- Old Hill Station Sign -
Squally showers at Smethwick have me worried about the weather but thankfully the drizzle fizzles out by the time I reach Old Hill, my opening photographic destination. The station here still resembles a basic breezeblock bunker with a functional green footbridge but the Dudley No 2 Canal is much more enticing. A familiar trio of bridges mark the western approaches to Gorsty Hill Tunnel before Station Road reveals what has become of the Boat pub (converted to flats I'm afraid, even if a nice picture sign remains intact).
- Coombes Bridge -
The Olympia Fish Bar, the Lighthouse and the local pharmacy are all present and correct for my latest Coombeswood roll call but it's the canal that continues to attract my primary attention. I pick up the towpath at the south-eastern portal of Gorsty Hill Tunnel and follow through to Hawne Basin passing the site of the former Stewarts & Lloyds tube works - there are still some industrial remnants to be spotted along the canalside (including a British Steel sign or two) although the open spaces of Coombeswood Wedge ensure there is some natural scenery to enjoy as well.
- Fomer Canal near Mucklow Hill -
The Dudley No 2 canal historically connected Park Head near Dudley with Selly Oak via Blackbrook Junction, the Lapal Tunnel and Weoley Castle, however the modern day limit of navigation ends at Hawne Basin. The basin itself is operated by Coombeswood Canal Trust as a private members facility so from Coombes Bridge I have to switch flanks and take a path through to Mucklow Hill in order to start investigating the disused stretches in Leasowes Park. The line of the lost canal is clearly discernible and partially in water where not choked with reeds - I'd seen the remains beside Mucklow Hill before but hadn't fully walked through to Manor Way until now.
- Approaching Manor Way -
And what a walk it proves to be, proper ferreting just the way I like it! The views in places are quite spectacular, especially looking out over Breaches Pool, while I also encounter what appears to be an old lock chamber as the canal's course meanders towards Lapal. After a while the distinct remains peter out to leave a line of overgrown vegetation as my chosen footpath passes beside a primary school and then emerges onto Manor Way just below the Black Horse. I've reached the edges of the West Midlands now with the Worcestershire countryside offering yet more appealing vistas towards Illey and Hunnington.
- The Hasbury Inn awaits its fate -
I however keep firmly within the county boundary by skirting the edges of Halesowen in hiking up Dog Kennel Lane through to Hasbury. Halesowen Cricket Club (at Seth Somers Park) and the Hasbury Conservative Club both receive the camera treatment before I attempt a sequence of shots at the Hasbury Inn; I'd heard the pub was under threat so the boarded-over windows suggest the situation might well be terminal, reuse as a convenience store being the likely outcome in the not-too-distant future.
- The Crafty Pint -
The Maypole on the junction of Bassnage Road and Foxhunt Road has also been fighting for its future in recent years amid similar supermarket plans - it is still trading for now and I hope for many years to come. There is thankfully some positive pub news to report from Hasbury as Wassell Road last year became home to the Crafty Pint micropub, a compact little venture that seems to double up as a cafe during the mornings. A handful of tables are matched by a neat selection of real ales - my Weatheroak Hill Single Hop Sticklebrackt is very refreshing, a quality (and very crafty) pint indeed!
- Huntingtree Park -
Having confirmed that the Maypole is indeed still open, I proceed along Bassnage Road to Huntingtree Park, a Green Flag award-winning open space that seems to be part of a health drive instigated by Dudley Council. Along with an activity centre and a bowling green, facilities include an outdoor gym, sports pitches and a dedicated patch of urban forest. Huntingtree Primary School is just across the road while the wider estate features the Huntingtree pub (previously the Button Factory) plus the Windsor High School and Sixth Form Centre.
- Chance Cheers in the Waggon & Horses -
The main A458 Stourbridge Road then has me bearing down upon The Grove, the non-league home of Halesowen Town Football Ground where the rear gates and turnstiles require some camera concentration. The Yeltz are playing Whitby in the EvoStik Premier Division and I would have been tempted to watch but for the prospect of the Waggon and Horses, a real ale institution that has recently been taken on by Black Country Ales. Some Ruby Porter and a cheese cob equals instant contentment before I am joined by Rog and Rachael for a catch-up pint (in my case some Mallinsons Transpennine Brown Ale). A chat by the fire makes for a classic pub experience, sharing tales about inflatable alligators and Rog's various hairstyles. Alas, all too soon I have to make my way home but the day has one final treat in store - a Wolves victory over Aston Villa at Molineux, excellent!
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