Thursday, October 2

Rambling Around Rushall

September's final slice of exploration action is a Walsall walkabout featuring canals, nature reserves and a stroll around the arboretum...

- Rushall Locks -
Monday 29th September 2014 sees me setting out from The Delves before joining the Rushall Canal at Birmingham Road Bridge just up from the Bell Inn. This stretch of the towpath makes for a peaceful walk, passing the back gardens of Park Hall and Gillity.

- Moat Bridge -
Beyond the Longhorn pub and Sutton Road, the Rushall Canal feels a little more rural on its final approaches to Longwood Junction. Moat Bridge is where the canal skirts the eastern edges of Walsall Arboreturm, and there are a couple more locks on the climb to meet the Daw End Branch.

- Hayhead Wood -
I momentarily leave the waterways to investigate a local nature reserve off Longwood Lane. Hayhead Wood was historically the site of lime mining but nowadays the area has become a haven for wildlife with a variety of woodland, grassland and wetland habitats.

- Riddian Bridge -
Picking back up on the towpath trail, I've now joined the Daw End Branch as it quietly bisects its way between Rushall and Aldridge. Fields and waterfowl provide the scenery and company with Riddian Bridge feeling like it could be in the middle of nowhere. 

- Rushall Olympic -
Before too long the canalside combination of the Manor Arms and the Boathouse are a good indication that I've reached Rushall. At Daw End Bridge I can take another little detour, finding the Dales Lane home ground of Rushall Olympic Football Club - the Pics currently play in the Northern Premier Division of the Evo-Stik League.

- The Royal Oak -
Just over the road from the football ground, I was sad to see that the Royal Oak had closed down. I remember having a pint here with Roger once, watching some F1 qualifying and pestering Pedro the pub parrot.


- Winterley Bridge -
Doubling back to the Daw End Branch once more, Winterley Bridge is accompanied by the sound of car horns tooting as drivers approach the narrow crossing above. Brawn's Bridge seems to serve a private cottage while the bridge's nameplate commemorates the engineer John Brawn, one of those responsible for the canal's construction during the late 1790's and early 1800's.

- The Farmers Boy -
Just beyond Brawn's Bridge I bid the Daw End Branch goodbye by venturing into the local estates off Barns Lane. The street names appear to have had royal inspiration, Edinburgh Drive and Queens Road for example. There are a clutch of local shops to be found on Kings Road (including Rushall Hardware and Barns Lane Post Office) while the Farmers Boy pub also attracts a few photographs.

- Shelfield United -
Linking up with the Lichfield Road for a while, Rushall Library and the local Labour Club are familiar features from previous explorations - indeed, I first took digital photos here back in 2002 although some landmarks like the Miners Arms have since disappeared. A pocket of Rushall I'd never investigated before is that round by the Elmwood School, where Manor Farm Community Association and the Shelfield United football ground caught my photographic eye off King George Crescent.

- Park Lime Pits -
It was now time for my second nature reserve of the day as I wander over to Park Lime Pits, a former limestone quarry that now features mature woodland and picturesque pools. Maps and markers indicate a nature trail through the woods with views of the surrounding farmland.

- Rushall Parish Church -
Out on the horizon I catch the occasional glimpse of a spire and decide that this merits closer inspection. A public footpath thus leads me around the edges of Rushall Hall to reveal the Parish Church as dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. The churchyard feels secluded and atmospheric while the church building is very commanding and dates from the mid-nineteenth century.

- Hatherton Lake -
A quick shuffle via Leigh Road and Mellish Road brings me to the Gallery Garden entrance into Walsall Arboretum. As a kid I remember dark evenings around this time of year when we'd visit, excitedly marvelling at the famous Illuminations - sadly this spectacle no longer operates, the last such event having been held in 2008. There is still much to admire as restoration work continues apace, part of the park being cordoned off while a new visitor centre is built. Hatherton Lake is popular with geese while the bandstand poses proudly near the water's edge. I pass pavilion and play area, rose garden and trim trail to eventually emerge between cricket pitches onto Sutton Road to complete this particular outing. A proper autumn appetiser!

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