interesting – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

October 2nd – I felt this was probably going to be the last good day of the Indian summer, and headed out for a long ride. I had a small errand to do in Leicester, so caught the train at dawn, and resolved to ride home on NCN 6 to Derby, then back from there along the Trent corridor.

I came through Spinney Hills early in the day. This row of remarkable terraces – all named after classical characters – is astounding.

Every time I come to Leicester I spot some new architectural gem. I love this place.

July 1st – New Street Station is still a mess, still barely functional, and mostly, I think, now beyond reclamation. But on an early summer sunny morning, there’s something about the concrete, steel and surrounding architecture that renders it if not impressive, then rather fascinating. Architectural styles and textures clash. Machinery grinds and rumbles. Rails screech and clatter. Overhead wires buzz and crackle.

In the midst of this, the most unnatural, built environment that one would consider utterly hostile – signs of life. Shrubs and weeds, their seeds deposited by birds or wind, by luck find a little moisture, a sheltered fissure and just a little nutrition.

If only human design had such bare-faced tenacity, audacity and beauty.