Palfrey Park

It's not very often that I go into central Walsall but it has some beautiful parks, the ITV program Love Your Garden briefly featured Palfrey park, and it got me thinking about the few times I've been down there.

As a park it has a lot of charm, what with it's popular public art (popular public art, a very rare thing indeed), a marvelous Victorian bandstand, a modern outdoor fitness area, football pitches, cricket pitches, a bowling green, and a nature conservation area with a pond it really is a little haven right in the middle of a busy and otherwise overcrowded area. 

Map courtesy of Walsall Council website
 http://cms.walsall.gov.uk/index/palfrey_park.htm

The Palfrey Horse I didn't know the name Palfrey came from the Latin paraveredus meaning well bred light horse as Palfrey was famous for horses way back when...

See, I'm not making this stuff up.

OK, this isn't Palfrey but it's a cracking looking oss.

Come back sun!

The weather has taken a turn for the worse today, lots of rain in the middle of July, so sad. I hope it clears up for next week as it's the start of the six week Summer holiday, we need some nice sunny days to visit parks and go on walks. 

Here is a lovely photo taken at the Arboretum last September to brighten up our day...

And 2 lovely residents Mr Canada Goose and Mr Duck :)

Have you seen the sun?

I didn't take it!

Up on the roof

Getting away from the noise and the crowds in Walsall really doesn’t take much effort, just by climbing up a few stairs (15 flights and a ladder) you get uninterrupted views of green spaces and acres and acres of trees.

Getting up onto the giants of Walsall’s buildings really gives you a new perspective on just how our town is pieced together, from any one of the high-rise blocks you can see every other block and where it sits in relation to everything else.

Humphries House stands out in isolation generally towering over its little sister block, the white render on both reflecting the sun like one of Don Quixote’s Windmills, Lower Farms tower blocks are harder to spot and from Willenhall are barely visible other than the very top couple of floors.

BT Tower and the Birmingham skyline,
as seen from Caldmore

From Birmingham to the South & Cannock to the North, every part of the borough is brought into view but you're so distant from it all at the same time.

Pye Green transmitter in Cannock
 with Lower Farm twin towers.

Lichfield Cathedral from Brownhills.

Views from Humphries House.

Views from Humphries House.

Views from Humphries House.

Don't look down!

Do look out though.

My old school following some light remodeling
 (it was demolished and rebuilt from scratch).

Views over Lower Farm.

Lower Farms twin towers from Willenhall.

A favourite tree

I love trees and this one is in a neighbour's garden diagonally from us, the sun was hitting the trunk beautifully back in April and then you can see it now in full Summer leaf. I love the sound of the wind rustling through, it reminds me so much of the ebb and flo of the sea, such a peaceful, tranquil sound. I've no idea what sort it is but so happy we live by it :)

Toad of Toad hall...

Well, Griffin garden anyway! I was moving the pots to get rid of some ghastly slugs at the weekend and discovered Mr Toad under one....hoping that he'll decide to stay in our garden I put some water in an old bath, tipped it on it's edge and put bricks in so he could get in and out.....

"If I stay really still, they'll think I'm a rock!"

Photo by Phil Griffin

I'll have to look up how to encourage him to stay in our garden. And I thought the only toad in our garden was this one!! :)

St Martin's Church, Sutton Road

Sepia, corny, but I like it

As I had the day off I thought it would be a good time to nip out and have a meal at a local pub, The Longhorn (very good by the way, try the fish) On leaving I noticed St Martin's, a church I must have passed dozens of times without really noticing this wonderful art deco style stonework.

Jesus looking like the protector of these
 2 frightened looking children.

St Martin’s was a daughter church to St Matthew’s, and in September 1977 St Martin’s became a district church.

 
Funnily enough, the pub we came out of, the Longhorn, was previously known as the Redhouse Pub and this was the place of worship for the parishioners before St Martin's was constructed. The current site of St Martin's was previously a large home belonging to the family of  Mary Stanley, this house was allegedly demolished by mistake instead of the 3 Crowns Pub which is still standing further on up the Sutton Road.