pylons – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Kind of blue

January 30th – I came back to Shenstone to a glass hard dusk: It was well past 5pm and the light hadn’t yet drained away leaving the sky to the west a beautiful deep blue.

It’s so good to see the lengthening day – soon sunset will be well past 5pm – and this means I’ll be entering the season of the commute sunset, which I always enjoy.

It the mean time, Shenstone again reminded me of what a wonderful place it is to come back to.

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March 8th – And returning down Lynn Lane, a pretty good sunset, too.

Hard to imagine this time last week we were enduring temperatures of -6 and lower. I’ll never get bored of the British weather.

February 11th – Near Middleton and Drayton Basset, a Western Power Distribution survey helicopter was inspecting electricity lines. I’ve never seen this before, and feeling the draft from the rotors, watching the careful manoeuvres and skill of the pilot were fascinating.

How they never clipped the cables I’ll never know – but these crews must be top notch.

A real wonder on an otherwise quiet Sunday in rural Warwickshre…

October 26th – The gorgeous and remarkable sunsets also continue. Again, coincidentally passing near Shenstone, I caught an astoundingly dramatic mackerel sky sunset that lasted all of 15 minutes before it disappeared.

As I left Shenstone station, there were hints in the sky to the west, and as I cycled home, I watched the shy intensify until it almost seemed to catch fire.

Then, by the time I got to Stonewall, all trace had disappeared from the sky and dusk was falling.

And yes, I do love the drama and geometry of pylons, and what better backdrop than a stunning sunset?

February 3rd – Cycling home from Shenstone the sunset was beautiful. Looking over the fields towards Stonnall and Little Aston I loved the drama and march of the pylons against the sky. Five to the mile, to me they’re beautiful and a wonderfully minimalist design. Today, they hummed and crackled in the frosty air. Electricity is the closest thing to magic humans possess. I’m transfixed by it.

June 15th – I’ve still yet to catch the linesmen in action, but work to install the new overhead lines over Mill Green continues apace. I’m not clear here if the cables in this shot are being pulled through to the ground drum or the other way around. Up near the pylon hanger, there seems to be the remnants of something attached to the lines, which is possibly the scars of a pair of Stockbridge dampers, so I think these are old lines being wound to the ground. This work continues to captivate me.

May 29th – I wondered how they replaced high-voltage lines with minimal disruption, one look at the pylons near Stockfields, between Hints and Canwell, answered my question.

I pointed out a couple of weeks ago that this transmission line was undergoing maintenance, and I noted today that there are now pulleys fitted under the insulators on the cable hangers. Presumably, the old line will be attached to the new and pulled through by a power winch. Slow, but steady. I’d love to see that in action.