The Black Country
My aim: to get from Walsall to Dudley (10 miles), crossing the bulk of the industrial black country region without walking down a single road. In doing so I go face to face with a whole host of nasty obstacles, from polluted streams to shopping centre roofs to irate construction workers. Add into the mix a sea of brambles and an unsettling catalogue of spiky fences, and we have ourselves one hell of a pointless adventure.
01. A Very Urban Adventure
Introducing my grubbiest mission yet, the black country no roads mission. The Patreons among you may remember me marauding my way through my hometown of Aldridge during the first lockdown delivering items to my relatives, without using a single road. Well, I figured it was time to revisit the format, but this time delve deeper into the vast urban ocean that is the West Midlands.
02. Abandoned Railways and Amusing Accents
The smutty journey through yam yam land continues. In part 2 we venture boldly beyond the glacial M6 and into the heart of the black country. Arriving at the gates of Dudley zoo by 5pm is imperative, so I'm hoping that Wednesbury's old abandoned railway track isn't too overgrown or fence laden. If I'm lucky I might even have time to take a little detour to the oldest pub in the black country for some local delicacies..
03. I've Saved The Best Till Last
You re-join me at the most pivotal moment in the mission - the tram construction site in southern Wednesbury. At some point my claustrophobic wait for the gates to open will come to an end. Will I be able to run past the security? or will I have to search for another way round?
Later obstacles include an old flooded Victorian tunnel and two of the sketchiest fences of the mission, all of which will slow my desperately dehydrated figure down even more. The result is an anxious final mission through the famous black country living museum, in an increasingly unlikely bid to reach the gates of Dudley zoo before they close..