Friday, November 28

Solihull and Spring Road

When I first started the WME Blogspot back in May 2006 I rather doubted whether the blog would last five minutes, so it is with some considerable surprise that over two years later I find myself putting together my 150th blog posting - where has the time gone? 2009 is advancing steadily on the horizon, but there's still life in 2008 yet as was ably demonstrated by today's outing exploring Solihull, Damsonwood and Springfield.

I must admit I've rather neglected Solihull of late, so it was good to be back exploring the town centre and the station interchange. I investigated a couple of paths around the back end of the station, then headed along Homer Road passing important looking office buildings. On Herbert Road I found the Coach House to get the pub photos off and running, then I did a little loop of Station Road, Poplar Road and the High Street - Brueton Gardens were a nice discovery, still looking neat on a cold November morning, and the Masons Arms continued the pub shots up by the church. Next came Touchwood, a busy shopping mall gearing up for Christmas, followed by Library Square where Santa's Grotto was already proving popular. After a quick look in the library it was back down Homer Road past the court and the police station, thus completing a solid tour of the town centre.

After a frustrating time battling sun glare at Solihull Station I caught the 76 up to Damsonwood, providing a useful reminder of Elmdon Heath and landmarks such as the Greville Arms. I did attempt a bus shot at Damsonwood terminus before crossing over for a couple of pictures of the Old Colonial. It was then into the estate to track down some lunch and get shots of the Golden Acres pub on Rowood Drive. I had intended to investigate the Grand Union Canal but had to content myself with a couple of photos at Damson Lane Bridge before catching the 76 back into Solihull (via Hermitage Road with glimpses of a Thwaites pub and the local ambulance station).

Back at Solihull Station I had time to attempt some more bus photos, with the sun thankfully being more co-operative. The 37 came in for some attention whilst I tried to dodge the army of bus cleaners dedicated to the route. My next target was the 41 route for a ride up to the College Arms via Streetsbrook Road and Gospel Oak, where the landmark Oak pub is yet another to have closed and become an eyesore, very depressing. Springfield was a bit of a bottleneck thanks to Stratford Road congestion, so I only stayed long enough to catch a glimpse of the primary school and zoom a shot or two of the College Arms itself (at least the pub was still open in this case).

My final target of the day was Spring Road Station, but first I had to negotiate Shaftmoor Lane. It was only half past two but already the light was going with the sky ominously clouding over. The Shaftmoor pub caught my eye, as did the old Denso factory, another depressing site where one of the gates had become a dumping ground for all manner of rubbish. Spring Road Station itself did little to lift the gloom - the station is a bit of an eyesore with a rusty corrugated hut guarding the main entrance followed by a portakabin style ticket office. The scene is completed by the multistorey monstrosity that is Denso's car park forming a tunnel over the far end of the platforms. Its hardly inspiring in terms of railway architecture, but I quite relished the chance to get a few photos and could even see myself becoming rather fond of the place in future. I'll certainly have to make a repeat visit as my train turned up almost immediately, thus bringing the curtain down on another adventure. And there you have it, Blog Post No. 150 safely in the bag and Solihull back on the WME radar - not bad for a day's work!

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