Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! As is customary for my first January blog post, it's time to look back over the exploration highlights from the previous twelve months. 2010 was another vintage year of classic outings and memories, so let's get reminiscing...
* January: and the year gets off to the best of starts as I join Woody and Andy for a visit to Droitwich and Stoke Prior, where the Bowling Green pub provides the first pint of the year and I also get accused of having a bus fetish! Birmingham clocks in early with a tour of Yardley and Sheldon, and I introduce Dad to the weathered surroundings of the Waggon and Horses in Halesowen.
* February: Local trips this month included a Sandwell mystery melange around Hamstead and Great Barr, a wander along the Dudley Road in Wolverhampton and a fascinating Saturday morning study of Cradley. February also heralded the first excursion of the Chip Foundation as Nick, Stephen and I descended upon Gornal to begin our series of ale adventures. Elsewhere I was Shropshire bound for a look around Oswestry and Ellesmere, and there was also time for some Merseyside magic thanks to a London Midland Great Escape to Liverpool and Runcorn.
* March: The away-days continue as Woody, Andy and I take in the delights of Gloucestershire, calling at Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham with some enlightening discussions about cheese-rolling amongst other subjects. The Chip Foundation were in action again with a visit to those bastions of beer, Ma Pardoe's and the Bull & Bladder, whilst my solo stuff kept me very occupied indeed, sampling the varied offerings of Caldmore and Aston, Nechells, the Titford Canal, Tividale and the Fens Branch - although obviously not all on the same day!!
* April: Pride of place here has to go to Rail Rover 2010, a glorious week of exploration indulgence that included calls at Wrexham, Ludlow, Henley-in-Arden and Fenton, plus well deserved pints in Little Stretton (The Green Dragon) and Atherstone (The Old Swan). Bridgnorth provided a further Shropshire serenade whilst Walsall scored highly with a tour of Gillity Village, Goscote and Pelsall as I set about recording routes such as the 374, 347 and the 380. April brought with it the return of the cricket season, so it's over to Old Trafford Manchester where the bright red 'Point' development proved memorable for all the wrong reasons. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Wolverhampton Bus Station, a fond(ish) farewell to a place that had been a regular feature of my daily routine - will the opening of the new interchange become one of 2011's highlights I wonder?
* May: Into May then, where the opening exchanges are punctuated by rain, precipitation being a notable feature of trips to Oswestry (with Andy and Woody) and a Gornal pubcrawl with Dad, not that it stopped the beer flowing mind. I found time for a Sandwell shuffle incorporating Windmill Lane, Cape Hill, Smethwick and Warley, and the month was concluded with a peek at the Peak District courtesy of a family walk around Ashover.
* June: Summer sizzlers heading far and wide. Sheffield for starters sees Woody, Andy and myself braving Yorkshire for an expensive round by the Crucible and the chance to tackle Rotherham and Hillsborough. Mr Wood was also on duty for a weekend in Weymouth; in a year that provided an abundance of stiff competition, I have to say that those few days in Dorset and Hampshire were the absolute pinnacle of my 2010 explorations. From the man-eating sofa in Bridport to the perplexing plethora of pirates in Poole, there were plenty of memories to savour and some to induce the odd shudder too, notably the hotel 'entertainment'. A close challenger to Weymouth's crown was the week Stephen and I spent in Chester-le-Street, stoically supporting Warwickshire as they battled against Durham only to meekly capitulate on the final morning before I'd even had chance to eat my pasties. My token bit of local exploring was a sweep of Stourbridge and Lye, surveying the local pubs as they got ready for the World Cup - given England's performances they probably wish they hadn't bothered.
* July: and the headline act this time sees us pay tribute to the MCW Metrobus on it's final day in service at Acocks Green Garage - the West Midlands bus scene still doesn't feel the same since the old workhorse of the fleet has gone. Andy, Woody and I also called in at Lea Hall Garage as it prepared for closure, a sad occasion that was lightened by the arrival of David Harvey with his vintage Birmingham City Transport Daimler. In other news, West Birmingham was set for a Network West Midlands Bus Review, so I was on hand to record such routes as the 21 and 69 with a roving recce around Bartley Green, Rednal and Wythall. The Chip Foundation hit Stourbridge with a vengeance whilst Dad and I sampled the Holden's Brewery Tap during an eventful crawl around Tipton and Sedgley.
