2006 - Review of the Year

2006 was another excellent year of exploration. Let's take a month-by-month recap of what I got up to...

January - The year started off in style with a couple of classic canal walks. Firstly, Dad and I ventured into Staffordshire for a look around Shugborough and Great Haywood, discovering Great Haywood Junction and getting my first ever photos of the Trent & Mersey Canal. Then it was a solo tour around Tipton, with a quick look at Netherton Tunnel and Dudley Port Station.

February - The big outing back in Feb was a walk from Walsall to Wednesbury, calling at Caldmore, Bescot, Tame Bridge and Friar Park. Dad and I visited Hampton Loade on a particularly foggy morning, and I also did a local tour of Bushbury and Fordhouses in the snow.

March - March was dominated by Rail Rover week, as I set off into the wider Midlands for a simply wonderful week of outings, with highlights including Nuneaton, Church Stretton, Ludlow, Crewe and Beeston amongst many other treasured memories. This was also the month when I visited Coventry a couple of times, exploring the local bus network before the April overhaul and calling in at Cheylesmore, Radford and the Tesco Arena. Exploration Heaven!

April - More cracking outings in April, starting off with a Dudley Local looking at Northway, Sedgley and Gornal. This was followed by the ultimate in Wolverhampton Local outings, a delightful walk exploring Penn, with the Battle of Britain pub on Birchwood Road being a particularly intriguing discovery. Then there was a Birmingham Special comprising visits to Woodgate Valley and Rubery, and if all that wasn't enough, April also provided the first Rog trip of the year, adding Quinton, Brandhall and Langley to the WME mix

May - The return of Rog continued with a couple of bus rallies (BaMMoT and 2 Museums), and there was a Walsall Local to enjoy, exploring Bloxwich and Lower Farm. The highlight of the month though has to be my trip to Pheasey to explore the 34, with Kingstanding and Erdington thrown in for good measure. On the WME front, May also saw the introduction of the WME Blog, still going strong with this very post!

June - A busy month was June. First there was the 2006 Birthday outing, a lovely tour of Streetly that also included calls at Scott Arms and Daisy Bank. Then came the World Cup trip -Rog came over for a Wolverhampton local, looking around Ashmore Park and Castlecroft before heading to the pub to watch England v Paraguay. A quick note for a Dad walk around Lower Penn, and then June was completed with the big family holiday down Dawlish, which for me meant two fantastic days of roving around on the Stagecoach Devon network: Exeter, Topsham Newton Abbot and Totnes were amongst my calling points.

July - we're well into the summer now, and July saw the Rog trips go into overdrive. Two great outings, starting with a Kinver Canal Walk for Rog's birthday, and then came a classic - Stourport, Bewdley, Kidderminster and Redditch. Great memories, and an embarrassing moment falling over on the way into the pub at Redditch, I still haven't lived that down! On the local side of things, I called in at Fordhouses for a 613 photo and ended up exploring Coven Heath and Compton in the process

August - Another busy month, with two contrasting crackers to make mention of. The Harborne Stirchley outing was everything I could possibly want from a big Birmingham trip, whilst my walk to Essington was much more low key yet equally as enjoyable, especially with some Green Bus Services to photograph. A few days off at the end of the month allowed for outings to Castle Bromwich and Birmingham Airport, and then a stroll along the Bradley Canal Arm.

September - the Rog trips returned with the first of the 'Woody Plan' outings, an interesting tour of Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Telford. A couple of local walks comprised a solo effort around Willenhall and a Dad walk looking at the canals around Pelsall. The big solo trip for September though was my return to Cannock, 2 years after my first big exploration of that particular part of Staffordshire. Rugeley, Lichfield and Hednesford also featured, and I proved my camera could withstand torrential downpours, even if my coat wasn't quite as watertight.

October - a quieter month as it turned out, with my exploring basically condensed into one week. But what a week, the first of what will hopefully become many Rog Rovers. Kings Norton on Monday, Wombourne on Tuesday, Balsall Common on Wednesday - all fantastic trips in their own right. The weekend concluded things nicely, with another Woody Planner taking us to Cannock and Lichfield then on to Burton and Tamworth on the Saturday, with Sunday involving another visit to BaMMoT with the added bonus of a ride on the No. 50

November - Another quieter month, with the two main highlights being a local walk around Dovecotes, Palmers Cross and Oxley followed by a Rog outing around Walsall (Bloxwich, Willenhall, Reedswood, Pelsall with a return to Bloxwich in the evening). Unfortunately the welcoming committee had disappeared by the time we got back to my house, and it wasn't even that late!

December - and finally we come to December, and another couple of Rog trips along with a handful of bits and pieces that included a little look at the Wolverhampton Christmas Park & Ride. The first Rog trip of the month was another Woody inspired adventure, this time heading out into Worcestershire for a look at Evesham, Redditch and Droitwich. And what else can I say about the second Rog trip - I cannot think of a better way to round off a fine year of exploration than that walk around Hagley and Clent.

Looking back, it really was a fine year of exploration. Every single month produced great trips and special memories, along with an abundance of photo possibilities that I am really excited about showcasing on WME when the time comes. I only hope that 2007 can live up to the standard 2006 has set - if it can, I will be in for some fascinating outings in the coming months