Tag: Marsh

September 15th – I headed out late morning hoping to get back before the weather closed in. I misjudged, and as I was pottering over The Swag the rain started. The marsh was great, and deserted, but almost everything was horrid shades of headache grey, the only colour being a curious orange flower growing in the brook. I headed back to Clayhanger and round the new pool, which still looks remarkably verdant for the time of year.

It felt wintry, and I felt down. There’s months of this to come and I don’t feel ready for it at all.

April 19th – I saw them fleetingly in the distance, and thought they were horses. Stopping to take a better look, I realised there was a group of at least 4 red deer in the middle of Jockey Meadows, between Green Lane and Lichfield Road, Walsall Wood. Crossing the wetland to get a better shot, it was very, very boggy, but I discovered there was quite a large, mixed group; largest I’ve ever seen here. Half the group disappeared from view as I approached, I’d say the total was maybe 20-25 animals. I can see why they like it here; open watermeadows for browsing with low scrub for cover when eeded. So wet, they get little disturbance (I was wading through marsh 6-10 inches deep), no dogs and plenty of fresh sedges and other greens.

I love the deer. They’ve probably come up from Brownhills Common, scared off by the noise of all the anti-heathland protestors…

March 24th – A terrible day. Best by setbacks, nothing went to plan. I was plotting a long ride into Leicestershire, but a bad stomach in the early hours put paid to that. Work troubles, technology let-downs and other frustrating issues meant I didn’t get out of the house until 5:30pm. With a distinctly ropey stomach, I didn’t feel like going far but needed peace. I headed up the canal, then rode down the old railway line trail to Ryders Mere and took a loop round Pelsall. Gold seemed to be the colour scheme of the day. It was a peaceful, gentle relief to be out and about on my own. Sadly, I didn’t see my old familiar, the dog fox. Perhaps he was scoring tea for the cubs… 

January 29th – I went to bed last night wholly expecting to wake up to a frosty, crisp, bright day. I was to head to Cannock Chase, maybe over Shugborough. Sadly, I hadn’t bothered to check the weather. What I woke up to was a miserable, dank, dark and dismal day. I busied myself with other things and headed out for a spin late afternoon, just before the light began to die. I went up around the new pond at Clayhanger, then back into Brownhills and up the old Railway Line to Ryders Mere. Not a soul about, only the old fox I normally see here at sundown, looking bedraggled and fed up. We both stood stock still for a few seconds, and then he turned tail and trotted off. That fox always fascinates me – I think that to him, humans are just unpredictable, odd looking foxes, tolerable company if we keep still and mind our own business.

He looked grey today. The landscape was grey. Everything looked the same. I hate days like this.

December 10th – A cold, windy day. I headed out at sunset to explore an autumnal, wet Clayhanger Marsh. Gorgeous as ever, the sunset was quite good over Ryders Mere. Wildfowl were calling and I disturbed the marsh’s old dog fox in the process of bagging a little something for supper. I see that old fella almost every time I come here – we’re familiars, and respect each other from a distance. We often share contemplative moments together. If only he could talk…

July 17th – A spin out over The Swag and Clayhanger Marsh before the rain came. It’s not often I come up into the marsh – the former trackbed for the mineral line makes a good, elevated dry path. The fields were alive with a yellow carpet of ragwort. I had a scramble up the very old slagheaps and took a look at the foreboding scenery before me. It may not be the most beautiful bit of our area, but it’s fascinating and stuffed with rare species.

May 19th – The Swag, as it’s commonly known locally, is part of the wetland band that occupies the hollow between Shire Oak Hill and Pelsall. A wet area for centuries, it stretches for miles, from the common to the north, across Clayhanger Marsh, Jockey Meadows and Stubbers Green, into the Goscote Valley. Pictured looking north from the old railway line parallel to Pelsall Road, it’s easy to see the very old spoil heaps from bell pitting in the area two centuries ago.

Nowadays, they are a peaceful, post industrial wildlife haven, as is the trackbed I stand on to capture this odd little sunset. Turning around, I see an old dog fox trotting off into the distance. This is both his territory and mine, and we are familiars. No doubt having watched my approach, he’s content that everything is in order and is away on his rounds.