Lockdown Log: COSELEY

I suppose technically these aren't lockdown logs anymore, being as we're inching back towards some kind of pre-Covid normality. Things are still rather surreal though as I stage my second short train trip in as many Fridays, this time concentrating very much on Coseley and environs...

- A Mane and A Mask -
It's 17th July 2020 and I repeat last week's opening move by catching the 9:48 stopper from Wolverhampton Station (Platform 5 to be exact). Wearing of facemasks feels instinctively unsettling but at least my glasses aren't getting fogged up so much today, although the above selfie confirms I'm in urgent need of a haircut! Five minutes of train travel brings me into Coseley where I cut through Clayton Park to Old Meeting Road, noting both the Unitarian Chapel (the group originated in 1662) and Coseley Youth Centre (much more recent by comparison).

- Red Cow and Razor Wire -
Finding a further trackside footpath, I reach Bridge Street for a look around Wallbrook. Edge Street is familiar from rides on the old 544 bus route - nowadays served by the number 82 - albeit the sight of the Red Cow surrounded by grim hoardings is hardly uplifting, not helped by the coils of razor wire installed to deter fly tipping. Elsewhere in Wallbrook I spot a couple of convenience stores before Fountain Lane doglegs down towards Princes End.

- School's Out Forever -
My Tipton tour merely seven days ago never stretched as far as Tibbington, an omission I'm belatedly about to rectify by including it today instead. Lost landmarks are my theme here, for while two local chapels are still going (Grace Community Church and Mount Horeb), the Tibbington pub and Princes End Primary School are notably absent. The former was replaced by the Parkside care home whereas the school got demolished several years ago and the houses of Cecil Terrace now occupy the site.

- Site of Coseley Baths -
Bradleys Lane crosses me back into Coseley territory with a whisper of Wallbrook Primary School followed by a sniff of Summerhill Community Centre. Pemberton Road puts me within range of Coseley Cricket Club who were founded in 1870 and are pleased that the recreational game has been given the green light to resume. There's no chance of any action sporting or otherwise further up Peartree Lane however because Coseley Baths closed roughly ten years ago, the land remaining empty with weeds encroaching onto the disused disabled parking bays.

- Daisy Bank Schools -

Backtracking to Summerhill Road, I proceed via Harding Street into Daisy Bank and am saddened to see the White House has been converted into a private residence. A socially distanced queue is forming outside Asda whilst the Daisy Bank Schools complex has been boarded up ever since the branch library and community centre ceased operations. Ash Street then turns rather industrial on the approach to Highfields Road thanks to the presence of C & S Steels, a company that celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2019. 

- Urban Village Construction -

Highfields Road itself has me bearing down upon Ladymoor Pool - plenty of Canada geese but just a solitary angler in situ today - and otherwise provides an update on Bilston Urban Village happenings. The Stonefield Edge development is continuing apace with affordable homes sprouting up on what was previously industrial brownfield land. Ladymoor Garage and the Gills Pork Products factory each merit a mention as I close in on Bilston, stopping by at the remains of Stonefield Schools where the original ceremonial opening tablet from 1905/06 has been retained complete with lists of Edwardian councillors.

- A Jazzy Finale -

There's only one place this trip is going to finish and that's the Trumpet, a legendary Bilston boozer renowned for hosting jazz performances eight times a week. Live music is out of the question for the moment but the Holden's Black Country Bitter is present and correct, quality quaffing with the strains of Nat King Cole in the background - this is precisely the kind of pub experience I'd missed so much during the enforced Covid closures. Fingers crossed the hospitality sector and pubs in particular are now on the road to recovery, although it would be foolish to think there won't be tricky times ahead. Nonetheless it is great to have the Trumpet back and I'll sign off with a most contented cheers!