Images

June 23rd – swinging down Maybrook Road on a wet afternoon commute, I took a look at the new factory being built there on the former site of the Walsall Wood Pit spoil heaps.Unusually, it’s a new engineering facility, which is a rarity these days. Sadly, it looks rather hideous, but it’s jobs I guess, and you can’t have everything. This land has been idle for decades and it’s good to see it now being used.

June 23rd – I notice signs have gone up proclaiming Coppice Wood a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, and quite rightly so. I suspect it’s one of the oldest patch of holly and oak woodlands in the local area. It’s certainly an old wood, and is shown on the oldest maps of the area I have, which refer to it by the rather better name of Goblin’s Wood.

This sits alongside the fact that Jockey Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, as is most of Chasewater. This recognises the significance of the ecology of the area and affords it additional legal protection.

June 22nd – The new council depot on Pelsall Road in Brownhills seems to be fully operational now. Now the days have just started getting shorter, the sight of gritting lorries parked in neat rows and a slowly increasing stock of road salt seems to be an unwelcome reminder of winter.

I just hope that if we get a northerly wind, that tent assemblage is fixed down well…

June 21st – After a circuit of Chasewater and a good nosey round the largely stalled dam works (security? What security?) I realised it was nearly dark and I only had a back light, so needed to get home quick. The park was deserted save for the odd dog walker, and I’ve always found the innovation centre oddly creepy at night. This shot was taken on timer after standing the camera on a picnic table.

June 21st – A late run out took me to Chasewater along the canal at dusk. If you’ve never walked or ridden the canal from Brownhills to Chasewater, do so as soon as you can. The canal forms a hard boundary between urbanisation to the south and west, and open countryside to the north and east. It’s rare one can see such sharp division, but the waterway is a quiet, winding route punctuated by gorgeous vistas. I never tire of it.

June 20th – I had a number of pictures to choose from from today’s commute, but you can’t beat a good heron. This fellow waited until I was within a couple of feet of him to make his presence known, all feathers and flapping as he rose in panic from the Birchills canal bank. I love everything about herons – their size, their oddly dishevelled appearance, their Heath Robinson looking legs, but mostly, I’m always impressed by their size and unexpected grace in the air. A fine specimen.

June 19th – Returning via Longdon, I spotted this rooftop I’d never noticed before. It is, apparently, Windmill Cottage,  but I know nothing else about it. This is a beautiful view and reminded me of the flatlands of Norfolk. I wonder if it ever was actually a windmill?

Edit June 22nd – Reader Ziksby points out that this was indeed a Winmill. Find out more at Staffordshire Past Track.

June 19th – Rolling up from Milford, over the River Trent, one comes to the delightful village of Tixall. There are several great architectural features here, the Gatehouse, Stables, Pepperpot lodge, church and more than one beautiful home. I like the avenue best; a long, straight, tree-lined lane terminating in a lovely little observatory overlooking the Trent Valley and Shugborough Estate.

England doesn’t get much better than this.

June 19th – First decent long ride in some time saw me shoot 45 miles over the Chase, with a particularly exhilarating run down the Sherbrook Valley from Pye Green to Milford (video coming later). I started by checking out the honeybee swarm I’d noticed a few days before. To my surprise, they were still there. Less dozy now, clearly with purpose, they were defensive and busy. They appeared more organised and seemed to be dragging vegetation into their seething, humming morass. This is fascinating me.