Images

May 1st – The Tame and Trent through Staffordshire are littered with the remnants of the Second World War, mostly old concrete blockhouses like this one in a field between Tamhorn and Hopwas. It took me a while to work out the logic of the seemingly random placements, but they all cover strategically important bridges. I guess those miltarians who planned gravely for the possible invasion of Britain recognised the value of pinch-points that rbridges formed.

Many of these fascinating structures are now listed, and there’s lots of information including a live gazetteer in Google Earth provided by The Defence of Britain Archive, a project by the University of York.

April 30th – The wind was so strong from the northeast that the usual descent from Aldershawe into ye olde city was more like a crawl. Stopping by the old lodge house at the northern gate, I noticed a view I hadn’t stopped to take in for years; the old lady of the vale in all her three-spired glory. Worth battling the wind for, and it did blow me back up Pipe Hill.

April 30th – a bright, warm sunny day, unfortunately tempered by a headwind forged on Satan’s back doorstep. After some routine mechanical attention, I set off to Lichfield to get a little shopping in. Here at Lower Stonnall the wind was pulling pollen from the oilseed rape and the scent was intense. Nature felt more alive today than it has done on any day this year.

April 29th – A return along the canal prompted me to photograph this fine piece of history. One of only two listed structures in Brownhills, it used to carry the South Staffordshire Railway over the Wyrley and Essington Canal. It’s now slowly decaying, with large holes in the bridge deck and the metalwork corroding steadily. 

Sadly, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for this unloved bridge. It’s a shame, because I think it’s a fine example of victorian utilitarian architecture – simple blue brick, lightly decorated, totally functional.

April 29th – The former railway track that ran over the common at the end of Engine Lane is now long gone, but the sturdy trackbed it left behind forms a gorgeous, wildlife rich greenway. Sadly, it’s plagued by offroaders and scramblers, which the police do a fine job of apprehending.

Thankfully, today it was peaceful.

April 29th – A late afternoon escape found me spinning round Brownhills Common in a fruitless hunt for deer. I pottered on up to Engine Lane, and remembered the shaft located on a small mound by the old level crossing. Brick-lined, capped about six feet down with old railway sleepers, I think it must have been an air shaft for a nearby colliery. It’s not really wide enough to be a working shaft, and it’s termination at a considerable height above surrounding ground level suggests that the constructors wanted to avoid surface water draining down it. 

A conundrum indeed. 

April 28th – The Sandhills Pumping Station – built by the private concern of The South Staffordshire Waterworks Company in 1935 – still pumps fresh water to this day from two 400 foot deep boreholes drilled into the bunter pebble beds under Springhill. This station – and others like it dotted throughout our area – are handsome period pieces of civic architecture that speak of a better, more socially aware time, when the supply of basic services like clean water was seen as a noble activity and not a purely profit driven enterprise.

April 28th – Shenstone is a neat and compact village built on the slopes of and around a central hill. On top of this hill stands the imposing structure of Shenstone Church, St. Johns. At this time in the spring, only one church tower is visible, but there are actually two – another, smaller ruined tower from an earlier church still stands, being gently carried to dust by the weather, in a corner of the churchyard.

April 26th – Tuesday, at a loose end, so I cycled into Birmingham along the canal through Aldridge, Walsall and Great Barr. Stopping for tea and sustenance at the excellent Urban Coffee Co., I picked up a few bits and pieces around town and returned via the canal through the Broad Street area, Smethwick, Great Bridge and Walsall.

I love that journey, and some of the graffiti fascinates me – this odd example was near Perry Barr. There’s clearly a Banksy influence there somewhere.