Tag: quarry

#365daysofbiking Any reasonable route

May 25th – A 93 mile dayride that was very, very challenging.

It was a nice day – not too hot, but sunny enough to get a tan, and I set out mid morning, to follow cycle route 54 to Derby – from there on route 6 to Worthington and Cloud Quarry, then back via Packington, Measham, Harlaston and Whittington.

The day was lovely and the ride excellent, with plenty to see: NCN 54 has some very pointless twiddly bits, but I did them all for old times sake and enjoyed every inch. Sad to see the development at Tattenhill, but time must crawl I guess. Falling in love with Derby again was a bonus.

NCN 6 is still one of my favourites: The run out of Derby then past Melbourne is one of the best routes in the country and a genuine joy. My only criticism is it’s time to cut the vegetation back from the viewing area at the quarry again – that stunning view should be maintained if possible.

The challenge was I’ve only ever ridden this in the opposite direction, and all the hills came at the end, and on top of some grim stomach cramps. But I prevailed and it was fantastic.

A lovely day.

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#365daysofbiking Making a deposit

August 29th – I travelled home through Aldridge early in the afternoon after visiting the bank, and I had stuff to wait in for. On the way past the brickworks at Stubbers Green, just where the marlpit fence runs near the towpath, I noticed this curious instrument.

It’s a temporary placement, for gathering data about but deposition from the quarry and brickworks. It’s called – I kid you not – A frisbee deposition gauge, and it collects dust from the air and rain, which it collects in the vessel at the bottom of the tripod. There’s thin crosswires to stop birds landing on it, and a course foam pad to stop large debris like litter and leaves clogging it up.

Several of these instruments appear to be positioned around the site, presumably to test compliance with relevant pollution law.

It’s a fascinating area of environmental science and engineering and interesting to see it in use locally.

July 14th – Another long ride in the afternoon up to the Cloud Trail past Cloud Quarry and into Derby City Centre. The route was pretty much the same as the week before, but more relaxed. It was a gorgeous day, and it was interesting to see the blasting progress in the quarry from the week before – and also, the bees pollinating teasels clinging the to the cliff edge near the viewpoint.

Derby remains a beautiful city with much history – but I also enjoyed the canal at Stretton, which in the still evening with darkness coming on was serene and beautiful.

Another great ride in a continuing, brilliant summer.

July 7th – Taking advantage of the quiet roads following England’s victory over Sweden in the World Cup, a lift was bagged to near Measham and an unintentional 87 mile fast paced ride up the Cloud Trail to Derby, then back out through Mackworth and the Needwood Valley, finishing long after dark, ensued.

I explored the trail over Sinfin Moor too where I’d never been before, which really was a nice ride.

Not really any time to take too many pictures, but Cloud Quarry’s view from the trail is still jaw dropping, and it’s fascinating to see one end of this immense quarry being filled while basting continues to remove limestone at the other. 

The river crossing is always a delight, and the tiny chapel/church at Church Town is a real gem.

I was intrigued by the crop growing near derby – is that oats? Seems like it but they seem a bit – fulsome for that. You don’t see oats about much is Staffordshire come to think of it. Suggestions gratefully received.

A great ride on a hot, quiet Saturday afternoon.

May 1st – A couple of unusual cats noticed while visiting Middleton Hall and returning via the canal and Tamworth. The black and white puss nervously observed me from the scrub as I crossed the old quarry. Miles from anywhere, I couldn’t help wondering if he was feral. Certainly not into people, but it looked in good condition, maybe the side effect of living in a bird sanctuary…

The other cat looked genuinely like it might steal my soul. Clearly a pedigree with huge ears and a remarkable coat, it was eating scraps left out for it on a canalside patio. It seemed more fox than cat, to be honest.

I guess it’s momma loves it, but I found it quite haunting.

March 12th – I felt awful. Really bad, as if I had the mother and father of hangovers. I’d not had alcohol, and it could have been an MSG thing, but I was dehydrated and groggy. But I had to go out.

I called in at Shire Oak Park to check the frog pools to see if they’d mated there yet – if caught at the right time, that place is like toad soup but today, it was devoid of amphibia – but a heathy patch of spawn in each attested to the frog’s presence at some point.

I was interested in the difference in the frogspawn. I know that frogs produce globular ‘clumps’, and toads ribbons, but the frogspawn seemed to vary from the huge ones in my hand to tiny eggs the size of a small blackcurrant. I wonder why that is? Age and health of the female? Different types of frog?

Never noticed the variety in this stuff before.

September 2nd – Pleased to see the vegetation has been cut back, restoring the fascinating view of Cloud Quarry from the Cloud Trail, near Worthingdon on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.

It seems like a well run quarry, mining limestone for a variety of industry. Everywhere you look machines are busy moving, breaking or grading stone, and some of the driving on the shelves and roads is very impressive.

I could watch this for hours.

March 28th – On my return, I popped through a very boggy Shire Oak Park to see if the frogs were busy mating here yet – sadly no evidence of that (although they may have been and gone, the spawn here tends to get eaten by foxed and corvids pretty quickly) but spring is here with green shoots, bright yellow gorse and a lovely, warming atmosphere.

This really is a gem of a place and so little known. Visit if you can, it’s well worth the time.

March 28th – It was a hectic, stressed day and I didn’t get much time to myself; but I swung out in the afternoon to nip into Stonnall. On the way I stopped to take a classic view – that of Lichfield from the quarry access road at Shire Oak.

It still stuns me that you can see so far from here on a clear day, and the detail with which once can capture the Old Lady of the Vale.

Note the cooling towers on the horizon are Willington, between Burton and Derby, and are in fact derelict.

June19th – I must admit, I’m fascinated by the landfill at Highfields South, between Walsall Wood and Shelfield on the Lichfield Road. It looks and seems haphazard, but is being operated in an engineered manner. At the moment, the eastern side of the void is filled, now to about 6-8 metres above ground level with a marl cap on top. Gas bulkheads sit atop harvesting tubes inserted deep into the mound. As the pile sinks under it’s own weight and that of the cap, it evolves gas, which is harvested and powers a generating set, feeding energy into the National Grid.

Meanwhile, to the west of the void, the hole is being prepared for the next stack of waste. Systematic. Methodical.

The void existed due to marl quarrying for bricks, and the landscape is favourable for this type of thing. It may not be pleasant, and we should reduce our waste as a society, but the process is very interesting.