Because you’re free to read this blog
#365DaysOfBiking- May 24th - After a spin around Stonnall and Shenstone in a... May 25, 2013
- May 24th - Out early evening, and speeding towards Stonnall, I... May 25, 2013
- May 23rd - Cycling up Market Place, Walsall, early evening, I... May 25, 2013
- May 23rd - Birmingham continues to fascinate. Finding myself at... May 25, 2013
- deantheman: A week in Walsall 25th May 2013 May 25, 2013
- May 22nd - And then, returning home, I noticed this.... May 23, 2013
- May 22nd - I was heading home today from work, and for some... May 23, 2013
- May 21st - An odd day, I was at home until lunchtime, then had... May 22, 2013
- May 20th - On my way home tonight, I hopped onto the canal... May 20, 2013
- May 20th - A small result. The bike racks at Birmingham New... May 20, 2013
- May 19th - Up on the north heath at Chasewater, something rather... May 19, 2013
- May 19th - A busy day at Chasewater. Linda Mason had posted some... May 19, 2013
- Bob’s music
Category Archives: Cannock Chase
The love of the common people
There has been some comment locally about the Brownhills Common thing. I’m not going to push it again too much, as folk must be sick to the back teeth of it, but I have to get a plug in for a couple of excellent blog posts published today.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, Local politics, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife
Tagged Aiden MacHaffie, Barrie Poxon, Brownhills common, Chasewater, Chasewater SSSI, Conifer, Consultation, Countryside Services, cuts, Cycle rides, cycling, Deer, Events, forestry, Greenspace, Heathland, Kevin Clements, local blogs, Local History, Management, Morgan Bowers, Natural England, Plantation, Red deer, Things to do, tree removal, Twitter, Walsal Wildlife, Walsall, Walsall Council
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Language of the underground
Our good mate Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has struck gold again. This transcription of an article from the Lichfield Mercury, of Friday, 4th January 1904 is a real gem, both for those with a keen interest in mining at the time, and those who are scholars of the nomenclature and language of our area.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Shared media, Shared memories
Tagged bank, bat, brazil, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Chasewater, Clayhanger, clinch, colliery, crownin, down cast, fire stink, Local History, long wall, miner, mining, Silly, slang, square work, Staffordshire, sump, swag, thurling, up cast, Walsall Wood
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Into White
It’s taken me a couple of weeks to edit this up due to being somewhat busy with other stuff, but it’s not worked out so bad. A ride from near Maquis Drive, on Cannock Chase, up over Rifle Range Corner, past the old Butts, down into Abrahams Valley and out onto the A513 at Seven Springs.
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Posted in Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Shared media, Wildlife
Tagged #365daysofbiking, Abraham's Valley, bike, Black, Cam, Camel, Cannock Chase, Cannock Chase (images of England), Corner, cycle, Cycle rides, cycling, Events, GoPro, ice, Lunar Sea, March, New Photos, ride, Rifle Range, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Wildlife, Winter
7 Comments
Marching on
I’ve had a blistering article mailed in from reader and friend of the Brownhills Blog, Stuart Cowley. Stuart, you’ll recall, has written and supplied some great material on the subject of Chasewater, and his pictures and recollections of the cafe there have been very popular.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged bilston, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Cannock, Carnival, Chase Royals, Chasewater, cinefilm, Competition, Events, Facebook, Heath Hayes, Jazz bands, local blogs, Local History, marching bands, New Photos, Parade, Polesworth, Rawnsley, Rushall, Staffordshire, Stuart Cowley, Tameworth, Things to do, Walsall Wood, Walsall Wood Red Caps, Ynysowen youth band
12 Comments
Gorgeous curves
Here’s a bit of a request stop. A few weeks ago there was a very positive response to my digitally contouring of an Ordnance Survey map in the analysis of the Watford Gap area near Sutton Coldfield.
I have a bit of clever software that can do this, and access to the mapping data to use as a canvas.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Barr Beacon, Brownhills, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Contour, Lichfield, Mapping, maps, Ordnance Survey, Relief, Reservoir, Shire Oak, Staffordshire, Stonnall, Things to do, Topografic, Walsall, Walsall Wood
5 Comments
Enchanting forest
Well, I made it. Yesterday, I cycled up onto Cannock Chase. Starting from Brownhills, I headed up to Chasewater – which was stunning – and on through Heath Hayes and Hednesford, up to Rifle Range Corner. The going at Chasewater was very heavy, and a fine, wet sleet was making it quite uncomfortable. Wrestling with turning back, I pushed on, and as the temperature dropped, the sleet turned to powdery snow and the air cleared.
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Posted in Cannock Chase, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife
Tagged Abraham's Valley, beauty, Cannock Chase, Cycle rides, cycling, Events, forest, Hednesford, Hills, january 2013, New Photos, Panoramio, photos, pictures, ride, Rifle Range Corner, Snow, Sow Street, Staffordshire, Sven Springs, Things to do, Winter
6 Comments
The fastest thing on the road
Just before Christmas, I got hold of a new bike cam. It’s a GoPro HD Hero black edition, which has some pretty nifty features, including less distortion from the lens and better performance in low light. I’ve been using it … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Shared media, Social Media
Tagged bad weather, Bicke Cam, Birmingham, Black Edition, Brownhills, butterfly, Camp Hill, Cycle rides, cycling, Digbeth, GoPro, HD, Hero, Lemon Jelly, New Photos, new Street, ride, Slow Train, Snow, Sparkbrook, Talvyn Singh, Things to do, Tyseley, video, Winter
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Cycling trivialities
Thanks to everyone who took time to express opinions on my navel gazing contemplation on completion of my 365daysofbiking goal. I really was touched by the unexpectedly large amount of goodwill expressed about the project by a hugely diverse range of commentors. The compliments, encouragement and kindness are not something I’ll readily forget.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife
Tagged #365daysofbiking, Brownhills, Canal, Chasewater, Chasewater Dam, Clayhanger, Cycle rides, cycling, Events, Facebook, local blogs, New Photos, Panoramio, Reservoir, Silly, Spring, Staffordshire, Stonnall, Things to do, tumblr, Twitter, Walsall Wood, Wildlife
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Along for the ride
Just before Christmas, I got hold of a new bike cam. It’s a GoPro HD Hero black edition, which has some pretty nifty features, including less distortion from the lens and better performance in low light. I’ve been using it ever since I got it, but the weather and dull commutes haven’t been conducive to decent ride videos.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Shared media, Social Media
Tagged Afro Celt Soundsystem, Bicke Cam, Black Brook, Black Edition, Bluebells, Brownhills, butterfly, Cannock, Castle Ring, Chase, Chester Road, Cycle rides, cycling, Ford, GoPro, Hayfield Hill, HD, Hero, Hill, Hinst, Ivy Cottage, Lower Stonnall, New Photos, ride, Shenstone, Shire Oak, Staffordshire, Stonnall, Talvyn Singh, Terrace, Things to do, video, Whirl-y-reel, Will She Always be Waiting, Wood
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Cervine suggestion
Today, we went up on Cannock Chase again, and I make no apologies for another feature on the deer. These lovely ladies were a smaller subset of the herd from last week, but on this occasion, they were a little more tolerant. They may well have been hungry. This is the closest I’ve ever managed to get to them.
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Posted in Wildlife, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Events, Followups, Shared media, Local media, cycling, Cannock Chase, Interesting photos, Features, News
Tagged Panoramio, New Photos, Wildlife, Cannock Chase, Cycle rides, Staffordshire, Events, cycling, Things to do, Deer, Fallow, Hind, The Chase, carrots, feed, tame, fawn, doe
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