Staffordshire Way. Oaken and Codsall

The continuing tale of Friday's walk (not all my walking is done on a Wednesday!)

The large flat fields of the Wrottesley Park and its modern farming methods were soon past, 

...though the house wasn't visible. This drive led to yet another golf course

Finally, in to Oaken. A traditional English scene - red phone box, post box, parish notice board, walled garden.

 From Oaken it was about a mile to Codsall, where South Staffs Council is based. ...

 ...but more interestingly, so is the Village Bakery...

 ...where I had this massive slice of carrot cake. Delicious

There followed some interesting shops

 ...and pubs,

... a George VII postbox,

and of course, a church

The walk then continued to Brewood. See next time

Staffordshire Way. Perton. An old airfield

The walk from Perton went by the side of the golf club. I'd heard of golf being "a good walk spoiled" but this was more a case of "a good drive spoiled"

 No mistaking the path here

The earth looks bare, but the the tiny shoots of winter wheat are just showing through

Just as I was thinking the walk was somewhat flat and boring, I came across this: a map of the area in 1940 when it was an airfield 

Later, it was used for refugees

Not much remains now, but you can see these buildings through the trees  

This must have been a runway. Very flat

Further on, the fields are still flat. And huge. Those trees were once part of hedges which have been grubbed up to make the fields larger, and therefore more cost-effective

Very flat

To be continued...

Wychbury Hill and the Obelisk

Strange weather today. As I set off from Halesowen Rugby Club the sky was quite striking - even if I could barely see the pitch

Looking over to the woods on my route, the sky looked more welcoming! 

The road narrowed...

 ...and just after the house there was this amazing view,

Up the path towards the obelisk

From here the views were even better. I can never resist the view over to Eve Hill flats

The five white flats are in Brierley Hill (rain over some distant places)

Towards Lye 

Finally, the Obelisk

View from the top. The blurs are rain!

 Down again, towards Clent. This part of the path was not visible. The grass was almost waist high, but wind-flattened, making progress difficult. I felt as if I'd done a step class!

The parched ground is a clear indicator of the driest September since records began in 1910

I could hear the loud traffic on the A456 Hagley Road, (behind the hedge) but I may as well have been in a different world.

Reaching the end of the path, I looked back to the Obelisk

My only sight of traffic: the busy A456 at the Wassell Road roundabout

Back at the Rugby Club, the sky is now bright blue. I missed the rain altogether

The Obelisk is a folly belonging to Hagley Hall. There was graffiti on it, but I didn't show that on my photographs. When I got home, I read this on Wikipedia:

Since at least the 1970s the obelisk has been sporadically defaced with graffiti referring to the unsolved post World War II mystery: Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? when the decomposed body of a woman was found in a nearby wood. The graffiti was last updated in 1999.

Wikipedia is not necessarily a great source of truth, but the mystery was also referred to by Steve Punt in a Radio 4 programme in August 2014. Should have listened!

Himley Hall - Autumn, and low water in the lake

At Himley Park today, the sailing club's bank repairs have gone well. (We saw the start last week) 

There's even a new ramp to get the smaller boats into the water - rather than dragging them down the grass

The Autumn colours are just starting

This made me smile: a goose standing in the water rather than swimming. He's quite a way out but it's still not deep enough (it's more than a foot lower than usual)

The boat park

 These boats are being sailed by students from Ellowes Hall Sports College

From the top  of the lake, Himley Hall in the distance

 It's a man-made lake. Through the trees you can look down about 30 feet to the A449 below

This is the overflow, currently proud of the water

A closer look

The plants in the foreground are normally right at the water's edge

Tangled tree roots which are usually submerged

No idea what these cages are for!

 Further round the lake. If you're going to have a water processing plant in a park it may as well have  lovely trees round it!

Here's the cause of all the unusual sights: the drainage which has been repaired - the lake will take a while to re-fill though.

More Autumn colour