Images

November 5th – inspired by Jodiesnaturewalks, I popped into Goblin Wood in Green Lane, Walsall Wood, to see if I could spot any deer. Sadly, I was out of luck; but this was the first time for ages that I’d visited this copse. I think it must be one of the oldest, and and certainly one of the last remaining oak and holly copses for miles around. There’s a real sense of antiquity here, and the wood is well loved by locals, generations of which have played here as kids. It’s nice to see this wood now enjoys protected status.

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November 4th – feeling smug at having missed most of the rain this week, it finally caught me in Lichfield on Friday evening whilst shopping. In 30 minutes, the city was transformed from a buzzing market town on the interregnum of day and night into a glistening, rain-soaked ghost town, in which hurrying people huddled into their coats. The combination of night, lights and a gloss coating to the cobbles proved too much for me, and I just had to capture this moment. You can see more from the rainy city on my main blog.

November 4th – My last day in Redditch for a while, and after quite a rainy week the River Arrow was filling up nicely. Storm drains were topping up the flow, and kingfishers (and fisherman, oddly enough) had returned. The river hasn’t recovered yet, and is still but a shadow of it’s former self; but it seems to be recovering. I lover the way the vegetation that was at the water-margin is now submerged.

November 3rd – The Shire Oak pub has stood at this junction for over a hundred years. Forming the bottom – or top, depending on your perspective – of Brownhills, it’s a busy crossing of two arterial routes. The Chester Road crosses the Lichfield Road, and it’s a busy, often difficult proposition to negotiate – particularly if turning right. It doesn’t bother me these days so much, I often cross it twice a day, but getting stuck turning right here can be scary. I once fund myself stranded in the 6 foot void between to lorries travelling in opposite directions. The junction stands near the brow of Shire Oak Hill, itself named after the tree that stood near the old junction with Holly Lane, further downhill to the southwest, as the boundary marker between parishes.

November 2nd – At the far end of the day, it was wet, dark and challenging on the way back. Just having fitted new brake pads, the back end is a little jumpy on the commuting bike, and the greasy, drizzly roads made for an interesting trip home. Approaching the junction of Gravelly Lane and Mill Lane at Lower Stonnall, the lights of the house on the junction looked homely and inviting, and I liked the way they glistened off the wet tarmac. In case you’re wondering, the orange glow is light pollution from the street lamps of Birmingham and the Black Country – because there’s so little natural light tonight it was clearly visible.

November 1st – It was a slightly better morning this morning than that of the day before, and the dawn seemed to come a shade earlier. As I reached Shenstone Station, I noticed the lightened sky to the east, and the perfect manner in which it highlighted Shenstone’s Victorian Gothick church tower. You don’t see gargoyles like that every day…

Octyober 31st – I tried to get a shot tonight of the spectacularly beautiful Four Oaks Church, which is stunningly lit at night, but my photos were horrid. The Four Oaks Pub itself, however, fared better. Night photography is a very black art and I still haven’t got to the bottom of it. Use of flat surfaces and self timer is a must, although a Gorillapod is handy. This shot was taken with the Gorillapod wrapped round the bike crossbar whilst leaning against a tree.

October 30th – It’s good to see the site of the long-gone Superalloys factory being redeveloped. Derelict for thirty years or more, it’s stood for decades as a testament to Brownhills’ lost industrial past. Once a chemical works and known to locals as ‘The Chemical’, the land was contaminated and hard to pitch to developers. Finally, one of the last major manufacturers in the area, Castings PLC, have decided to expand onto the wasteland and the new building is positively flying up. Although it towers over Ogley Junction, I welcome the jobs and business this new factory will bring. Good news in a bleak economic landscape.

October 29th – Highfield House Farm is still decaying silently. Robbed of anything of value (including it’s roof tiles), the derelict farm is a haunt of bored teenagers, explorers and the curious. When I was a kid this was a functioning farm, with a dog that used to bark and snarl violently as you walked past the yard, now it’s quiet, a ghost of a past that seems very distant now. Planning applications to replace this grim welcome to Chasewater come and go, yet this haunting building seems determined to cling on until it collapses into it’s own cellar. A sad landmark.

October 28th – In contrast, doubling back over Springhill and Shire Oak down into Walsall Wood, I stopped to admire the lights southwest towards Walsall. Somehow, I didn’t quite capture what I wanted here, but this view is iconic to me, and maybe a camera can’t do it justice. I’ve admired the lights stretching out before me here on many an occasion, and find it engaging and captivating, yet I think it’s a view not many ever notice.