December 18th – While I was stuffing my face at Middleton Hall, something remarkable was happening in the sky to the west beyond the hall: a most remarkable sunset.
I watched it grow deeper and deeper over the hall lake, and then up the hill towards Wishaw. Beautiful blend of azure sky and pink-lit clouds, it was the kind of sunset that doesn’t happen too often.
So glad I was in a good place to catch this.
December 7th – I had to go to Tipton late in the afternoon, and as I travelled through Moxley I spotted a familiar sight in the gathering dusk that was looking particularly splendid.
I know the urban landscape isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I do think it’s rather beautiful.
November 27th – I passed through Lichfield at sunset, and later, into Brownhills West from Chasewater where I checked out a new twist on an old muse.
Lichfield was beautiful but busy, so I grabbed a few shots at Stowe and Minster Pools before heading home through Hammerwich and Chasewater. At Chasewater, I was interested to see how the recent change from sodium lamps to white LED on the M6 Toll had affected the curoious portal effect on the footbridge which has so fascinated me before.
It’s still a very otherworldly effect. This pleases me.
November 26th – A day spent shopping, eating and having fun in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, two lovely places, left me exhausted. But oh, the architecture! Tewkesbury has lost none of it’s charm, and the abbey really is a fine thing indeed, much better than many cathedrals in my opinion.
But the skylines? They belong to Cheltenham. I shot the chimneys, before they went up in smoke.
November 2nd – I was lucky to pass through Darlaston tonight as the sun set, and the view over the landscape – today, a genuinely black Black Country – was beautiful; once, this view would have been marked by chimneys, stacks and furnaces; this evening, house lights, clear air and the glow of sodium discharge made the urban sprawl look like glowing embers of a fire that caught the clouds alight.
Watching on, like a sentry, the cellphone tower; constant, contracted, monitoring, trading it’s hundreds of concurrent conversations with the ether.
And there I stood, camera in hand, caught for a moment in ideas of technological progress and the beauty of the place I love.
October 26th – The gorgeous and remarkable sunsets also continue. Again, coincidentally passing near Shenstone, I caught an astoundingly dramatic mackerel sky sunset that lasted all of 15 minutes before it disappeared.
As I left Shenstone station, there were hints in the sky to the west, and as I cycled home, I watched the shy intensify until it almost seemed to catch fire.
Then, by the time I got to Stonewall, all trace had disappeared from the sky and dusk was falling.
And yes, I do love the drama and geometry of pylons, and what better backdrop than a stunning sunset?
October 23rd – For the final light Sunday evening of 2016, I went up to Packington Moor and up the greenway called Knox’s Grave Lane, across Common Barn, then through the deciduous woodland of Hopwas Hays. It was chilly, but the sun was bright, mellow and warming and autumn was beautiful The leaves are really turning now, and the the recently relaid tracks of the woodland were nice to ride.
The sunset, too, was excellent, although sad that it came little after six, with this the first sunset before 6pm of the autumn. Sadly, with the end of BST, next week it will be before five…
A great ride, with the best of Autumn on show. If you can get to Hopwas in the next week or so, do so. Its beautiful.
October 17th – I made it back to Brownhills in a glorious sunset golden hour, and as I passed the overflow at Clayhanger, I noticed a grey wagtail skitting about. I love these gorgeous, busy, bobbing little birds, and this one was having a ball hunting late bugs.
The skies were beautiful too. A wonderful evening.
October 11th – Crossing the Shire Oak Junction and heading down to Brownhills at dusk is a sadder experience of late.
The Shire Oak Pub – recently refurbished at no little cost – closed some weeks ago following poor public reception and has yet, despite assurances of people who apparently knew what was going on, to reopen, and stands in total darkness.
The lights of this landmark used to shine out in the darkness and often be like a welcome as I crested the last hill into Brownhills form a day at work, or long ride out. Not any more.
Let’s hope it reopens soon. It could be a great house.
October 7th – The Autumn isn’t bad at all, although the cold is starting to creep in now. It was a gorgeous golden hour on the canal as I came home past Clayhanger Bridge.
The trees haven’t yet began to turn but the sun, on days like these, turns the ageing greens golden every evening.
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