June 12th – The macro on the Sony doesn’t seem as good as the Nikon, but again, the light was horrid. I have a sneaking suspicion I’m not being fair here. Time will tell, I guess.
The small clump of huge poppies was a surprise near the marl quarry at Stubbers Green, as was the first foxglove of the year beyond the wire not far away.
Come on summer, it doesn’t have to be like this…
I passed by the entrance to Shire Oak Quarry in the early evening. The air was clear and I thought I’d try the new camera out on the view of Lichfield Cathedral from up there.
Not too shabby. Lichfield, St. Marys, the Argos warehouse at Barton Turn, the Bass (Coors) brewery at Burton, Pirelli and beyond the hill at Bretby, the disused cooling towers of Willington power station.
I’ll never tire of this view.
March 22nd – I’m a big fan of Middleton Lakes, the former quarry and gravel pit complex handed to the RSPB. Situated on the Tame near Kingsbury, these mixed habitat wetlands and lakes are a haven for birds of all varieties, and are now attracting bird spotters from across the country.
I remember this in the late 2000s and before, when it was an active site, with conveyors and huge machines operating; now it’s a peaceful haven. In the last couple of years though, work has been carried out installing flood defences in the form of walls and an earth dyke, which stop the Tame flowing into the adjacent canal. The work has been sensitive and well executed.
I noticed today, however, the site was a good bit more manicured than formerly; there are gravel paths snaking over the site, and the odd portacabin. What had once been almost wild seems to be being reigned back in, and I think Middleton Lakes are in danger of becoming over-managed, with little distinction between them, and Kingsbury Water Park adjacent.
This is a great place; I hope it isn’t spoiled.
January 23rd – on a grey, murky afternoon I cycled down the canal from Aldridge. I’d headed for the canal as I often do to escape the traffic, which seemed overly aggressive as I’d hit it during the school run.
Passing the Weinerburger Brick marl pit at Stubbers Green, I took a look into the void through the fence. It doesn’t get deeper, but it grows steadily, by gradual removal, dumper after dumper of red marl heading to the moulds and then the kilns.
That’s a lot of bricks come out of there. And what a huge scar on the landscape. But the one ever-present thing here – the familiar, warm smell of bricks being fired – is, like Burntwood’s permanent smell of vinegar – one of the ways I know I’m near home.
January 11th – From the landfill entrance road just near the top of Shire Oak Hill, a zoom to lLichfield at dusk, showing more than just the three spires it’s famous for.
A remarkably lucky shot.
August 30th – I don’t go to Shire Oak Park nearly enough. This Local Nature Reserve, which was once a sand and gravel quarry exploiting the bunter sandstone ridge on the crest of Shire Oak Hill, is a wonderful and rare place. It’s teaming with wildlife, from rabbits to amphibians, mustelids to owls. In this sandy, sheltered enclave, deciduous trees like oaks and birch (and even the odd maple) are thriving, and the outside world seems a long way away.
The reserve is maintained by Walsall Council and on this dull Saturday afternoon, it struck me how clean and litter free the place was. Like all such spots, there’s occasional nuisance from ASB and the odd idiot, but this is a lovely, little known place.
The heather in bloom is gorgeous here, but as with everywhere else, the oaks have had a bad year, with leaf miners and a lack of acorns startlingly evident. Also, I was puzzled by the white appearance of the unrecognised shrub I spotted by the main steps. Can anyone help? Is this disease, pest or normal?
June 23rd – Been meaning to point this out for a while. On the Chester Road at Stonnall, there’s a set of abandoned steel gates to the old lower quarry that operated here for a while, a few decades ago. Both the gates, and the land they provide access to have been overgrown for years – but recently, someone has cleared the area of scrub, and the tyre tracks of heavy machinery can be seen.
Can’t find a planning application anywhere, and I’m interested to see what becomes of this…
May 23rd – A horrid day. Rainy, wet, and the warm summer air seems to have left us for a while. I slipped out in the evening to Mill Green to run an errand, and coming over Shire Oak, stopped at the quarry gates to capture my familiar muse in the murk.
A horrid, headache grey day. I didn’t feel great, either. Summer, come back soon, please…
March 16th – For what was once an old sand and gravel quarry that’s had minimal post-industrial landscaping, Shire Oak Park is a beautiful place, Down by the frog pool at the north hollow, in the golden hour reflected of the very red, red sand soil was gorgeous. It is of course, sandy here – and the stratified sandstone reveals the geology beautifully, but there is also greenery and wildlife. Not just the frogs croaking in the pool, but birds calling and foxes stalking in the scrub. The whole place feels beautifully secluded, and is complex enough to explore and get lost in for a while.
Shire Oak Park is not just a hidden gem of Brownhills, but of the Midlands in general.
February 28th – On Monday, I took some photos of the Weinerberger brickworks marlpit near Stubbers Green. At the time, extraction wasn’t in progress, but as I passed this afternoon, far below me in the quarry, the red marl was being loaded into a continuous chain of trucks to be hauled to surface factory for moulding into bricks. Digging will continue for hours in a precise, designed pattern. The marl is surprisingly dry, and there is still lots here. This extraction will continue for some time to come yet.
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