Those of you who keep an eye on WME Staffordshire may well have spotted that I have something of a penchant for South Staffordshire villages - places such as Bilbrook, Codsall, Kinver and Wombourne feature prominently amongst the local collections, and provide memories of local pubs and walks along canal towpaths, through muddy fields and down country lanes. Often these villages are just across the border from the West Midlands, yet they can feel a whole world away, where the pace of life seems slower and the urban hurly burly is left behind to be replaced by a taste of traditional English village life. Well, last Saturday Dad and I sampled more of the South Staffs experience with a visit to Wheaton Aston.
Thankfully the grimness of January had given sway to a fresh February afternoon, and we decided to make the most of the sunshine with a little walk. As soon as we arrived in Wheaton Aston I felt at home, a nice quiet village, with the local post office by the village hall and a traditional looking pub, the Coach and Horses. Parking at the car park by the village hall, our walk took us down by the church and then out into open countryside to join the Monks Walk.
My favourite part of the walk came as we joined the Shropshire Union Canal at Bridge 17 - a walk along the towpath here is quite delightful, with the sun playing through the trees, a real sense of tranquility and some lovely traditional canal bridges to photograph. We followed the canal back towards the village, passing Bridge 18 and the visitor moorings to arrive at one of those special canal locations that I love so much - Bridge 19, a traditional canal scene with narrowboats chugging away, all overlooked by a canalside local in the form of the Hartley Arms. Bridge 19 was also our cue to leave the canal behind and head back into the village, passing the pub and an old rural garage that I got some sneaky photos of.
What a treat - a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Wheaton Aston made quite an impression on me, and I look forward to unearthing further walks that would allow us to investigate the village and its surrounds, and maybe even try out one of those pubs. The canal continues on from the village to Bridge 20 and beyond, and there's even the prospect of a Green Bus photo if you time it right. Hopefully Saturday's visit will be the first of many...
Appearances can be deceptive!
ReplyDeleteFrom the Stafford Newsletter:
'Yobs make life a misery for family
By Sarah Marshall
YOBS ARE making life a misery for a family living in a "peaceful" Stafford village who are so fed up they are desperate to move.
David Martlew, his wife and three children, say they have become constant targets for teenage terrors since they moved to Wheaton Aston almost 18 months ago.
The catalogue of trouble includes young people hurling eggs at their front door, gangs of youths gathering near their home, verbal abuse from drunken teens and thugs banging on the door at night
The family’s garden gate has also been broken and a Christmas wreath stolen from the front door of their home, which faces the High Street.
"When my wife told her family that we were moving to the village they all said what a great place to live, lovely village, really picturesque," said Mr Martlew.
"How wrong they all were. We have never lived in such a dirty, miserable, unfriendly, unsafe place in our lives.
"We have had nothing but problems. There are gatherings of teenagers near our property and abuse from teenagers drinking alcohol straight from the bottles and banging and hammering on our front door.
"We never realised this was a village full of louts, addicts and vandals. I have three young children, including a baby, and we are just sick to death of it all.
"We have always kept ourselves to ourselves and still do. We don’t cause trouble. Our home is quite exposed so I think that is why we are such easy targets but we just want to move."
Wheaton Aston is the latest village to be hit by yob problems. A few months ago the Newsletter revealed Hixon residents were being terrorised by teenagers going on wrecking rampages at night.
Penkridge police have had to move gangs of youths away from areas in the village, while Gnosall has also had problems.
The latest attacks included youths letting off fireworks in the middle of the street and glass in the telephone box being smashed.
But Acting Chief Inspector Juliet Prince, of Staffordshire Police, said anti-social behaviour had dropped in the Chase division.
"We are continuing to work closely with partner agencies and local residents to address issues of anti-social behaviour across the division. Where there are pockets of this type of activity officers focus particularly on addressing community concerns.
"However, December 2006 saw a two per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour across the whole of Chase."'
Well well well - I stand corrected. The village certainly seemed peaceful enough at the time of my visit, but it goes to show that nowhere is safe these days. I do hope the family have now found happier surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI strongly disagree with the description of Wheaton Aston as 'dirty, miserable, unfriendly, unsafe'.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt this family may have had the problems they have, but there is still plenty to be proud of, living in this village.
I have lived here all my life, but only experienced Monks Walk for the first time two days ago with my five yr old lad, and am now busy mapping our next outing.
It's true you get a totally different perspective of the village, and it feels like being whisked back in time using these ancient paths to move around.
Don't be put off Wheaton Aston please, it has the same problems as anywhere else, but there still remains a good community spirit, I still feel safe walking around at night and I wouldn't want my kids to grow up anywhere else.
well said Ade.... as if Wheaton Aston has ever been unsafe !
ReplyDelete'We have never lived in such a dirty, miserable, unfriendly, unsafe place in our lives' ??
ReplyDeleteWhat utter garbage. I have grown up in Wheaton Aston and now my daughter is growing up there also. Why? Because it has a great community, it is very clean, has access to local towns but has all the benefits of living in a rural area including lots of walks, farm animals, the canal, boats, a cricket club, 2 pubs, shops & a post office, schools and a church. The village is very quiet, has limited traffic and I have never ever felt unsafe living in Wheaton Aston in my whole life. 40 years.
Many of my school friends still live here too or have moved back to Wheaton Aston to raise their children due to the benefits of village life.
This newspaper article is not good at all. Try living in Moss Side Manchester where I have had guns and knives pulled on me while walking back from University. That is dangerous.
Of course every where has its issues and problems like Ade said. This family clearly have not had a pleasant experience for whatever reason but to report the village as though it resembles some urban city sprawl is just ridiculous.
J
I have returned to Wheaton Aston on a couple more occasions since my original visit and blog post, sampling the local pubs and enjoying further relaxing walks along the Shropshire Union canal. I immediately took a shine to the village back in 2008 and nothing I've personally seen since has altered my initial impression of it being a 'nice peaceful village' - indeed, I very much look forward to the next time I (as West Midlands Exploration) happen to be in the area.
ReplyDelete