Tag: wall

July 13th – As Summer’s clock mechanism whirs away, inexorably ticking the days away until autumn, little markers fall in place like the escapement of a precision mechanism. Flowers bloom and fade, trees blossom and fruit, animals breed and fledge. Today’s marker is this very nearly ripe field of wheat at Harehurst Hill, between Wall and Lichfield. Almost overnight it has transformed from a fresh green to a warm gold. Soon, it will be harvested, another marker in time’s passage.

June 28th – Taking a shortcut through Wall to the A5… a little-known byway called Back Lane runs from Wall Lane to Market lane. Normally clear, an irrigation pipe now crosses it barring normal traffic. It’s now beautifully overgrown with grass nearly 3 feet high. On my right is a field of broad beans. On Market Lane, I gently pass the parked car blocking the top of Roman Walk and into Wall Butts. A lovely summer run on a fully loaded bike that rolls downhill well….

The soundtrack is the beautiful ‘Letter to Bowie Knife’ by Calexico.

June 28th – In stark contrast to the busy main lines of Leicester, the South Staffordshire line near Lichfield lies silent, mothballed, and slowly decaying. The last trains to trip this forlorn crossing at Fosseway, near Wall, would have been oil trains to the the long since gone Charringtons terminal at Anglesey Sidings. I wonder if these barriers will ever descend for passenger traffic again? A sad indication of the lack of transport vision in the country.

June 18th – Village cricket is so much more thrilling than the professional game, there’s so much more at stake. Here at Wall, near Lichfield, sporting chaps in their whites were not deterred by the rain showers and battled for honour in the overcast afternoon, no doubt looking forward to a pint at the local afterwards. 

In a coincidental nod to Roy Harper, notice the dog in the outfield…

April 25th – Chesterfield Lodge, a handsome, victorian house just round the corner from Chesterfield itself, in Raikes Lane – is an intriguing place. Now a secluded, tree-shrouded oasis of calm complete with large lake and tennis court, it was once a workhouse. I’ve not been able to find out much about it, but it just goes to show that many buildings have intriguing histories that we may be unaware of…

April 25th – Chesterfield is a lovely little hamlet, just south of the A5 between Wall and Shentone. Standing on the junction of Ashcroft and Raikes lanes, it’s a small, rural idyll where cows still hold up traffic and fascinating houses from several periods give the place an air of permanence and tranquility.

If I have time on my hands, I always take this route back from Lichfield. It’s quiet and beautiful.