May 25th - Nipping down to the chip shop in Stonnall for a Friday treat, I took a loot at the early summer view towards Lichfield from Shire Oak. Beautiful as ever, the change in foliage and colours perfectly complimenting the elegant spires of the Old Lady of the Vale. I adore this view, and could study it for hours on end.
April 23rd - Whilst cycling home from Lichfield, I noticed that with the recent rain, everything looked that bit greener, that bit cleaner, that bit healthier. Slightly more alive. The Friary Gardens are often overlooked - poor relation to the Festival Gardens on the other side of the A51, sometimes I think I’m the only person to notice they exist. Today, they looked beautiful with a shock of purple lobelia flowering wonderfully at the edge of the steps. Soon, very soon, the greenery will be punctuated with vibrant splashes of colour. Bring. It. On.
April 20th - Again managing to miss the rain, a morning spent in Leicester meant calling in for some shopping on the way home. Heading off the Walsall Road at Leomansley through the new estate on the southern fringe of Lichfield, I was struck, as I always am, by how close and claustrophobic this development is. Consisting of surprisingly large houses interspersed with flats and starter homes, the buildings are drab, square boxes with tiny gardens. Crammed shoulder to shoulder, the sunlight comes through here only in patches, and the sky is a long way up. Odd then, that in the middle, a brook that always flowed here was expanded into a kind of green lung, a ribbon of grass, small trees and water, meandering through the fake Georgian architectural hubris like an unwanted puddle of oil in an otherwise clinically clean factory floor. This place is soulless.
April 9th - Now, here’s a thing. This lost lane used to cut off the junction between the B5014 Lichfield Road and A515 Tewnalls Lane at Seedy Mill, just north of Lichfield. It offered a short-cut alternative for cyclists and walkers who didn’t fancy the busy junction of two main roads. I’m not sure it ever had a name, but it was cut off and abandoned when the railway that passes through here was expanded to 4 tracks wide towards the end of the last decade. The junctions at either end may have gone, but the metalled road surface remains under a layer of thick moss and weed, as nature slowly claws itself back. You can still walk and cycle it, but from the A515 end, it’s a bit of a scramble up the bank. I think I must be the only person who still uses it.
April 7th - I don’t know who he is. All I know is that he was tied up near the bike stands outside Waitrose in Lichfield, and he was very patient and rather gorgeous. I think I’m in love. How could you ever refuse big, sad eyes like those?
A commute from the 26th March, turned to video to go with an article on my main blog noting the first anniversary of this journal. Please read the original article by clicking here - and if the video above is blocked in your country, there’s an alternate version linked in the article.
Here’s to more of the same… and another 365daysofbiking.
March 29th - It was another gorgeous morning, but the mist pictures were getting a but trite. I didn’t get the camera out much at all today, sometimes you just don’t. Coming home from Lichfield Trent Valley that evening, something about Greenhill in the city caught my eye. Maybe it was the low sun, the same lazy, yellow sunlight I’d noticed in the morning. But this part ofLichfield - as old as any, really, and once site of the east gate - was painted magical for a short while. It captivated me.
March 28th - The return journey was also really enjoyable - the Trent Valley Road was quite congested, and I enjoyed zipping uphill past the stationary cars. I chose to return over Aldershawe, and down into Wall. Taking the track beside the church, I popped into the churchyard to enjoy one of my favourite spots - sitting on the terrace wall between the upper and lower churchyard, contemplating the view of the Roman remains. Well worth a look around if you get chance, and it’s a lovely spot on a nice day such as this.
March 28th - Misty mornings are the order of the week, and I’m so glad that I’m cycling to Lichfield throughout this distinctly summery spell. The days are warm, still and glorious, the evenings deceptively chilly. But the mornings? I see the countryside just after sunrise. Shrouded in lazy mist, golden light and curious patches of grey. I wouldn’t have missed the last few morning commutes for anything. Today, I had time to spare and dropped off Pipe Hill down the back lanes, down over the old level crossing to Deans Slade. Captivating.
March 27th - I’ve seen this curious ladies bike around Lichfield before. Today it was locked up at 5:45pm outside Wilkinson in the city. I think I’ve featured it when I caught it locked up outside Waitrose. I’m trying to decide if this is a modern copy of an old design, or just a well preserved old bike. Rod brakes, original looking Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub, authentic rust in places. it’s a very individual bike, and I’d hate to ride it. I bet those brakes are evil at the best of times, mores in the wet. It fascinates me that the owner locks it - no chance of a fast getaway on that. A real oddity.
March 26th - The morning fog, as Kate Bush would have it. A gorgeous speedy ride into Lichfield to catch the train to Leicester. I came out at sunrise, and there seemed to be some kind of inversion. An ethereal, patchy mist clung to hollows and hedges, in places only a couple of feet high. I could have photographed it for hours, but my train was due…
March 17th - A recovery ride. I had to do some bits and pieces in Lichfield, which was a good opportunity to spin the aching legs. Surprisingly, they were quite fluid once I got moving. The weather was rather grim and Lichfield as quiet as I’d come to expect it lately. It really is starting to give the feeling of a place half asleep. It was in Breadmarket street that I noticed this; it must have been a really, really unlucky shot, speared neatly on a pigeon spike. That’s gotta hurt… I bet the prize striker got a ribbing for it.
March 16th - As I noted last week, something stirs in the damper parts of the hedgerow. With every shower, more and more amphibians are on the move. In the dark, on a dry night, this common toad was crossing Netherstowe Lane. These misunderstood creatures are seeking water to mate for spring. Their ribbons of spawn are distinct from the clumps left by frogs. Utterly devoid of road sense, they are killed in their thousands at this time of year as sadly, they blend into the tarmac rather too well to see. Being a soft old sod, I stop, and help Mr. Toad to the other side of the road by nudging him gently on the backside with my foot. Best that way, they’ll occasionally let out a startling scream, but at least they won’t wee all over you, a defensive gesture that often shocks the unwary…
March 15th - Hard to get a good shot of Hanch Hall, and today was no exception. It is, after all, a private residence, and it’s well screened by trees, even in winter. I did, however, note this fine fellow strutting his stuff. You don’t see may peacocks around these days… every hall should have a few.
