October 16th – It had been a very long final day in a very long week. I was tired, my energy reserves were low and to to put it bluntly, I felt lower than the sea’s knees. I called in to Stonnall on the way home, and as I winched myself up Shire Oak Hill at Sandhills, I looked back at the Friday rush hour traffic rolling up the hill.
Dusk was falling, it was cold and beauty was hard to find.
Some journeys are harder than others, even when homeward bound. I felt every inch of this one.
October 6th – It’s nice to see a local pub coming back from the brink. It had been a hectic day at work, and two horrible, grey commutes. I had to call in on a mate in Stonnall, and as I returned to Brownhills, I noted the scaffold around the now closed Shire Oak.
This historic pub has had a difficult time for the last few years with a succession of landlords, and it desperately needed renovation. It closed for a refit a couple of weeks ago, and has been gutted. Work continues, and I noted the scaffolding was a new addition as I rode home.
It’s good to see this historic, landmark pub get some love – we’ve lost so many, there must surely be a place for this venerable and noted house.
It’s scheduled to reopen on the 20th November. I wish the new landlords well, and look forward to a pub reborn.
September 28th – Nipping from Stonnall over to Walsall Wood on an errand at sundown caught a misty, golden take on one of my favourite views: The Lichfield Road down into Walsall, and on to the Black Country.
Look at the traffic, the skyline. Then take in the sheer number and variety of trees. We may not realise it, but we live in a very green place. Long may it remain so.
August 29th – I nipped down to Stonnall to see a pal and left just as dusk was closing in. As I came over Shire Oak Hill and back into Brownhills, the sky caught fire with a most gorgeous sunset.
Brownhills never looked better.
June 5th – The track around Shire Oak Hill trough Home Farm and Lime Kilns is, sadly, a private road. It would make a great route around the hill for cyclists and the weary wanting to avoid serious hills getting back to Brownhills from Lichfield and the east.
Sadly, it’s not to be and this lovely avenue of trees must only be observed from the Lichfield Road at Sandhills.
In summer and autumn, it’s gorgeous.
May 31st – A wolf of a day again – a heavy wind and wet morning, but bright sunshine in the afternoon made for a short ride and some familiar views to test the Nikon. The zoom is a lot more tricky to get right than the older camera, but it gives way better results, I have to say. Those shots of the Cathedral from Shire Oak and Hammerwich from Newtown are remarkable sharp for the range.
On the whole, the camera seems excellent, and most of my grumbles are with a particularly fiddly user interface, not inconsiderable weight and peculiar autofocus lag.
Oh, and terrible, terrible documentation. But on the other hand, wow!
May 26th – I had cause to visit Walsall Wood on my way home, on a surprisingly busy Tuesday evening. The sun was shining, but it was cold, with a sharp headwind; this May has had much of the wolf about it and I shall be glad to see the back of it and get some calmer, warmer days in.
I love the view up Shire Oak Hill to the northeast; surprisingly green, busting, the rooftops and chimneys, combined with a cheerful urban optimism always makes me feel good.
This isn’t such a bad place.
May 3rd – Another spot that benefited from the sunshine and offered some shelter from the wind was Fishpond Wood, which I’d taken such a poor photo of the previous Friday.
The wood is currently carpeted with delicate, English bluebells and is a magical, captivating place.
I come here every spring; it’s life-affirming and reminds me just why I love this area so much. We may not be on the list of the nation’s tourist must-see places, but we have such beauty in so many unexpected places.
May 1st – Similarly, this poor phone photo of Fishpond Wood in Stonnall barely does the subject justice either – the bluebells there in the wood just off the Chester Road between Stonnall and Shire Oak were divine in the golden hour.
I was kicking myself for forgetting the camera.
April 28th – I returned gingerly, saddlebag laden with Dhansak, poppadoms and naan, up the Lichfield Road from Sandhills. That view across the fields of home Farm at sunset always makes me catch my breath; Ogley Hay, at it’s centre the 1850 parish Church of St James, in a view that’s changed little in a century.
Beautiful.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 