#crows castle

#365daysofbiking Contrasting views:

Saturday December 19th 2020 – A ride out with my friend though Canwell to Hints, and up through Tamhorn returning to Lichfield after dark for a photographic explore.

The countryside was wet, and sodden, and I don't think I’ve seen Hints Ford that swollen in a decade. But it was good to get back there, even with the shock of works ongoing for HS2.

Lichfield itself was lovely: It rained as we got there, and after a heavy but thankfully short shower, it was great to catch the diminutive city at Christmas with few people around.

Most lovely, though was my first sighting of spring flower shoots. There will be a spring, and nature knows that better times are on their way.

Such a strange year.

#365daysofbiking Remain in light:

August 24th - A bank holiday weekend set for fair weather. This, whilst not unheard of, is a delight. Moreso this time as I hate the August Bank Holiday.

I hate it because it’s the last one before the darkness comes, and the suck of the dark commutes. It always feels final, the end of school holidays, the end of summer. If you haven’t done that summer thing by now, you’re not going to, and so on.

A miserable summer bank holiday drains the soul.

But not so this weekend: A heatwave beckons, and I slipped out at teatime into a glorious golden evening. I went to Hints, somewhere I’d not really been much all year. Shenstone Park was as beautiful and French-seeming as ever, and I took a walk up to Crow’s Castle to survey the landscape.

Over to Hopwas as night fell for a drink by the canal.

All around farmers were working into the night to get the harvest in, and strange machine noises and lights punctuated the ride home and made it otherworldly.

This was a perfect late summer evening, and I’m glad I managed to catch it in some of my favourite places.

October 1st - With autumn really bearing down on me now, no choice but to embrace it. I went out on a really very grey afternoon with a strong wind and a heavy heart. I went to visit a new cafe I’d found, and despite arriving well within stated opening hours, they were no longer serving.

Some businesses confound me.