Easy Pheasey...

Pheasey seemed like an intriguing Walsall outpost - a little detached from the rest of the town, on the fringes of Birmingham. I'd been through on the 451 and 997 before, but never stopped off to explore the estate. With the 34 route being withdrawn soon, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to finally investigate the area whilst sampling the route before its replaced with the 934 later this month. See, there is some logic behind my outings - well, occasionally at least!

I often think that walking round these local estates is proper exploration, getting to know the areas concerned and taking photos of the pubs, shops and other facilities. Its the kind of exploring I really enjoy, and Pheasey didn't disappoint - my first target was the Deer's Leap pub, across the road from where the 34 terminates and something of a local landmark. Next I head along Chantry Avenue into the centre of the estate at Collingwood Drive for a look at the shops and the library, and another handful of photos. Compared to some of the places I've visited, Pheasey rates quite highly as a place to walk around and photograph.

The bus stuff wasn't bad either. The ride on the 34 was surprisingly enjoyable considering it went through Newtown and Perry Barr, neither the most attractive of places, and then Kingstanding. The terminus is at the top of the estate near the Deer's Leap pub - nothing too fancy, just a simple bus stop next to a hedge where the bus pulls over for five minutes or so, giving me time to get a couple of photos. I like to visit bus locations such as this as they add a bit of variety to my outings to go alongside the major bus stations and interchanges I visit. As if the 34 terminus wasn't enough, Pheasey provides more bus photo opportunites with the 33 terminating outside the Collingwood Centre. I haven't been on the 33 as yet, but I took a couple of shots of the bus on layover anyway. The route runs pretty regularly so there's potential for me to ride the route and get more photos in future.

All in all, it was a good start to the outing, setting me up well for an afternoon of bus rides around Sutton Coldfield. Pheasey was well worth a visit and I might make a return trip some time to check out the 934 and 33 more closely. Hopefully some Pheasey photos will be appearing on WME Walsall at some stage in the future - knowing the pace I seem to update things at, we're probably looking at this time next year!