Tag: Hays

#365daysofbiking It may not be obvious

May 19th – It was a weary run out – Through Shenstone, Weeford, Hints, Tamworth, then up the canal to Hopwas, Whittington and home via Wall and Lichfield. Not a long run, and on a grey, warm afternoon that always seemed to be just on the verge of rain.

It was nice, but I wasn’t feeling the love. My stomach was grumbling and I was tired.

But as usual, a combination of the things I found, the quirkiness of the the country I live in and the beauty of thriving nature around me perked me up.

I’m still chucking about the warning of troops training. That’s so Monty Python and utterly British. And sadly, there was no sign of the cat. I like to think it was called ‘Fluffy’ or some such.

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#365daysofbiking Feeling so much better



February 17th – I carried on the ride – out through Hammerwich where I met the most wonderful pigs in a laneside paddock. They trotted over to investigate me and were real characters.

From Hammerwich through Moat Bank, Hilton and Chesterfield to Shenstone, with both towers visible until the leaves come. From there up through Weeford to Whittington Common, over the ranges and to a dusk thrash around Hopwas Hays Wood.

It was a great ride in generally good weather that I enjoyed thoroughly. Looking forward to getting more of this in now spring is coming.

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December 31st – At last, a decent if rain-sodden ride. Going stir crazy on a wet New Year’s eve, I slipped out at 3pm determined to test the loan cameras on something decent. Instinct had me head for Hopwas Hays Wood near Tamworth. 

Both cameras are excellent. At the moment, the GX7 has the edge but the user interface is bizarre to me. I’ve never had much joy with Canon kit before, but this was a revelation.

I didn’t use flash once, just the bike headlight. I’m quite pleased with these.

Oh, and happy new year!

February 1st – Crikey, are we a 12th through the year already? How did that happen?

I passed through Ryders Mere in the morning, and expected it to be busy with twitchers for the latest rarity – a Great Northern Diver has been here for a few weeks now – but curiously, I was alone. This place is lovely, but I still find it a little barren. 20 years ago this was an opencast, and now, a peaceful haven for wildfowl.

One day, I might bump into the man of the marsh himself, Chaz Mason. That would be lovely. In the meantime, the gulls and grebes carried on as normal.