Tag: Marsh

July 13th – One of those rare posts when I feature something that isn’t actually here. But was. Recently.

The spring and early summer were marked by the lack of cattle in the water meadow at Green Lane, Walsall Wood called Jockey Meadows. Every year in recent times cows have spent a few months grazing here to maintain the meadow, eating the more voracious species of undergrowth, churning up the soft ground with their feet and spreading the sloppy, fertile cowpat love.

I like the cows. If they’re there, I often stop to talk them, and I always will, because they seem to listen. I’ve missed them this year.

Well, I passed this morning and the cows have been here recently. The meadow and scrub are trampled. There are makeshift cake troughs. But no cows.

I hope they return…

June 11th – A terrible end to a ride that started really well. I headed out in sunshine to visit a new coffee shop in Stowe by Chartley, run by a local lad. I headed up over Chasewater, up through Cannock and was just running down Abraham’s Valley on the Chase when a critical part of my drivetrain failed irreparably and I had to call for a lift home.

You can’t prepare for all eventualities, and some things can’t be fixed out on the road, but I felt cheated as I’d had a great ride, seen orchids and red deer, blue skies and The Chase was gorgeous.

It was sad to fail so unceremoniously and I felt irritated and cross at not spotting the issue in advance.

The bike was soon fixed at home and I cursed myself continually while effecting the repair.

Ah well, there will be other sunny days, and the Chase will still be there next week. Keep the coffee pot warm for me.

May 22nd – A long time since I featured Jockey Meadows here – the Site of Special Scientific Interest lying on wetland between Walsall Wood and Shelfield.

Usually the last bit of local landscape to green up, it’s looking splendidly fresh and verdant in the sun, possibly because the annual occupancy by a heard of meadow-maintaining cows haven’t appeared yet.

I notice someone’s come in here with a tractor recently though, which is interesting.

A beautiful and very important place!

April 19th – Spotted on the way home, a small group of red deer at the far side of a freshly planted field on the south side of Jockey Meadows, near High Heath.

Haven’t seen deer on this side of Green Lane for a while. They were right over by the brook, and I guess they’d been laying low in the marsh there for most of the day.

I still can’t really believe we live in a place where these large, wonderful and beautiful creatures roam freely.

After all these years, to see the deer is still a delight.

February 9th – Sad to note that at the south end of Victoria Park in Darlaston, beyond the railway bridge, flytippers have been at work. What is normally an fairly clean marshy area beloved of birds and bugs, a quantity of tyres have been dumped, clearly thrown down the embankment from the car-park above.

Only the lowest of the low do this. Scum.

November 28th – back in Brownhills later that afternoon, during a respite in the rain I headed to get some shopping in. On my way I noted that the lower meadow on Clayhanger Common was flooding and returning to it’s normal winter boggy state, which it’s designed to do. From the Pier Street bridge, I regarded the hardy, wind-buffeted canoeists with admiration.

For a couple of seasons, I wondered why so many craft had been motored at Silver Street at various times. It looks like there’s my answer – and now the Canal and River Trust have clocked that people are mooring here and are after money.

Let’s hope they use the proceeds to clear their marina up… it’s in a terrible state.

June 29th – I’m loving the orchids this year – they seem to have been becoming steadily more profuse over the past few years. I make no apology for repeatedly featuring them, for they are remarkable flowers, and this year they face a herculean struggle to avoid the rigid, inflexible Canal & River Trust mowing schedule, which has seen many fine blooms wiped out.

They’re only here for a short few weeks. Keep your eye out for that flash of vivid purple in the grass – there are several different varieties locally. This one is near Pier Street Bridge in Brownhills.

April 7th – I’d spotted a good sky in the offing, and hopped onto the old rail line at Coopers Bridge, then headed towards Ryders Mere. On the way, I spotted something I’d not noticed before; you can actually get a clear view of Walsall and the Black Country to Turners Hill at Rowley Regis from the old bridge at the rear of what used to be Binks Bullows. 

The sky was great, and I was fascinated – there are all the landmarks of Walsall, visible over Ryders Mere and Clayhanger Marsh. A great view.

It just goes to show – you can pass the same spot loads of times, and still notice something new.

March 21st – Off to the new Screwfix at Walsall Wood in the morning for some odds and ends, I made a point of checking out the flooded bowling green in the old, neglected and dilapidated Oak Park. Still flooded, but with waters receding, it’s still a tragic sight. This used to be the pride of the community, left to become a waterlogged marsh with no sign of resolution. Walsall Council have allowed this to happen with poor maintenance, and stood by as it continued from one year to the next.

This land is supposed to be held in trust for the community to benefit.

The only community benefiting from this sorry mess is the wildfowl one – these two mallards were having a ball.