Tag: staffordshire

October 2nd – I spun out to Hoar Cross, one of my favourite autumn rides. The church here – next to the hall, but otherwise detached from the village by a mile or more and a very large hill – was built as a memorial. 

Built at the behest of the Late Lady Emily Charlotte Meynell-Ingram, the Church of the Holy Angels is a loving and devotional memorial to her late husband, killed while hunting. It stands high above the village overlooking the Needwood Valley, adjacent to Hoar Cross Hall, and it is said that one of the carved angels looking down from the beautifully decorated stonework is carved in the likeness of the unfortunate hunter. This church and grounds are a hidden gem and deserve a greater appreciation.

October 1st – We’re in the season of great sunsets. These, taken from around the Handsacre area, feature my favourite obsession – Rugeley Power Station. I love a good sunset, and they’re taken by putting the camera on timer release and standing it on gateposts and bridge rails. Plenty more in the coming weeks, hopefully.

September 30th – hot and bothered from a day in the crowds of Birmingham, I escaped in the early evening and took a spin over Castlehill. Ducking through a hedge at the summit into a field of carrots, the view of South Staffordshire was hazy, autumnal and gorgeous. You can knock our area in all manner of ways, but be honest, this is a cracking view over a rolling, historic, beautifully rural landscape. What’s not to love? Open your eyes, folks…

September 24th – Up on Cannock Chase, I decided to pay a visit to Brocton Field. I hadn’t been here for eighteen months or so. The monuments here – the ornamental and functional – are a desolate as ever. The triangulation pillar here is one of the last three to survive on Cannock Chase, the one at Castle Ring long since removed. I’m not sure what the stone memorial is. Coming down into Brocton, a small group of fallow deer were in the trees to the west, but sadly, the photos of those didn’t come out to well.

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.

September 11th – there was a very strong wind as I cycled around South Staffordshire late in the afternoon. The horse chestnut trees in the centre of Hammerwich village had been subject to attack by the leaf miner parasite, and the leaves were turning colour early and being stripped by the stiff wind. Everywhere I went there were reminders of the season – the scent of coal smoke, the scent of fresh ploughed earth, the crunch of beech mast under my wheels. Despite the expansion of recent years, Hammerwich still retains a lovely village atmosphere.

August 29th – The ford at Hints, where the Black Brook crosses Rookery Lane is highly seasonal and is currently dry as bone. In dry weather,the brook ru s in a series of culverts around the site of the former mill and forge, remnants of which can still be seen from the beautiful pedestrian footbridge nearby. As I stood on this bridge, a Kingfisher flew under the arch. Far too fast for me to catch on camera, the cobalt blue flash is still a heart stopper.

July 28th – returning from shopping in Lichfield, I drifted back through Chesterfield. This charming, old hamlet sits just south of Wall, on the other side of the A5/M6 Toll. The architecture here is stunning – this massive farmhouse is remarkable. Imposing and solid in that way that only Staffordshire farmhouses can be, I’ve been fascinated by it’s gables and complex rooflines for years. A handsome building.

July 3rd – Later in the afternoon, I cycled along the track next to the canal from Tamhorn to Hademore. Crossing the brow of the hill, a patch of set-aside land had been sown with an assortment of wildflowers. An absolute riot of blues, reds, purples and yellows all mixed with whites. In many ways this was far more impressive than the manicured gardens of Footherley Hall.

July 3rd – The fete was in full swing when I rolled past at 2pm. I decided to take a look – organised by and held in the grounds of the Sisters Hospitalers ladies nursing home near Shenstone, the Footherley summer fete is a typically English concern. The nuns of the home mingle with residents, families and villagers. The grounds of the former hall are gorgeous and beautifully manicured.