March 20th – More sunsets. Sorry, it’s just how it is right now. I tend to be out on my bike at sundown. The canal looked gorgeous and I loved the reflections. The rooftops, chimneys and TV aerials of Clifton Avenue, just off the Pelsall Rood looked good, too.
I guess the repetitive sunset thing will be solved come Sunday and the return of British Summer Time…
March 19th – Back to work, and off to Telford. It was a gorgeous, bright but frosty morning. My chosen station of departure, Shenstone, looked as beautifully rural as ever. Despite having nor real facilities and problematic accessibility – only steps on the northbound side – it remains one of my favourite local stations. It’s usually quite easy to get your bike on the southbound train here, too, A real joy to travel from.
January 25th – returning late from work, I headed for a change, up through Pleck and over Church Hill. I stopped on the railway bridge on the Wednesbury Road. Although the metal footbridge was shaking well in the wind, I managed to get this pretty decent picture by standing the camera on the top of the guard rail. I love railway views at night. Luckily the wind was behind me, and I was soon home.
December 11th – Shenstone is a great little village at any time, but at night it is particularly remarkable, and at this time of year, somehow festive. I love the lights of the village, and how they highlight it’s mixed bag of architecture. These are two starkly different pubs – The Fox and Hounds, with it’s cosy, snug bar, and the more expansive Railway, with it’s high ceilings and airy atmosphere. The railway is particularly interesting, as during it’s life parts of it have been a chapel and a butchers. An interesting place.
November 28th – A day in Leicester again, so I shot down to Lichfield Trent Valley before dawn. Dawn itself came just before Nuneaton, where I change trains. From the platform, the railway and it’s peculiarly universal vanishing points made for in interesting view in the golden morning sunlight. Sometimes, the oddest things can be precious.
November 14th – Lichfield Trent Valley railway station at night appears even more grim than it does in the day. The harsh lighting, surprisingly dark corners and hard, human-unfreindly surfaces make it oddly photogenic. I hate this station with a passion, and curse every time I carry my bike over that footbridge, but the metalwork and gas discharge lighting hold my attention at night. Dystopia or beauty? I can’t decide.
November 3rd – Another early start, and a deserted Shenstone station at 6:15am. I was lucky today; the forecast was for heavy rain, but it had passed when I hit the road. It was also unseasonably warm. Approaching the station from Lynn Lane, I surveyed the platforms from the over bridge, as I often do. I love this station. It’s like a little period piece. Even at 6:15am on a dark, wet November morning.
October 26th – Shenstone Station, 6:15am. Dark. Cold. Empty. Beautiful. I love this little, semi-rural station. It has few facilities; the ticket office is rarely open, and the wind whistles through here in the winter. There is, however, a gorgeously old-railway feel to the station, traditional benches and canopy. I’ve been starting journeys here for the past thirty five years, and I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather do so.
May 24th – Waiting for a train. I like Shenstone Station, and for long commutes, it’s a nice place to pick up the train to Birmingham, often overlooked by those in Brownhills and the surrounding area. Trains stop here every half hour, generally, and although the facilities aren’t great, it’s a lovely spot, and only 15 minutes away by bike, with a 30 minute journey to Brum.
April 29th – A return along the canal prompted me to photograph this fine piece of history. One of only two listed structures in Brownhills, it used to carry the South Staffordshire Railway over the Wyrley and Essington Canal. It’s now slowly decaying, with large holes in the bridge deck and the metalwork corroding steadily.
Sadly, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for this unloved bridge. It’s a shame, because I think it’s a fine example of victorian utilitarian architecture – simple blue brick, lightly decorated, totally functional.
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