March 30th – I’m not going to say where this is, for fairly obvious reasons, but there’s only one animal in the UK that digs like that – and this one has been digging a real des-res. Freshly excavated damp sand and quite large stones spilled out onto the roadside, but no sign of the occupant.
Not the best site, Brock. The cars whistle through here…
I wish you well, in any case.
February 3rd – In Aylestone, Leicester: a little bit of utterly nonsensical cycle ‘infrastructure’.
This is so bizarre, I have nothing to add.
August 30th – Out for an afternoon spin, I came through Wall, just south of Lichfield. Just as I was approaching the junction of the old Watling Street and Wall Lane, I noticed that on the side of the old barn at Manor Farm, there was an Ordnance Survey Flush Bracket. This is a type of benchmark that was used for map surveying – in the notches on the plate, surveying equipment could be mounted at a height known to the surveyor, called a Datum, or benchmark. The flat tip of the arrow indicates the precise height point, and this is benchmark reference S8958.
I must have passed this wall hundreds of times and have never noticed this feature.
July 26th – It’s not often I do reader requests on 365daysofbiking, but here goes. Reader @hapdaniel asked the other day on twatter about sweetcorn being grown locally, and if it was likely. I opined that sweetcorn wasn’t, as we don’t really get enough sun for it to be produced on an agricultural scale, but lots of maize is grown, mainly for animal fodder. The two plants look pretty similar.
Sweetcorn is a genetic mutation of maize that results in an elevated sugar level, but needs lots of sun to ripen properly, and late in the season, so we don’t really get the conditions. But this field of maize on the corner of Lynne and Wallheath lanes in Stonnall is verdant, tall and healthy, and looks set to produce a good yield.
May 7th – The ruined second church tower at Shenstone is now in hiding again, behind a curtain of vivid green. Lynn Lane is lined with the same emerald hues. Meanwhile, further away towards Lynn, the oilseed rape looks and smells fabulous, still not yet fully in bloom.
I’m loving this.
April 11th – On Lynne Lane, approaching Lynn itself, stands another deserted house. The area around here seems to have a veritable plague of such homes, falling to wrack and ruin, with nobody to care for them. Last week I pointed out Keeper’s Cottage. I suspect the ownership to be the same person.
This bungalow has been empty for as long as I care to remember – certainly since 1982. It has survived remarkably well, and is a tiny little place that would make an agreeable home for someone.
I took this photo today, as within a few weeks, this place will be invisible, shrouded in scrub and hedgerow. This abandoned bungalow only appears, Brigadoon-like every winter with the leaves shedding.
Another once fine house going to waste; another tragedy.
January 28th – Marbles. I go on about them repeatedly, with good reason. The roads are absolutely covered right now in debris – bits of wood, bits of vehicle, grit residue and gravel, left behind by the snow and ide. This material gathers in hollows and patches on the roads, and passing traffic grinds and polishes it ind it’s wheels. The result is a loose material with very low friction, that lurks on bends and junctions, ready to snatch your wheels from under you. It’s particularly bad in backlanes, but even busy roads like the Chester Road are affected.
Motorbikers call this debris ‘marbles’ due to the similarity to riding on glass beads. The problem will remain until either the road is swept, or heavy rains wash the worst away.Take extra care, please.
January 8th – The house that stands on the junction of Mill Lane and ForgeLane in Mill Green, Little Aston is still lying derelict, unloved and appears to be falling into ruin. This is a very large house in an exclusive, rural area. When occupied, it must have been worth at least £500,000, maybe more. I can’t even work out how such a property comes to be abandoned and left to vandals. This was once, clearly, a family home. Someone must own it, their must be a backstory. Nothing has changed here for years. Anyone know anything? It’s a crying shame.
January 1st – If you’re thinking of traversing Bellamour Lane, between Colwich and Colton, near Rugeley, I’d leave it a couple of days. Under the railway bridge, the road is flooded to some depth. I tried it, but gave up when the water rose up to my crossbar. The road could certainly do with a with some ‘Road Closed’ signs, I certainly didn’t appreciate the u-turn and long journey round.
November 2nd – I mentioned last week that the modern Little Aston – location of exclusive private hospital and old folks home, as well as being millionaires square mile – still shows some evidence of being a village of some antiquity. There is, however, a bit of a conundrum. Where Forge Lane crosses the Footherley Brook, adjacent to Forge Wood, there’s a peculiar kink in the lane over a hump bridge. This treacherous hairpin is overlooked by a row of homes called Forge Cottages. Yet further down towards where the main body of the village stood, opposite the primary school is another old forge, still standing, although now occupied by a design studio. I guess both must have been home to blacksmiths.
This is a lovely little village you look past the modern developments.
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