Tag: Shooting Butts

October 15th – Sometimes, all you want to do is tear up the trails and get rid of the pressures of the previous days, and on a borrowed 29er, that’s exactly what I did.

It’s amazing how, late on a Sunday afternoon with dusk encroaching, the Chase is deserted, as if most of the bikers, dog walkers and explorers are only fair-weather friends. But this period – with empty trails, beautiful subdued colour and a wealth of fungi, flora and wildlife, is a magical time.

I crossed Rainbow Hill to Birches Valley, then up Penkridge Bank to Rifle Range Corner, down Abrahams Valley to Seven Springs, back to Stepping Stones, up the Sherbrook Valley and back via Brindley Heath, much of it in peaceful darkness.

Flowing down the trail, hearing owls, dear and startling rabbits and badgers, a fantastic evening ride that was just what I needed to refresh my jaded mind.

December 8th – I really didn’t know what to do with these photos. I spotted the deer in their usual place, but the unusually strong sunset made the images – which were quite long exposure due to poor light – an odd pink colour. I tried fiddling with the colour balance, but that’s not me and I’m not good at that stuff, so I made them black and white. 

There were lots of deer about today; I saw fallows on the Chase at Shooting Butts, Lady Hill and Pepper Slade, but the photography was so very poor. It was also poor at Brownhills Parade, where I passed a large Red Deer stag and his harem in darkness at 5pm, loafing by the roadside.

Watch out for the deer if you’re driving locally. There isn’t a whole bunch of road sense, or any sense at all for that matter, in your average Red Deer…