Wednesday, March 4

Moxley, Wednesbury and Friar Park

March's Monday Mission contribution is a mix and match combination of Walsall and Sandwell with very much a make it up as I go along approach - here's the tale of the trip...

- Prince Albert Statue -
It's Monday 2nd March 2015 to be exact as I begin in the centre of Wolverhampton, bidding good morning to the 'man on the horse' in Queen Square. Its strange how I've known this statue all my life yet rarely ever stop to properly look at it, so I put that right with a photo or two today. Prince Albert has looked out across the square since 1866, albeit not continuously from the same spot.

- Moxley Infant School Site -
Leaving the Prince Consort behind, I track down the 79 bus for my ride through Bilston to Moxley. Alighting by the Red Lion on Moxley Road, I can quickly investigate the former Infants School site with a backdrop of All Saints Parish Church. The school was demolished a few years ago so only the gateposts and railings are left to provide a reminder of what was once here. The church meanwhile is an important if rather ominous landmark - it dates from 1851 when surroundings were surely more peaceful compared to having the thundering traffic of the Black Country New Road for company.

- Bull Lane Bridge -
Gritting my teeth in the face of the gusty breeze, I proceed along Bull Lane passing the industrial remains of disused factory frontages. The Walsall Canal awaits at Bull Lane Bridge but the muddiness of the towpath deters me from doing my intended waterside walk - it looks like I'll need to come up with a contingency plan instead...

- Norman Deeley Playing Fields -
What to do now? Well, Wednesbury was close at hand so it made sense to pick up where February's Monday Mission had left off. The Black Country New Road leads me neatly to Bilston Road where the Norman Deeley Playing Fields are named after the locally-born legendary Wolverhampton Wanderers footballer. The Roost and the Old Royal Oak keep the pub pictures ticking over before I emerge near the town's fire station.

- St James the Great, Wednesbury -
One Wednesbury landmark I hadn't really noticed before is the parish church of St. James the Great, situated appropriately enough on St James Street but overshadowed perhaps by the Alligator Storage compound next door. I follow this with the Nelson pub before catching up with construction progress at Wednesbury's new leisure centre where the main framework and excavations continue to take shape.

- Morrisons Artwork -
When it opens, the leisure centre will be a state of the art facility but it's some of the town's older municipal buildings that are next to catch my eye. Holyhead Road is home to the Town Hall and the Museum & Art Gallery while the Old Post Office still has a vintage stamps dispenser inset by the front door. Directly opposite, Morrisons supermarket may be a modern arrival but still offers a nod to heritage with its public art.

- Balls Hill Bridge -
The Coachmakers Arms on Bridge Street is always worth a photo call, especially the tiled panel promoting Woodhall's Old English Ales. Climbing Holloway Bank towards Hill Top, I finally get in that bit of a canal walk I'd promised myself, even though it's only a short stroll along the Tame Valley to Hydes Road. The canal is gun-barrel straight here with pylons adding to the monotony, although Balls Hill Bridge is quite a nice feature connecting with Hampshire Road.

- The Friar Park -
Leaving the towpath at Hydes Road, the Old Mill receives some attention as does the Manor House Museum on Hall Green Road. I can then venture along Crankhall Lane into Friar Park, passing the eponymous pub and a run of local shops. A Lidl supermarket stands on the site of the Coronation, a large roadhouse type pub that was demolished some years ago - I remember previously travelling around here on the 410 bus although the current route number is the 40.

- Bescot Depot -
Onwards I go with Coronation Road providing my approach into the Woods estate, passing the Windmill and another block of shops. I can see the M6 motorway and Bescot Stadium football ground on the horizon as Westmore Way contains a gate access into Bescot Traction Maintenance Depot. The estate itself has county-themed street names with Kent Road completing my loop back into Friar Park.

- St Francis of Assisi -
There are two further local features I now need to account for. Firstly we have what was Manor High School, the vacant buildings closed off with 'Asbestos' scrawled in black paint on the walls. Education ceased on the site following a merger with Menzies High to create the Phoenix Collegiate in Hateley Heath. Secondly comes the unmistakable sight of St Francis of Assisi Church, the Italianate architecture of which really stands out among the residential surroundings with the gilded figure of Saint Francis perched proudly atop the clock tower. My attempted pictures of the church are however interrupted by a vicious hail shower which sends me scurrying down Carrington Road (past the Friar Park Social Club) in hopeful search of shelter.

- The White Hart -
Thankfully the hailstone bombardment doesn't last long and I can press on from Tame Bridge Parkway through the Delves towards Walsall. A lunch stop at Palfrey Park precedes a stroll up Spout Lane into Caldmore where the White Hart remains an excellent landmark with Dutch-style gables overlooking Caldmore Green. St Michael's Church and Bath Street Gardens are among my final targets as I emerge into Walsall town centre to complete my tour - another Monday Mission accomplished!

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