the ride, a disappointment. Flax had flowered here in characteristic blue a couple of weeks ago, but now it was over and I never managed to catch this stunning crop. But I had been told it was currently redeeming itself by showing a riot of poppies.

Well, it was and it wasn’t.

In fairness, in real life it’s gorgeous and well worth popping to look if you’re passing – but somehow, I just couldn’t capture it with a camera. Whatever I tried, the shots came out dull.

Oh well.

January 28th – A day with curious light and dark. It was alternately fairly bright then rained heavily. I set out mid-afternoon on an errand in Lichfield and got caught by the rain, and also a hail-squall which was interesting if somewhat unpleasant.

Avoiding the traffic, I headed through Hammerwich, and looked back to Brownhills. The roads were muddy goop, and the riding could have been better but the skies were wonderfully dramatic.

December 24th – Christmas Eve was a quiet, resting day. After all the work and stress of the previous weeks, I pooled around Hammerwich and the local canals just looking to see what was around. It wasn’t a cold day, and the although a bit windy, the riding was good.

Hammerwich Church remains beautiful, and it’s the little details that make it – the working weathervane, the architectural details, the views of the old windmill.

In the village itself, a small, charming nativity outside a private house.

I think it must be Christmas!

September 25th – A windy, wolfish day with lots of sun and a few showers. Riding wasn’t so great – I was still short of energy, but on the other hand it was beautiful to see the rainbow form over Hammerwich just after the rain passed through.

It’s been ages since I saw one this vivid.

September 17th – A bad day in lots of ways, but a sunset ride to sort the head out worked wonders. Heading up the canal to Chasewater the scenery was beautiful and the light golden. My favourite tree at Home Farm, Sandhills is laden with conkers and just showing signs of autumn, and the view to Hammerwich was gorgeous.

On the canal at Newtown, the Newtown one minded her own business, unconcerned by the stalking black cat, who seemed a bit peeved at my appearance.

If autumn promises more of this, it can stay around…

June 25th – Out late after a busy day working at home. It was a pleasant evening as I spun up to Chasewater along the canal from Ogley Junction.

I must say, that view of Hammerwich over the Warrenhouse still stuns me after all these years – and with the grass high in the meadow like a gently rippling sea, it’s even more beautiful.

Another lovely thing (though perhaps not if you grow veg!) is the burgeoning rabbit population along the canal and around Chasewater Dam. As you ride on a quiet afternoon, bunnies scuttle for cover from the towpath, nearby scrubs and gardens. They look healthy, and seem to be doing well, which is good news after myxomatosis wiped out the warren at the Chase Road Bridge a few years ago.

A nice afternoon’s bimble.

January 24th – An awful image, snatched at dusk through a hedgerow at Newtown, Brownhills: four red deer females loafing and grazing in the field between the canal and Chase Road.

After years of seeing them around Brownhills, I’m still not over the frisson of noticing them: they feel so out of place and exotic, even though this is their home.

A lovely thing on an otherwise dull day.

January 15th – one would tend to think that fungi don’t really grow over the winter, but a few species like the cold, wet weather. Here at Hammerwich the turkey tail fungus is growing well on a rolling, windfallen log.

Initially quite dull, when studied closely you can see how this delicate fungus got its name. 

November 7th – A day that started out miserably, with rain and heavy winds finished with a beautiful sunset that caught me just as I ran an errand into Lichfield.

From canal junction to road junction, from Minster Pool to Beacon Park, from the Chemical Hill to Hammerwich, everything was bathed in beautiful light.

Despite the wind, I was glad to witness this.