Tag: mud

#365daysofbiking Rainy Chase and Sundays…


October 20th – I set off mid afternoon for Castle Ring. It was spotting with rain, that wasn’t;t really forecast. By the time I got there feeling a bit sad, the rain had set in for the afternoon.

Something happened, though, and I found my happiness in the drizzle, getting wet and finding fungi at Stonepit Green and explored a boggy, muddy forest until darkness fell, visiting places around Beaudesert I haven’t been for years.

You can find peace and contentment on even the most horrid days if you stop looking for it and just get on with finding out what’s over the next hill.

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#365daysofbiking Hair and gone

March 23rd – Meanwhile, over with the red deer at Chasewater, the seasonal moult has started, and the ladies who looked so healthy and fine a week ago now look like threadbare old rugs. They are also covered in dried mud, which they roll in to try and liberate the irritating cold weather coat.

It’s natural of course, to lose the winter coat, and the scruffiness will soon pass; but my favourite ladies always look so grim at this time of year.

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#365daysofbiking Goosed

March 16th – A genuinely foul day, at least weather-wise. There were very strong, blustery winds and near constant rain, so I was limited to a short journey into Brownhills to get some shopping.

It was wet, cold and muddy, and really not a great day to be out.

In fact, the only souls I actually saw outside at all were the Canada geese. Even the mallards seemed to be in hiding.

Here’s hoping this grim spell passes soon.

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#365daysofbiking A bit chewy

January 24th – I again had to call into Pelsall on the way to working this time took the cycleway from Station Road up the old railway line to The Butts. The route through the Goscote Valley is lovely and well surfaced, mostly, but up at Ryecroft near the cemetery the surface has broken up and going was heavy and muddy.

I’m not sure who’s responsible for this section, but if its the council I shan’t hold my breath for any resurfacing at the moment.

Best avoided in the wet, I think, from now on.

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June 2nd – Coming back from Longdon, this was a good chance to see what Dark Lane was like this days. Dark Lane runs from Borough Lane to Thorley’s Hill near Goosemoor Green, and was a lane that always suffered from storm silting, being a remarkably deep holloway.

The bottom end of Dark Lane serves a farm, but further up the hill, it’s closed, and for several hundred metres it’s now been reclaimed by nature and coated in thick mud and vegetation.

It was a lovely place to explore, and brought back memories of when it was open. But if you go and look, be prepared for the mud. It’s deep.

March 29th – On a practical level, the bad weather is taking an awful toll on the lanes. Here, near Springhill this backlane like many has a ridge of wash down mud in the centre, and the tarmac either side is fracturing into potholes and covered in loose detritus and marbles that are slippery and prone to stealing your grip.

The roads now will be in a parlous state, and without much money to repair them, I fear for the condition of minor lanes like Whittaker Lane here in years to come.

We really need to tackle this very serious road safety issue.

March 19th – The thaw was thankfully quick, and the day felt positively warm and sunny as aI zipped about the Black Country on errands.

I was only when I got back to work and the bike started to dry out did I realise the toll the snow had taken.

That bottom bracket won’t be long for the world now with all that grit. My bikes will need some real TLC when the better days arrive.

March 11th – If you’re riding Bullmoor Lane between Hilton and Chesterfield, in the back lanes near Shenstone, beware of mud and … other stuff.

The farmland here has been up for sale for a long time, but now seems to have an owner and they seem to be improving the soil. Slurrey tankers appear to discharge into a large red mobile tank from which a crop sprayer is replenishing it’s supply before returning to it’s smelly, but important task.

Nice to see, but man alive it makes a mess on the nearly roads

February 3rd – I headed back up the canal, but unusually, got off at Clayhanger Bridge and headed back up through the village because the towpath was so slippery and unridable – note here, It is almost one continuous puddle.

From the bridge looking towards Walsall Wood, I could hear the violent thrash of water cascading down the canal overflow behind me. The lower meadow on Clayhanger Common will flood soon, I think, and the Tame will be running high too. 

I’ve chronicled some bad weather on this journal over the seven years it’s been running – we’ve had some bad winters and bad summers. But I’ve never known a January this cold and wet.

There had better be a decent spring coming…

March 5th – Chasewater was a blessed relief, but a mud bath. The North Heath was so wet, I was surprised to see the red deer browsing it over by the railway, seemingly unconcerned that they must have been paddling in the water.

There was a well-dispersed herd of maybe 14 adults, peaceful and in good health. It’s been a while since our paths crossed, so it was a nice reward to see them on such a grim, unpleasant afternoon.

I noted with some amusement that there’s a deer run developing around the fence by the Nine-Foot Pool – I wonder if they’re using the canal bridge on the far side to avoid the toll road?