* August: August means Arnside and a family holiday on the shores of Morecambe Bay, a great base from which to explore Lancaster and Lake District destinations like Grange-over-Sands, Barrow and even Sellafield. Our apartment was lovely with particularly stunning sunset views, and to top things off we won the pub quiz on our final night. Slightly closer to home, Woody and I took in the dreaming spires of Oxford and the not-so-dreamy aspects of Swindon complete with it's magic roundabout. My solitary Midlands adventure this month was an investigation of the 68A/C Birmingham North Circle prior to the route's withdrawal, an outing that introduced me to Castle Vale.
* September: a month defined by Shropshire and Showbus, starting with my long-awaited return to Telford and a special day exploring Oakengates, Coalport and Ironbridge, not forgetting a cracking pint in the All Nations in Madeley, fantastic. The Beardsmobile got a run out when Stephen and I went to Bridgnorth, sampling the Cliff Railway and stopping off at the Cat in Enville for a drink on the way home. I crossed the border into Wales for a day in Welshpool, traipsing along the Montgomery Canal and admiring the grandeur of Powis Castle, and then there was Showbus - Rog's first appearance of the year and typically he brought along the rain, although we still enjoyed the exhibits and made sure not to drip on the photos.
* October: onwards into autumn now and more landmark days out. I joined forces with Andy and Woody once more as we went all Scouse over in Liverpool, Birkenhead and Southport. A visit to Worcester saw me take my first ever look around Diglis Basin, and the canals also featured heavily in a Staffordshire tour of Trysull, Seisdon and Greensforge. I made my annual pilgrimmage to Coventry, complete with calls at Coundon, Keresley and Chapelfields, and spent a final morning at Stourbridge Bus Station giving the old place a fitting photographic send-off before it too closed for redevelopment.
* November: London came calling as the prospect of the Lord Mayor's Show enticed Woody, Rog and myself down to the capital and I survived a harem scarem day of tubehopping. Solihull staked it's claim for some attention as I dropped in on Dorridge and Knowle, seeking out the locks on the Grand Union Canal before pitching up at Balsall Common. Nick demonstrated a hitherto hidden talent for table football when the Chip Foundation cracked Coseley, and he was also in attendance for some Wobbly Wabbit at the Dudley Winter Ales Fayre, a great evening.
* December: with the winter comes the snow and didn't it just! The white stuff ensured Rog and I postponed our planned walk to Chaddesley Corbett in favour of a local day around Hall Green and Digbeth, although the less said about the Gorsty Hill slip-up the better! No such postponements a couple of weeks later though as I met up with Rog, Woody and Andy for an ill-fated attempt to reach Stoke Prior - if it hadn't have been for Diamond Des we might still be marooned in Bromsgrove now. In between times, the Chip Foundation's Christmas Crawl was a jolly affair trundling back around Gornal and Pensnett - and that's the final word on 2010.
Looking back on all that lot, I think there were two overarching themes to the year's explorations - a more concentrated focus on pubs, and a general trend towards widening my horizons further away from the West Midlands. These are difficult times for the pub industry as a number of closures will testify, hence I made it more of a mission to photograph what I could of the pubs, inns and taverns that help define our local communities (and of course popping in for an occasional pint or two). As regards broader horizons, 2010 was a year that saw me travel more than ever before, from Weymouth to Newcastle via London, Oxford, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield - it really has been absolutely fascinating, although my heart still remains firmly rooted in the Black Country. Overall though, 2010 quite simply has to have been my best year yet - so many trips, so many memories, so much fun, such excellent company (thanks guys). More of the same in 2011 and I'll be very satisfied indeed...
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