June 1st - I see that Wordsley House in Stonnall has  now been sold, and this includes the barn and land.  The barn is now marked down - like most agricultural buildings in the area have been - for conversion into dwellings. It says much about the economics and demographic of this burgeoning Metroland that all the farming has now gone from the village. The transformation - from comfortable rural village to almost totally soulless commuter resort -  has been completed in the 30 years I’ve been riding through here, and I find it desperately sad. The only redeeming feature is the rolling countryside and greenery - although it is under threat too, as the lower image from Google Earth Streetview shows. In danger of losing the remainder of it’s greatest assets to overdevelopment, I fear for Stonnall’s future. Sad, destructive and tragic.

May 26th - A great ride today in blazing sunshine which I recorded in this post on my main blog. But while heading out, I noticed  that these old cottages in Footherley Lane, near Shenstone, had at last received some attention. All the surrounding scrub has been cut down. Hopefully, this is a precursor to someone actually turning them back into homes. Derelict for since I was a child, there’s no excuse for allowing good house to just crumble, unoccupied and unloved. The people who did so should hang their heads in shame.

May 24th - I was sad to note today that the Rugeley canal swan brood I pictured on Sunday is down to six cygnets from seven. Probably picked off by a brave fox, mink, stoat or weasel, perhaps even a bird of prey, one must remember that this is why they have large clutches of eggs. Sad as it is, nature red in tooth and claw. A sobering thing indeed.

May 21st - One for the botanists. I have no idea what this is. It’s rather lovely, and growing just on the edge of the railway bridge in Hollyhill Lane, just on the edge of Shenstone. I scoured the hedgerows on the way home, but couldn’t see any other examples.

What a gorgeous flower. Any ideas?

April 5th - There seems to be an awful lot of early-flowering oilseedrape about at the moment. The normal varieties seen in the fields around Shenstone, Stonnall and the outskirts of Brownhills flower around mid-May, but I’ve noticed in the last twelve months late and early strains, like this field near Footherly. It’s a gorgeous plant, I love the colour, the scent and the the bug life it attracts. This oil-rich brassica (that’s right: it’s a member of the cabbage family) must earn a lot for farmers, and seems to be quick and easy to grow. It often receives a bad press, with people blaming the plant for hayfever outbreaks, yet it’s pollen - evolved for insect and contact rather than wind pollination - is far too heavy and sticky to be wind borne.

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 25th - Staffordshire was just showing off - there’s no other term for it. It was the first day of British Summer Time and the birds sang, the sun beat down, and I witnessed nature, and the county I love, awaken. The wind was soft and the cycling fast. I took in views that I do every year at this time; everything old was new once again. I felt alive. The world was spinning, and I was part of it. This county gives up it’s secrets slowly, over the course of your life. But you never forget them.

March 25th - Out for a blast on a sunny, warm, spring today. Today is the day I realise I’ve survived, and this time, you did it with me. Today, the light came back and I become aware that I’d survived another dark winter. Commuting home in the light. Soon, after a brief reclamation, there will be bright mornings too. Together this year, we survived the darkness.

I felt great - forty miles in two and a half hours, I ripped through South Staffordshire, into Lichfield and out via Whitemoor Haye and Edingale. At the A513 river bridge between Alrewas and Croxall, known as Chetwynd’s or Salter’s Bridge, I stopped to look. Built in 1824, it was designed and overseen by renowned Lichfield architect Joseph Potter, who also designed Christchurch at Burntwood and Stafford County Lunatic Asylum. It’s a majestic, elegant yet sparse design, still in service and carrying heavy traffic. It is, however, and accident blackspot, and periodically vehicles end up through the balustrade and into the greasy grey green of the River Trent below…

March 22nd - Any entomologists in the house? On a fence-post near Stonnall. Three different genus of the same species (if that’s the right way to put it). I know they’re all ladybirds, but which is which? Is any one of them the nasty, invasive ones I’ve been hearing about? Help gratefully recieved.

March 22nd - These are the first spring lambs I’ve spotted this year. Escaping from a meeting in Aldridge mid-afternoon, I lost no time in heading over to Canwell, Hints and Hopwas. These furry bundles of fluff were in a field near hints ford. You can’t beat an afternoon nap in the safety and warmth of your mum’s fleece. 

March 19th - Back to work, and off to Telford. It was a gorgeous, bright but frosty morning. My chosen station of departure, Shenstone, looked as beautifully rural as ever. Despite having nor real facilities and problematic accessibility - only steps on the northbound side - it remains one of my favourite local stations. It’s usually quite easy to get your bike on the southbound train here, too,  A real joy to travel from.

March 18th - The work at the southern end of Chasewater dam is very near completion. Again, the security had been breached so I swung back to Brownhills along the canal. It’s nice to see that the minor overspill culverts have had grilles fitted over them, like this one at the rebuilt Nine-Foot pool. They were enticingly child sized and I was concerned that some inquisitive urchin might get stuck… I’m looking forward to the dam opening again, even is there’s still no water.

March 18th - A remarkable sunset. I’d been at a family do in Chase Terrace and returned via Chasewater at sundown. The sky to the east for a short time was a bright crimson red, and the sunset itself to the west was  almost neon. These images haven’t been retouched. A remarkable event, and I’m glad I witnessed it.

March 17th - Unusually, I came home through Hammerwich. I don’t usually do that, but had to pop into Brownhills West on the way back. The weather was vey grim, and I only just missed getting soaked. Hammerwich, however, was as beautiful as ever, and the overcast weather made for moody, cinematic photos. On the corner of the bizarrely-named Lions Den and Station Road, I noticed Hall Cottage, which I’d not really studied previously. A beautiful little house.

March 15th - High Bridge used to conduct the Uttoxter Road over the River Trent at Handsacre, until it became to small for the increasing level of traffic. It still nobly spans the waterway, but it lets the new bridge do the work of carrying the B5013. Built in 1830 by the Coalbrookdale Company, it’s a fine bridge, and one of several noble bridges in Staffordshire sidelined for stronger, younger models. Pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians can still cross though, and admire the wonderful views and brilliant, elegant engineering. A hidden, almost forgotten gem.