I hadn’t gone out to play, this Wednesday as I was meant to be house sitting but was stood down, last-minute.com.
My other playday, Friday, was clear so where to go ?
Checking the AdventureLab site, I spotted a couple of clusters in Redditch and a quick query on Travelline revealed that I could get there on a couple of buses.
First job was to get into Birmingham and the 94 enabled me to achieve that task.
A short walk past Moor Street station took me to the stop for the numbers 50 (to The Maypole) and the 50A (to Redditch).
The latter service is only hourly but, luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long before the Stagecoach double decker pulled in and on I got.
After making it’s way out of the city centre we were driving along the, slightly, quieter streets of Moseley.
A few years past, Sue used to work at a nursing home in Moseley and I would often walk to or from her place of work, so got to know the area quite well.
One special place was the private Moseley Park which for most of the year is a quiet oasis in the middle of a bustling district.
However, once a year, over a weekend in September, it is home to the Moseley Folk Festival.
Although billed as a ‘folk’ thing, many performers which you would not label folksy, for example, The Proclaimers and The Monkeys have played there and we have had the pleasure of seeing.
Being just off the high street, it was real handy to just nip out to the local fast food outlets or supermarkets for provision which could then be taken back in. However, for the last few years the organisers have put a stop to this so everything has to be obtained from the on-site vendors. This put a bit of a dampener on it for us and we haven’t attended recently.
Back to today, the 50A follows the same route as the 50 as far as The Maypole then continues on its own way to Redditch.
Looking at the maps, I deduced that I’d have to get off a few stops before the centre and take a short walk to get to Arrow Valley Park where the AdLabs were hiding.
Half a mile after getting off of the bus, I entered the park and made my way to the first of five caches dispersed around a lake teeming with birds.
The weather had warmed from a frosty start and with the sun shinning in a cloudless sky, the stroll picking up clues was most enjoyable.
The final part asked what unusual sport could be played in the park – answer, Disc Golf. Done that !
Not far from the final location was another AdLab series but this was really easy and didn’t involve much walking at all.
With the AdLabs completed, it was time to start making my way home. Travelline line suggested a short walk to a spot where I could catch a 62 into the Town Centre.
The walk to the bus stop passed through a subway under a busy road. The subway walls had been painted depicting some of the activities that could be undertaken in the park.
Along with feeding the birds or disc golf was parkrun.
I used to do that, actually running, before my knee slowed me to a walk then finally stopped me completely.
I had a bit of a wait but after having already walked 2.2 miles, I decided that a wait was better than more stress on my knee.
Eventually, a small bus arrived. Small as in just slightly bigger than a mini bus in fact, it is based on a Mercedes Sprinter and can carry twenty people.
Route 62 is roughly circular managing to visit most of the streets in Redditch. By the time I’d got off, I was about two miles from where I started and fifty five minutes later. Looking at the map, I got on at 8 !
At Redditch bus station, the plan was to get the 50A back into Brum, essentially backtracking from this morning. However, I’d just missed one and the next wasn’t for nearly an hour.
The railway station is adjacent to the bus station and a train could take me directly from here to Eddington from where one bus could whisk me to the bottom of my road.
Unfortunately, my Old Codgers’ travel pass doesn’t cover me on the train until we get to Longbridge so being a goody-goody, I bought a single ticket to there.
Spoiler Alert – my ticket was not checked. It rarely is on this line but, of course, the day I don’t have a valid ticket will be the day that it is !
On the way back, we passed through Alvechurch where a nice easy AdLab location was bagged without having to get off the train.
The train continued, passing through New Street before depositing me at Eddington station. A short walk and a longer wait had me on the final bus heading for home which I reached around half four.
A few caches found (11) which gives me a cushion of six in my quest to find an average of one cache per day since I started back in 2005.
That should tide me over until next Wednesday when I can go out to play again.
