Tag: reservoir

March 15th – Passing through Pleck on an evening commute at sunset, mashing into the wind. Not a pleasant ride, but stopping to wipe my eyes, I noticed what a lovely effect the light was having on the wonderful row of terraces on the Walsall Road.

Such fine chimneys, and remarkable symmetry. Even the sun over the canal – from what normally could barely be described as good view – was gorgeous.

I love these spring and autumn sunset commutes. Shame Walsall doesn’t have many good places to catch them from.

March 10th – It had been a really grey, overcast, dull day – but briefly and tentatively, as I neared Brownhills the sun came out. Just for a short while. So I headed to Chasewater to catch it, and to check out the water level, which I’d heard was now overflowing as a result of the previous day’s rain.

What I found was life-asserting and beautiful; a mackerel sky over a soft, still reservoir, where the guys from the Wakeboard facility were setting up again for a new season. The swans, rather than being alarmed, seemed to be investigating the activity with interest.

The whole scene was suffused by a soft, slightly misty light. Utterly wonderful.

January 31st – Returning via Chasewater, the wind was building up and conditions were choppy. In many ways, the country park is at it’s best on days like this as you realise just how harsh such a wide open space can be.

I noted that the reservoir is about 150-180mm off full now (6-7 inches). This is interesting, as the reservoir hasn’t overtopped for a couple of years now, and it’ll be interesting to see if it’s allowed to again. One thing is for certain, though: the capacity used up by local brooks and natural drains filling up the reservoir has certainly relieved pressure on the Rivers Tame and Trent, which would have taken the burden had Chasewater overflowed – perhaps this demonstrates the sense of going into winter with a relatively low level.

The valves are currently still close and I watch with interest.

December 13th – Chasewater was grey, foggy and very, very wet when I rode through near dusk. In a curious nether-world at the moment, there isn’t the optimism here of the new year, and with the wakeboard guys all packed up, there’s an out-of-season, end of the pier feel to the place, which I rather like.

Of course, not much was visible today, it was all just shades of grey fading into the lake.

September 19th – Although only constructed in the 1950s, Blithfield Reservoir could have been here forever. I arrived following heavy rains which I thankfully missed, and the atmosphere was damp, slightly misty and suffused with beautiful light.

The reservoir itself was millpond still, and the wildlife as beautiful and fascinating as ever.

June 21st – A pleasant ride out to Blithfield Reservoir on a more settled, but no less windy afternoon. I hadn’t been this way for a couple of years and the villages, hamlets and countryside are beautiful.

Blithfield was created in the 1950s to supply water to Stafford. It’s a lovely haven for birds – an the ice cream van at the north end of the causeway still serves the best cones!

January 24th – A lost day to technical battles with the computer and other silliness. I got out late and shot over to Chasewater in the dark hoping for a decent moonlit night – but it wasn’t to be. All I got was light pollution, but it made for an interesting shot, anyway.

The lake is refilling well now, and I was intrigued to note all the separate swan families and their cygnets now dwelling on the lake had congregated together by the dam bridge. Not sure why.

Safety in numbers, perhaps? But from what?

January 4th – After being worryingly low in late summer, the water level at Chasewater has recovered quickly. With the rain and meltwater over the Christmas period, the balancing culverts are now submerged, and I think we’re about 16 inches (400mm) off full. If water isn’t drawn down, I’d expect water to be overflowing into the spillway by mid February if we have moderate rains.

I still can’t get over how quickly Chasewater refills.

December 30th – I had loads of local stuff to do today, and very little time. Plus, I was having a bad day with everything failing, so I felt it probably wasn’t best to be out in difficult conditions. 

The feeling was compounded by a couple of intemperate drivers who hooted at my very existence.

The sunset was nice though, from Pelsall Road to Chasewater, it was gorgeous through all it’s phases; these are good winter sundowns right now. 

Sadly, the weather is to warm op over the next couple of days, so I think this is probably the last decent one until the weekend. But what a corker.

November 10th – Wakelake, the Wakeline facility installed at Chasewater 18 months ago has been a great success and seems very popular. I love the way it’s rejuvenated the formerly derelict control pier, and the antics of the boarders (way braver than me) make for great photos.

After the dry years, it’s so nice to see people enjoying Chasewater again.