Archive for the ‘Icknield Street’ Category

Man from Uncle in town…

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

Hooray! A dry day last Sunday and the opportunity to get off the settee and stretch the legs.

I rode through town and out along the cycle lane down Hurst Street to the junction with Sherlock Street. The ‘cycle way’ heads diagonally across the junction via traffic light controlled crossings. One reaches the island refuge and then hs to press another button and wait for the green light on the traffic light by the Eden bar. I waited and waited. Then another cyclist arrived and commented that he’d “never seen that light turn green.” So we waited until the traffic had stopped, assumed we had right of way and cycled off. Not terribly satisfactory.

Sherlock Street/Hurst Street junction.

Sherlock Street/Hurst Street junction.

(more…)

Copse and Llamas…

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Sun’s out so time to get some real miles under the belt. Fifty miles on Saturday was a good workout and an eye-opener at times!

Climbing out of Kitwell up toward Frankley Beeches my thoughts turned to David Hockney.

Frankley Beeches

Frankley Beeches

Hockney is engaged on a series of seasonal paintings of one particular copse in his native Yorkshire. Well, I read that he arrived to paint the Spring version only to find that the owner had cut the timber to the ground. End of series. So how about coming down to Birmingham David and putting the Beeches on the artistic map? (more…)

Right at the Bluebell, left at the Bull…

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

There was a time when one could stop a Brummie in the street to ask for directions and be guided to one’s destination via landmark pubs. With this in mind I went out on my bike for a ride south of Birmingham and photographed some of the pubs on the way.

Starting at the Court Oak in Harborne, just up the road from the Little Sisters and the start of all the rides in the Rides section elsewhere in this website. (In due course I’ll be expanding on the ride maps with written directions and relevant photographs).

The Court Oak, Court Oak Road, Harborne.

The Court Oak, Court Oak Road, Harborne.

Riding down Court Oak Road towards the centre of Harborne, you’ll pass the site of the Duke of York on your left. Here modern apartments stand where Harborne’s biggest pub (?) once stood. Hanging right into Harborne Park Road and the Kings Arms on the corner is closed and looking for a buyer. Head along to Selly Oak and the Golden Cross, on the left near the QE Hospital, will soon be replaced with a new development (not including a pub!). Up the hill to Selly Oak, go right and left towards Bournville and the site of the old Oak pub is where Sainsbury is now. (more…)