Brownhills, Chasetown and Rushall

A nice weekend spent with Rog exploring across Walsall way and sampling a few pubs as we went along. Here are the highlights...

• We started off with the shuttle train from Wolverhampton to Walsall, giving Rog chance to catch up with my recent thumbnails and get RSI in the process.
• From Walsall it was onto the 394A for a proper Metrobus ride up to Brownhills West.
• Brownhills West - a look at the Rising Sun and Crown pubs then a walk through the estate to Brownhills West Station, part of the Chasewater Railway. A nice little station with a heritage feel, good to have a proper look.
• Chasewater - a walk around the reservoir, bringing back childhood memories. We had a quick look at Anglesey Basin (the terminus of the Wyrley and Essington Canal) before crossing the reservoir dam as we headed for Chasetown.
• Chasetown - time for some pubs and a bit of lunch. We started in the Uxbridge Arms before making our way to the Crown, both were decent locals. Food involved pasties and sausage rolls at the local park, and I even got a bonus shot of the 61 bus before the return walk back to Brownhills West.
• Rising Sun - a landmark pub overlooking the roundabout, I felt it had a slight ranch feel to it. We quenched our thirst whilst experimenting with the sepia and negative settings on Rog's new camera.
• Walsall Wood - after a run for the 56 bus, we found ourselves in Walsall Wood, giving me chance to check out the old shed library and its new replacement before joining the canal down to Black Cock Bridge.
• The Black Cock - after a bit more walking it was time for another pint, and I wanted to satisfy my curiosity having taken photos of this pub during previous outings. It was worth the visit, with Rog commandeering the jukebox and the chance to watch the Epsom Derby. It seemed one of the regulars had reason to celebrate...
• Rushall - late afternoon saw us head down to Rushall to track down the Manor Arms, reputedly one of Walsall's oldest pubs, before heading up to the Royal Oak to watch F1 qualifying whilst Rog annoyed Pedro the parrot. With the Daw End Canal and the Park Lime Pits Nature Reserve to explore in future, this was a good marker for further investigation.
• Wednesfield - after a quick visit to Willenhall, we finished Saturday night off in Wednesfield playing Yahtzee and drinking real ale in the Vine pub. I think the Vine was actually my favourite pub of the whole outing, friendly and traditional with a bonus bag of proper scratchings.
• West Park - the weekend continued with a mini-outing on the Sunday morning, beginning at a glorious looking West Park with a look at the lake and a stroll around the Steam & Vintage Rally.
• Penn - a final few pints to round off a nice weekend, with Rog taking the chance to familiarise himself with some pubs at the Wolverhampton end of the 256 route. The Spring Hill gave us chance for more camera experiments, this time trying to get the timer to work, whilst the Rose and Crown provided a final chat before Rog's bus home.

A fine weekend's exploring action there, making the most of some good weather as it felt like summer had well and truly arrived. I got plenty of photos, Rog got plenty of aches and pains, and poor old Pedro the parrot got thoroughly traumatised. Lets hope the good weather continues and that further outings are to follow.

Newport and Gnosall

Last time around I pondered my lack of exploration activity thus far in May, and lamented the lack of a feature trip for the month. Those concerns have now been laid to rest thanks to a nice little outing yesterday, making the most of a bit of sunshine by exploring Newport and Gnosall.

Newport provided a cracking morning's exploring, renewing my acquaintance with this charming Shropshire market town and recalling memories of a visit with Rog and Woody last year. After a brief call at Stafford I hopped onto the 481 bus for a ride through Haughton and Gnosall before alighting at the bus interchange. After a couple of bus stop photos, I made my way along the main street attempting photos of the impressive Guild Hall building, along with pubs such as the Shakespeare, the Railway Tavern and the Pheasant. I had a quick look in the local library before heading up past the church to discover more pubs, the Swan and the Bridge. My favourite discovery though was the remains of the old Newport Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal - the branch had long been abandoned but a section on the edge of the town centre was restored some years back to create the present day walkway, and I certainly enjoyed getting a variety of views of the resulting oasis of green. Soon it was back into town and a dash to the interchange for a photo of the 350 D&G route to Eccleshall and Hanley, a nice little bonus whilst waiting for the 481 back towards Stafford.

