#365daysofbiking JournalRecent tracks
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Category Archives: Cannock Chase
Why I ride
I was recently asked by a reader to write a piece about why I ride a bike. I thought about it quite hard, and it’s something I’ve not really considered too much before. The best answer I can give, I … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged bicycles, bike cam, Brownhills, commuting, Cycle rides, cycling, cycling advocacy, cycling tips, riding tips, Walsall, Walsall by bike, Walsall Council, why I ride a bike
11 Comments
Carte Blanche
Following recent posts in which I made available the William Yates 1798 map of Staffordshire and a 1959 Ordnance Survey map of East Staffordshire, I’ve now got further mapping goodness here for readers to download. This map is an odd … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Environment, Features, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Local History, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community
Tagged 179 The Strand, 1798 Staffoedshire Map, 1801 Staffordshire Map, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, C Smith, Canal, Cannock, download, early maps, Improved Map, Local History, map, Old maps, Stafford, Staffordshire, Walsall, William Yates, Yates map
2 Comments
Taking up the slack
Last March I posted an article featuring an image of the demonstration event for the ill-fated Merrie England project which reader Steve Hames had scanned from the book ‘Images of England – Cannock Chase’ by Sherry Belcher and Mary Mills. … Continue reading
Posted in Cannock Chase, Environment, Features, Followups, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Walsall community
Tagged 1981, annock Wood Pit, Cannock, Cannock Wood Colliery, Cannock Wood Pit, coal mine, coal sorting by hand., colliery, Coppice Coliier, Derelict, Hednesford, Last pit pony, Littleton colliery, Local History, Mine train, miners, mines, pit, pitmen, West cannock No. 5 pit, West Cannock world record, wimblebury, WImblebury Colliery
5 Comments
Unfolding the map
As promised earlier in the week, I’ve had some interesting maps, including a reproduction A1 size copy of the 1798 William Yates map of Staffordshire, scanned professionally. I came home today clutching a USB flash drive with nearly four gigabytes … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Environment, Features, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Local History, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community
Tagged 1798 Staffoedshire Map, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Canal, Cannock, Cats Hall, Catshill, download, early maps, Improved Map, Local History, map, Old maps, Stafford, Staffordshire, Walsall, William Yates, Yates map
36 Comments
Police target Brownhills offroaders
Longstanding readers of this blog will know how much I loathe the illegal use of scramblers and four-wheel drive vehicles that seems to plague our local commons, country parks, bike trails and open spaces. I know that catching these people … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Wildlife
Tagged 4WD, Brownhills, Brownhills common, Chasewater, Clayhanger, Cycle rides, Engine Lane, four wheel drive, green laning, Illegal offroading, Illegal scrambling, Jo Hunt, mini moto, New Photos, Off roading, offroading, Police, quad bikes, Scambling, Social media, Supt Keith Fraser, Twitter, Vandalism, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood, West Midlands Police, Wildlife
6 Comments
Sunshine on a rainy day
This afternoon, I cut loose and headed for Cannock Chase. The weather wasn’t great and I felt quite down; however, after a heavy downpour as I came through Hednesford and Penkridge Bank, the most perfect, sunny scenery emerged blinking and … Continue reading
Posted in Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Wildlife
Tagged #30daysofbiking, Abraham's Valley, bike cam, Cannock Chase, Colwich, Cycle rides, New Photos, Panoramio, Seven Springs, Staffordshire, Wildlife, Wolseley Plain
1 Comment
The Imagined Village
Further to my recent post about the early seventies phenomena that was the failed Merrie England project, I received a very welcome contribution from reader Steve Hames, of SJH Computing, who kindly scanned this remarkable image from the book … Continue reading
Posted in Cannock Chase, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local politics, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media
Tagged Brownhills local history, Cannock, Cannock Chase (images of England), Cheap tat, Derelict, Eric Morley, Local History, Local politics, Merrie England, Norton Canes, opencast, Orbital, planning, Poplars landfill, Poplars Tip, Redevelopment, Sherry Belcher and Mary Mills, Silly, SJH Computing, Staffordshire, Steve Hames, Theme park
4 Comments
Sat on their arse in their four-wheel drive
I’m angry. Very angry indeed. Regular readers won’t find my displeasure over many of the actions of the coalition government at all surprising. Having been in power for less than twelve months, without an outright majority, the Conservative Party simply … Continue reading
Posted in Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local politics, Panoramio photo discussions, planning, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Wildlife
Tagged Cannock Chase, Chase Trails, Cycle rides, Fallow Deer, Forest sell off, Forrestry Commission, Go Aper, Kinder Scout, local blogs, Local politics, Maggie Holland, New Photos, Panoramio, planning, Politics, Save Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, Vandalism, Wildlife
10 Comments
White winter hymnal
Posted in Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Interesting photos, Local media, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media
Tagged Castle Ring, Crow's Castle, Cycle rides, Grove Hill, Hints, New Photos, Old Yoxall Bridge, Panoramio, Priorslee, Rugeley Power Station, Snow, Snow Pictures, Staffordshire, Stile Cop, Stonnall, Thornes, Thornes Hill, Trig Point, Yoxall
2 Comments
Who knows where the time goes?
It really doesn’t seem like five minutes since I last wished all you readers a merry Christmas and a very happy new year. This last one has been an interesting and engaging time for me with the Brownhills Blog. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Followups, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local politics, Shared media, Shared memories, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall Council
Tagged Chasewaterstuff, Christmas, Common people, ConnectCannock, Julian Ward-Davies, Longdon Local, Merry Christmas, New Year, Oakparkrunner, Pheaseyviews, Pigblog, Political Penguin, Publog, Stymaster, Tamworth Time Hikes, The Bloxidge Tallygraph, The Bookworm turns, The Edditer, The Lichfield Blog, The Mushroom, The Plastic Hippo, Walsall Bloggers, WV11
4 Comments
Ice magic
The last weekend in November has been the coldest such weekend for many years, and brought with it the first snow-dusting of the season. The days have been harsh, very cold and powdery snow has mixed with rime to repaint … Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media
Tagged Brownhills, Canal, Cannock Wood, Castle Ring, Chasewater, Chasewater Dam, Cycle rides, Cycling in icy weather, Cycling in Winter, Hayfield Hill, Holly Hill Lane, New Photos, Panoramio, Reservoir, Rugeley Power Station, Staffordshire
4 Comments
Finally woken
At long last, spring appears to be here. All around, there are signs of a delayed mother nature hurriedly obeying her biological imperative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in bloom at the same time, and … Continue reading
Posted in Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Churches, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Local media, Shared media, Wildlife
Tagged Bishton, Brownhills, Castle Ring, Castle Ring Frogs, Chasewater, Chasewater Frogs, Chasewater Wildlife Group, Crocus, Cycle rides, Daffodil, Frogs, Frogspawn, Lullington, New Photos, Reservoir, Staffordshire, Swan nesting, Wildlife
1 Comment
Another bunch of idiots
More illegal motorbike use – this time, somewhat unusually, on a Sunday afternoon in one of the busiest bits of Cannock Chase. These particular muppets came off a forest track from the Birches Valley direction and were heading down Marquis … Continue reading
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