Tag: quiet

#365daysofbiking Hunkered down

 

 

December 31st – I’m so not a fan of New Year’s Eve. The forced jollity, camaraderie and excuse for overindulgence just depresses me, so I tend to sit it out at home, until the madness passes.

Today, I slipped out after dark for a windy, cold spin to Chasewater, which was peaceful but resounding to the call of thousands of unseen, roosting gulls.

The M6 Toll was beautiful in it’s eerie emptiness too.

Happy new year everyone, here’s to a better 2019 and I wish you all the best – and thanks for following along.

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#365daysofbiking Darkly atmospheric

Boxing Day – A late run out just to test a bike build was a great opportunity to catch a slightly misty atmosphere at Chasewater.

The shot off the north end of the dam was pure chance and took loads of attempts to get a usable image; the M6 Toll shots were far easier.

I love the way the LED lights highlight the mist.

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#365daysofbiking Is it Friday yet?

November 21st – What a week, and it’s only Wednesday. 

Another tiring day in Redditch, and it was cold again. Thanksfully there was little wind, but the battle home was real, and took longer than usual I was worn out.

Returning to a dark and ghostly silent Shenstone was as good for the soul as ever though.

Hope this busy period ends soon, I really do.

April 8th – I’ve been trying to get a decent version of this photo for ages. For two winters, in fact. What usually spoils it is traffic on the bridge and ripples on the surface of the canal. At Anchor Bridge tonight though, there were little of either when I flowed along here liquid back into Brownhills High Street – the reflection of the canal wasn’t bad and the Anchor’s lights looked welcoming and warm in the dark.

Sometimes, with some photos, its just a matter of patience.

January 12th – I found myself un Burton Upon Trent for a meeting – I’d been in Lichfield for breakfast, Burton Lunch, Derby mid afternoon and Leicester by 5pm. It was a busy, hectic day, but the railways served me well.

I haven’t had a look around the centre of Burton in an absolute age. It’s a very odd place. Some great shops, lovely people, but it seems half asleep, almost somnambulant. They have a sculpture of a Marmite bottle, as the dark goo is made there. I saw lots of odd things.

I like this place. But on this Friday, when I was starting to feel a bit odd with a cold, it felt a bit… strange. 

December 26th – I headed to Chasewater, which was brooding and quiet. 

Quiet that is, apart from the bickering, squabbling flock of waterfowl of every shape and size gathering around the boardwalk balcony as someone fed them seed.

The water boiled with desperate pecks and defensive wing flaps. There were fights, squabbles, pecked heads and nipped tails.

We all love these lakeside clowns. But man alive, they have no manners…

December 22nd – I’d had a day Christmas shopping in Buxton by train, and came home hungry. Feeling the takeaway urge, I headed out for fresh air to stretch my muscles and bag a decent curry.

Where else do you go to recharge late on a quiet, dark Friday night in Brownhills?

I guess the wind blew me this way. The canal was still, the boats peaceful, with just a hint of woodsmoke.

I love how this town can be so unexpectedly beautiful.

September 14th – Further on, still nestling in green, the countryside of Stonnall is beautiful. The harvest is largely over, with just maize and potatoes left in the fields, and the machinery one now sees in the lanes is for ploughing, harrowing and seeding. Near Stonnall itself, the oilseed rape fields are already growing a new crop.

And so, the seasonal wheel turns. As the cold, darkness and winter come on, these fields will slumber until reawakening in spring. It’s all part of the cycle, and the cycle is round.

It’s not been a bad summer. Just wish it had been longer…

April 28th – On my return, I needed fresh air so shot out around the canal and common at dusk.

It was one of those evenings when the sky was a sort of luminous blue, and it was really quite still.

I love how eerie the canal and particularly the old cement works bridge at the Slough is at this time of day. Just the tonic after a very hectic day.

February 17th – I came through Kings Hill Park again around mid-day – and this time, crested the ‘hill’ itself, which is a beautiful, peaceful oasis that would have commanding vies of the area were it not surrounded by lovely, mature trees – which is a bit of a dilemma, really.

I noticed here the bench in memory of Jake Wilkes, sadly lost in 2008, and clearly still well loved and tended, and also the first miniature daffodils of the year, which grow in abundance down beside the old chapel. 

A lovely spot that’s just right for a contemplative 10 minutes away from the hassle of work.