Galleries

April 5th – Spring is in full throw now. The trees are coming into leaf, early rapeseed is flowering and despite the cold wind, the sun was warm on my neck. Trundling back from the Chasewater Transport Show, I noted one of my favourite sights was coming into being – a weeping willow over water. Such a beautiful thing, and a real sign that better days are on the way. Home or Lanes Farm at Sandhills looked gorgeous with its patchwork of rolling fields. People who say Brownhills is ugly really need to get out more. 

April 14th – Didn’t get far today for one reason or another. Slipping out for a quick scoot around town at teatime, I found myself at opposite ends of the modern development history of Brownhills. I noted that in High Street, at the corner of the Ogley Road junction, the second phase of the social housing project started a year ago has begun. Replacing the hated maisonettes that formerly occupied the site, it’s nice to see some housing development happening. We have so much land left vacant by the clearance of bad social housing, yet the pace of replacement is painfully slow. The 75-odd homes this project will create are next to nothing compared to the hundreds lost.
Meanwhile, littered with the detritus of drug use, forlorn and abandoned, the loading bay for what was Brownhills’ first Tesco at the rear of Ravens Court. Tesco have got cold feet on replacing this derelict structure with a new store, leaving the town in limbo. When will we ever learn? 

April 13th – By heck, it was nippy this morning. Not cold by winter standards, of course, but cold by spring ones. There was quite a heavy frost last night, and it made for an interesting mist. The sunrise wasn’t vivid like earlier in the week, but pastel-hued and ever changing. At Stonnall, my muse, Grove Hill, was stunning, as were the pylons and woods at Mill Green. An hour and a half later, on the Arrow Valley cycle route in Redditch, the lake was also captivating, it’s fringes holding a light mist, softening the light that made even the Canada Geese precious.

April 12th – I don’t know much about the Little Holms in Shenstone. This secluded, rather pretty public open space runs from the railway bridge by the Pumphouse along the banks of the Footherley Brook. It’s been there as long as I can remember, and is delightful at any time of year. A great spot for quiet contemplation. It’s also a great place to appreciate the bridge and it’s architecture. 

April 11th – This makes me angry. Very angry indeed. This small bungalow – the lodge to Owletts Hall Farm, in Lynn, on the road between Shenstone and Stonnall, is another long-empty property being left to collapse by its selfish owners. This wrecked, derelict house – like Keepers Cottage and the abandoned terraces in Footherley – could make someone a lovely little home. But for some reason, the owner would rather see the building carried to dust. I’ve known this building to be empty for over thirty years. There ought to be a law against this. 

April 11 – For a few days, I’ll be up before sunlight. Today, I had to go to Redditch, which meant cycling to Four Oaks to get a through train. It was jolly cold this morning at 6AM, and there was a ground frost in the hollows – but what more than made up for it was an absolutely stunning sunrise, viewed from the best place around here to see it – Shire Oak. As I piled it in down the Chester Road, I caught sight of Grove Hill with a fiery red backdrop, and slammed the anchors on, and pulled out the camera. What a start to the day. These images are untouched and exactly as I took them.

The smudge of rising stem on the horizon to the north east is Radcliffe On Soar power station, between Derby and Nottingham.

April 10th – I saw something remarkable today. It’s usual for the red deer hinds to congregate in groups at this time of year, and I’d been missing them at Chasewater. I actually set out to find them there today, and disappointed, headed back down the old railway line towards Engine Lane. it was on the way that i struct gold. in a meadow between the former track and Marklew’s Pond, a herd of about 30 hinds were loafing, unpeturbed by the cyclist guy. I’ve seen large groups before, but rarely this big of a single sex. I found it a bit odd there were no young, though, although one or two of the ladies here seemed to be looking rather rotund. The general condition seemed a little poor, although this could be just the moult. They hung around watching me for about 5 minutes, before being spooked by something, whereupon they moved over toward the pond, before crossing it a disappearing into the scrub. A fine sight, and one I never, ever imagined seeing here as a young man. We are privileged indeed.

April 10th – Didn’t go far today. Had lots to do, so contented myself with a spin round Chasewater and Brownhills Common. I was pleased to note that on this windy, but sunny afternoon, windsurfers had returned to Chasewater. This is momentous. The water level has risen perceptibly over the weekend, which is good, and the activity on the water was heartening. I hope they’re taking care where they drive those cars, though – some of that mud is still very soft…

April 9th – A wet, but warm day with quite a strong southerly wind. I only set out to go round Chasewater, but the riding was good and the weather didn’t seem so bad, so after a hearty lunch at the cafe, I headed up over Shute Hill and Chorley to Farewell, then down through Longdon Green, Hanch, Seedy Mill, Curborough and Lichfield, before returning through Abnalls and Fulfen. I got soaked, but there was hardly anyone around, and the roads were fast and challenging. Poor bank holiday weather by any standards, but I enjoyed the ride anyway.

April 8th – It’s all about the cows, lately. Cattle have been introduced to the heaths at Chasewater for a few years now. They were brought in to manage the heathland – cows hooves churn up the soft earth, and their grazing and cow pats stifle the bracken and more voracious plants , giving the heather and more delicate specimens a chance to grow. The brown an white Chasewater animals – five in total – are supplied by a local farmer, and the young beasts look in fine condition, and don’t seem to mind the public too much. 

Today, I also noticed someone was keeping a small herd of black cows in the field on the common behind the derelict Rising Sun pub. This is a new development, and I haven’t seen cows here for years. Wonder whose they are?