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.
October 24th – The start of the leaf-fall timetable on the Cross City line means that for a few weeks in Autumn, I can catch a train from Shentone directly to Redditch. It doesn’t save time, as the service is a lot slower, but it does mean a break from cycling into Four Oaks. As I was piling it in down Lynn Lane this morning, I noticed the sky; the tail-end of the sunrise was as gorgeous as recent sunsets., and was setting off the skyline of Shenstone beautifully. Taking the picture made me late, and I only just caught my train. Worth it for an image like this, though.
October 19th – Returning home, once again battling a keen wind and what seemed like biting cold – although this will seem mild, soon – I noticed lots of new crops growing in the fields between Shenstone and Sandhills. This one was in Lynn. I don’t know what they are – probably winter wheat of some sort – but they’re providing a welcome, verdant distractions from the autumnal yellows and browns. It’ll be interesting to see how they develop and when they’re harvested.
October 18th – against the odds (and it has to be said, against the forecast) the great sunsets continue. Battling a westerly wind on the way home, I’d left the train at Shenstone. Winching myself along Lynn Lane and past Fighting Cocks, the sky grew ever more beautiful. I didn’t mind the wind as long as I had views like this. Magical.
September 19th – I remember when love was nothing more than a handful of sticky conkers. Come to think of it, it hasn’t changed much… It’s programmed into the DNA of every bloke in the UK not to pass a horse chestnut on the ground without picking it up. In Brownhills as a child, the only conker tree worth a light was by the bus stop at the bottom of the parade; come this time of year the poor thing was battered half to death. Little did we know that a couple of miles away in the lanes of Stonnall and Shenstone, the shiny nuts were so plentiful that they were lying thick on the ground. The Brownhills tree has since been lost to disease, but I always wondered if it recognised the kids torturing it. ‘I remember your dad. He was a lousy shot with a stick, too…’
September 19th – Hopping off the train at Shenstone, I took a flyer down St. John’s Hill. This is a remarkable place in autumn, and the trees were just beginning to put on their autumn cloaks. Even in high summer, this place is shady and cool. As a kid, I sheltered from many a summer storm here, against all common sense. This is a gorgeous little corner of Staffordshire.
July 24th – I would expect that if the weather holds, the harvest will begin in earnest soon. Near Shenstone, the rapeseed either side of their path to Footherley is bone dry and very ripe. Full of bugs and animals, pretty soon this field like so many others will be stubble, and then ploughed again. It’s odd to think that all the drama of the vivid yellow flowers, the scent, the visual assault… all for a tiny black seed, laden with oil.
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.
May 18th – After a rainy, hard, grim day, returning home from Shenstone Station into the wind was hard work. The weather had brightened, however, and the sun was coming out. On the way to Footherley, along Hollyhill Lane, this path through a ripening crop of oilseed rape caught my attention. Leading to Footherley itself, the path is well used by walkers and locals alike.
May 17th – Shenstone Pumping Station, one of the earlier examples of the great South Staffordshire Waterworks tradition, is a dark red, victorian edifice, originally designed for a steam pump. Brought into use in 1892, it pumps water to this day from a 131 feet deep, 12 foot diameter well, with a 597 foot heading. The steam pump was retired in 1957, and now a 60 horsepower submersible well pump tops up a 10,000 gallon tank under the pumphouse.
After treatment there, water is pumped by 200 horsepower pumps up to Barr Beacon reservoir for distribution. These pumps can supply 1,500,000 gallons per day, and are backed up by emergency generators.
Shame about the hideous air intake grafted into the front doors.
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