June 11th – Retuning via the canal, l noted that the condition of the towpath between Pelsall North Common and Highbridges, is as atrocious as it ever was. Concentrating carefully on riding, I nearly missed this fine display of semi-feral roses tumbling over the rear hedge of a Pelsall garden. A spectacle of true beauty.
June 11th – When I finally got to Pelsall Canal Festival at about 2pm, there was a sharp downpour. For 20 minutes, everything was wet and miserable, but then the sun came out. Whilst wandering around looking at the boats, I noticed this fine old Raleigh roadster complete with steel rims, hub dynamo and 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears. Sadly, the Brooks leather saddle wasn’t looking in the best of condition. The hipsters in london would kill for a bike like this.
June 10th – By the time I got to Stubbers Green, the rain was torrential. Cycling was impossible for 5 minutes or so, and all I could do was wait and watch. Oh, to be in England, in summertime. My gloves are still soaking wet.
June 10th – The day was fine until late afternoon. Leaving work, I called at the shops in Aldridge and then dived into Morrisons for some bits and pieces. It started to rain lightly. Thinking it would come to nothing, I headed for home via Stubbers Green. As I left, the sky looked ominously dark.
June 9th – Many folk don’t realise that the UK is crisscrossed by pipelines. Not just water and gas, but oil and fuel lines too. Formerly secret, information about them and their routing is now available online. Primarily to connect refineries and storage depots like Kingsbury in Warwickshire to high-volume users like airports and processors, the construction of the network commenced before the last war.
This pipeline marker identifies the route of a buried oil pipeline, and contains information about location, flow direction and size of the line concerned. It stands on the canal bak just near to Spaghetti Junction.
June 8th – Returning from Rushall Junction up the canal to Brownhills is nice, but a bit of a slog – all the locks are uphill, so there’s lots of climbing, and the footpaths are awful. Not just poor, but really, really bad. Perseverance, however, is rewarded by great wildlife and lovely countryside vistas. House martins and kingfishers skimmed the limpid water; water lilies and fowl graced the surface. Orchids, foxgloves and rushes were in bloom and brightened the towpath and hedgerows. Here at Clayhanger, there is a carpet of sweet-scented honeysuckle from the towpath to the bog at Jones’ Pool.
June 8th – A trip into the Black Country is always a fine excuse to hit the Tame Valley Canal. A lovely, historic run through cuttings and over high aqueducts takes in the best, and the worst, of the area. Today the canal was busy with boats heading north to the Pelsall Canal Festival and a benevolent wind blew me from west to east. Here at Ray Hall, crossing the motorway is always a cause for amusement. Good evening, lemmings…
June 6th – There seem to be two types of lilies on the canals of Walsall; this type, which seem more traditional, are prolific through Pleck, south of Walsall. They have beautiful, open blooms and form a lovely green and white carpet on the surface of the water. The other type are similar, but have a closed, globular yellow or white flower. Due to pollution, both would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. A sign of an improving environment.
June 6th – Heading into Darlaston on the canal near Bentley Bridge, I saw these guys (there are actually two on the boat) doing sterling work fishing litter and junk from the waterway. People don’t realise there are regular rubbish sweeps like this going on, and the guys doing this work – hard, messy, often rather unpleasant – deserve much more credit than they get.
The whole waterway from Walsall to Darlaston is currently alive and dense with water lillies. This is clearly due to careful care from guys like these. Gentlemen, I salute you.
June 5th – After a spin round Elford and back to Alrewas, the rain started on the way back through Fradley. Crossing the canal at Gorse Lane, the day was grey and chilly, but at least the wind was behind me. What happened to the heatwave?
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