Tag: staffordshire

January 6th – I feel one hell of a lot better. The stomach is settling, my sense of taste has returned and I’ve got itchy feet. I solved the latter problem yesterday by saddling up my favourite bike and heading down the back lanes to Lichfield. It was an experiment – still not eating a huge amount, I kept an eye on the energy and took it easy. I needn’t have worried. It was like a spring day. These lanes are old familiars, yet cycling and fresh air was new to me again. I dawdled. I stopped to look. I enjoyed the feel of the afternoon chill. I went to Lichfield, sat in a cafe, drank good tea and ate toasted tea cakes, then cycled home, including Shire Oak Hill without stopping. I slept well, but it’s a start. 

I feel better.

December 23rd – Quite simply horrible. One of the nastiest days of bad weather for a good while, and on a day when I had stuff to do. Taking a shortcut over Chasewater, the driving rain, wind and air of desertion made for a very black mood, which worsened somewhat later in the day when I dropped, and fatally wounded my trusty Panasonic camera. A duff day all round, but at least on the positive side, Jeffrey’s Swag and Chasewater seem to be filling a little. Heres to better times, and a more careful grip on the camera.

November 20th – I’m currently trying out the upgraded version of my bike cam – the GoPro HD Hero 2. One of it’s claims is to be better in low light, and I can vouch for that. This video would have been impossible with the original model, it simply wasn’t sensitive enough. This is a ride from the Top of Rookery Hill, on Rookery Lane in Hints, down to the ford at the bottom in pitch darkness. From here, there’s a section over the A38 pedestrian footbridge at Weeford, and section crossing the Birmingham Road at Shenstone, before crossing the churchyard at the top of St. John’s Hill. The light is a hope R4 on medium brightness – my usual light and setting of choice. On the downhill run, I’m hitting 25-30mph. 

November 19th – A grim day, really. A pleasant but chilly 50 miler around Weeford, Whittington, Harlaston, Lullington and Coton-in-the-Elms, but the mist never lifted once. I also, for the second time in a week, forgot my trusty little camera, so had to really on a phone for photographic support. The day really was this grey, but Staffordshire was a gorgeous as ever; large houses at Shenstone and Thickbroom, near Little Hay always enthral for their wonderful architecture, and the view over John Wyatt’s model village of Weeford from the elevated cemetery always enthrals, however grim the conditions.

November 17th – I had hoped to break the chain of night photos today, but it wasn’t to be. The daytime was grey and distinctly unphotogenic, and coming back from Rugeley in the dark at 6pm, passing through Chorley, near Burntwood, I took this. The Nelson isn’t a pub I’ve frequented much, but in winter, or when returning from a long ride at night, the lights of this welcoming, handsome inn tell me that I’m nearly home. 

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 23rd – Also on my haphazard itinerary today was Tixall. I adore Tixall, and not many folk seem to know it, existing as it does in the shadow of Shugboriugh Hall and it’s large estate. There were other noble families in these parts other than the earls of Lichfield, and the Aston family built Tixall Hall, gatehouse, church and stables. The hall has long been lost, but the gatehouse – now rented as a holiday let – is a splendid architectural wonder. It’s prominent towers are replicated further up the road to Great Haywood in a tiny lodge-house, the purpose of which I’ve always wondered. The stables have been converted into luxury homes, but the air of noble history parades the village and it’s odd little follies.

October 11th – I’ve been watching this tree change colour for  a couple of weeks. It stands in the pasture near Little Aston Forge, on the bank of the Black Brook, and has gradually turned the most dramatic shade of yellow. I think it’s some species of ash, but haven’t got close enough to look. On this dark, dismal evening with dusk falling, it was a cheery sight as I cycled home against the wind.

October 4th – Nice to see as I winched myself up Pipe Hill, that the milepost that stood by the site of the long-gone Royal Oak pub has been moved and restored. I love Staffordshire mileposts – this one, marking the parish boundary as well as distance – had been hidden in the undergrowth a short distance away for quite some time. I’m glad that Staffordshire County Council seem to appreciate the historical value of these marker monuments and are actively maintaining not just this one, but posts across the county. A real link with the past.

October 3rd – a few months ago, this was a field of fluorescent yellow oilseed rape bloom – then a field of drying seedpods and vegetation. It was left for a week as stubble, then ploughed, tilled and planted. This field at Stonnall, just off Mill Lane, is now bursting with regimented lines of clean, green shoots. I have no idea what the crop is, probably winter barley or wheat, but the clean, bright green reminds me that even in autumn, the factory floor of the countryside is still in production. No time to waste. I look forward to watching this crop grow.