Wolves Wild

Visible on the crest of a ridge near the Wolverhampton to Bridgnorth road.

A calm spot on the Staffs & Worcs canal.

This octagonal building is by the road at Tixall. There is some doubt whether it is a former turnpike road tollhouse, or an ornamental lodge for the one-time stately home.

The flowers (or perhaps catkins) of an oak don’t stand out.

Not exactly a stereotypical floral smell. Instead it smells of garlic. Where it grows in profusion the smell can be overpowering on a warm spring day.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davea2007/5641287950

The ones below were just about to flower.

The northern end of the Staffs & Worcs canal where it meets the Trent and Mersey canal at Great Hayward Junction.

Just yards before the junction this aqueduct carries the Staffs & Worcs (foreground) over the river Trent.

More views by the Staffs & Worcs canal. Within sight of the aqueduct where the canal crosses the river Stour a sandstone cliff has been cut to allow the canal to pass. At the base of the cliff there is a mysterious black door.

The aqueduct itself, pictured from the bank of the Stour.

Further along towards Stewponey, the junction where the Stourbridge canal heads uphill from its junction with the Staffs and Worcs.

This species of butterfly is very aggressive in defending or attacking territories. This individual has no signs of damage in its wings, so may well just have emerged.

One of several follies dotted around the grounds of Shugborough Hall.

This salt-loving plant presumably originated in northern Europe. It has now spread along the margins of main roads in the countryside, where the splashes of salt-rich spray from winter gritting saturate roadside soil.

It forms a low and narrow band which starts at the very edge of the road, a few inches wide. Best seen in spring when it is in flower. These pictures taken on April 23rd, by the A513 outside Shugborough Park, but the plant seemed to be flowering on all the local A-roads outside built up areas.