Tag: towpath

February 7th – On my return, I cycled back down the canal into Brownhills. My favourite tree near Home Farm at Sandhills is handsome even when bare, and it doesn’t seem long now until I see it in leaf once more – but there seems to be a lot of bad weather to go through yet before those warm, sunny spring days return.

On the towpaths, the mud has to be seen to be believed, and at Anchor Bridge in particular, the rotting leaf litter her has made a slimy, hazardous goop which is hard and unpleasant to ride through – until things dry out a bit, take care!

February 2nd – I had to leave work and pop to Walsall mid morning, so I hopped on the canal. Passing through James Bridge, I noticed a works compound had been set up, and butties and a utility boat were blocking the canal under the old IMI bridge. From the contents of the compound, it seems a particularly daft folly is about to commence: the tearing up and resurfacing of one of the best canal towpaths in Walsall.

The stretch from here to Walsall is being relaid by the Canal & River Trust, apparently as a cycle route, for reasons I’ve been unable to discern; but one thing I’ll guarantee is the person who decided it was needed was not a cyclist.

The towpaths here are wide, smooth and well made, in contrast to those from Aldridge to Rushall Junction, which are unusable in winter, or those through Pelsall to Goscote. The money spend here will be an unneeded waste.

Breathtaking folly.

January 4th – A wet commute both ways; not full on rain, but periodic drizzle. It was a clingy, cold kind of wet that soaked you without actually doing much.

Fed up of the traffic on the way home, I hopped on to the canal at Walsall Wood – a real mistake. Everything is saturated, and the mud and puddles are endless.

December 15th – I spotted these odd remnants of toadstools on a damp grass verge near the canal at Walsall. I can’t recognise the original fungus, and they seem to  be decaying in an almost skeletal manner. I’m fascinated by the way they seem to be reducing to the structure of their gills.

Fungi are endlessly captivating.

November 25th – Spotted on a damp Darlaston canal towpath just after daybreak, this tiny toadstool. It was alone, and looked almost pristine – I have no idea what it is and would appreciate suggestions. Key is the dimple on top of the cap; this is a delicate and tiny orange-brown fungi yet was outstanding enough to catch my eye as I passed at speed, so I felt it deserved recording for posterity.

November 17th – This new Hope R2i light I’m testing is rather good. This is on a middle setting on the canal in total darkness near Aldridge (obviously, no camera flash was used). Battery life seems good, and the optics give a decent beam. I’d say this is better than the R4 I was using last season, but actually has two less led elements.

A real discovery. It’s no lightweight, but it’s a very good light.

September 23rd – And there are other autumnal riches, too. These glistening ink caps are growing on a recently cleared area of towpath on the canal at Clayhanger. 

I love how the damage to the cap reveals the gill structure of the fungus. Another couple of days and these will have decayed to black slime.

Fungi are fascinating.

September 7th – An early escape from work, so I went for an afternoon bimble in the sun. I hadn’t got long, so just up to Chasewater, then up through Burntwood to Farewell, over to Lichfield and back through Wall and Lynn. 

A lovely day with beautiful light. Could this be an Indian summer? I do hope so!