I spent the afternoon investigating Gnosall, a rather large Staffordshire village near the Shropshire border. First off I explored the village centre, and the camera was again in action capturing notable features including the Horns pub and the traditional old post office building. Heading down Station Road I was able to add the Royal Oak pub to my haul, and after a spot of lunch, I proceeded to the Navigation pub on the side of the Shropshire Union Canal. One pub photo later, I joined the canal and explored the sections either side of Bridge 35, beginning with a walk up to Bridge 36 before retracing my steps and discovering Bridges 34 and 33 (Cowley Tunnel). Save for a small section at Chester, this is the furthest north I've been on the canal thus far and it built very nicely on my experiences of the canal at Autherley, Brewood and Wheaton Aston. I left the canal at bridge 34 to get photos of my final Gnosall pub (the Boat Inn) before making my way along Wharf Road back to the bus stop.

The ride home gave me plenty of time to reflect on a fine day's exploration, with those canal investigations having whetted my appetite for returning to the area and venturing further afield, perhaps to Norbury Junction. The 76 wasn't due when I got back to Stafford, so I caught the 75 instead and enjoyed the added bonus of half an hour mooching around Penkridge - just enough time to investigate the Festival Garden, the railway station and St Michael and All Angels Church. All in all it was an encouraging return to form and I look forward to seeing what June has to offer...

300 for WME Wolverhampton

I promised you a WME landmark in my last post, and I'm pleased to report that the milestone has been duly delivered - and it's not just any old milestone either. WME Wolverhampton has just crashed through the 300 photo barrier, confirming the gallery's ongoing growth towards being a substantial body of photographs.

The additional photos that brought about the landmark included a photo of the play area at West Park, bringing back some childhood memories there, plus a new Exploring Lanesfield collection featuring the Methodist Church and the local playing fields. I feel that 300 photos on WME Wolves is quite an achievement, its taken me nearly three years to get there and now I have to push on towards 350 whilst building up the other galleries too.

To that end, there is some other news to report. Following on from the arrival of New Invention last week, WME Walsall is now home to an Exploring Aldridge collection. Its good to see Aldridge getting some attention thanks to photos of St Mary's Church and the local library. The local flavour continues too with WME Worcestershire, where the inclusion of an Exploring Clent collection has been supplemented with additions to Exploring Hagley. I'm the first to admit that WME Worcestershire was woefully short of local photos, so this goes some way towards addressing that particular issue. Of the new content, I think my shot of the Bell & Cross pub in Clent is my favourite - Rog and I will have to investigate the pub more closely I'm sure.

May has been a very quiet month in terms of new explorations, as thanks to dodgy weather and other commitments I haven't as yet done the big outing I always aim for. Instead I've had to make do with a couple of lunchtime efforts, starting with a nice walk across Sedgley Beacon for photos of the Beacon Hotel and the White Lion, which was followed last week with a look around East Park and Deansfield. May is rapidly disappearing, and with the weather showing little sign of improvement, it seems unlikely I'll be able to add to those mini-adventures. Consolation has been provided by progress with the galleries, so enjoy the updates and I'll let you know of any further developments.

More May Updates

Just a quick note to bring you up to date with the latest little batch of WME additions.

• WME Wolverhampton has been quite busy with a handful of new photos. The highlight is a nice autumnal shot of the 698 on layover at Wobaston terminus, plus there's a view looking out over West Park Lake. Some familiar friends also make their latest reappearances, with Oxley Library, Shropshire Union Bridge 2, Heath Town Park and the Spread Eagle at Woodcross all returning for more photo action.
• WME Birmingham might only have received one new photo, but it is a notable one as the Birmingham by Bus collection is now home to a view of the 32 calling at Acocks Green. I'm very fond of Acocks Green yet I have very few photos of the area, so this one is that bit extra-special.
• The buses have also been out in force on WME Staffordshire where I offer three new examples for your delectation - the 765 and 23 at Lichfield are encouraging, but my favourite is a shot of a Green Bus Service vehicle on the 4 at Cannock. There's also a photo of a village sign on Exploring Wombourne if you like that kind of thing.
• Good news now from WME Walsall, where I've finally created an Exploring New Invention collection. My picture of Forest Gate Library had been on Walstest for an absolute eternity, but now it finally has a proper home and is joined by a photo of The Square shopping precinct.
• A new collection too on WME Worcestershire, as the Bus Stops & Stations make a rather belated entry thanks to Kidderminster Bus Station and a bus stop in Droitwich.
• And finally, Exploration Extra gets in on the act with a new collection based on a visit to BaMMoT with Rog and Woody back in October 2006.

Some positive steps forward then, and I note that I am getting dangerously close to my next couple of WME landmarks. There's still work to do, but it could be worth keeping an eye out for some announcements over the next few weeks...