Birch Coppice

Dordon has acquired a Starbucks coffee house in this striking building at the rear of the Centurion Service Station site.

St Nicholas.

See SP2599 : Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal This view is from the disused railway line to the south. In the background is the landscaped hill of spoil from the former Birch Coppice colliery. Link

This country is towards the northern edge of the Arden region. The land falls away unevenly to the valley of the northwest-flowing river Anker.

Some chickens were having a feast. The relative height of this country only becomes apparent when a gap in the tree cover reveals the distant landscape below.

This stretch is heading for SP2599 and SP2499 on a decaying embankment. The old trackbed is not a public footpath but is perfectly walkable, though riddled with burrows and densely colonised by scrub. The line was a branch of the Midland Railway from Kingsbury to Baddesley Colliery at Baxterley (SP2798). It opened in 1878, may also have served the Birch Coppice mine, and may have been intended to replace or augment the tramway from Baddesley Colliery to the West Coast main line north of Atherstone. Link

Beyond the small-scale farming landscape is the vast Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal and associated distribution centres at Birch Coppice Business Park, the site of a former coal mine.

Beyond the small-scale farming landscape is the vast intermodal distribution facility at Birch Coppice, a former coal mine. Prominent is a huge distribution complex under construction for Ocado, the online supermarket. Subject position is general and approximate.

If I understand the Birch Coppice website correctly, this is a site of 575,000 square feet for Ocado, the "award-winning online supermarket delivering quality Waitrose groceries direct to your home." A big shed is flanked by a huge area of hardstanding. Photographed from the side of the old railway embankment, where all sign of the public footpath disappears. Currently, Ocado handles customers' orders "at a 23-acre, 1.2m sq. ft. dedicated fulfilment centre in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. This Customer Fulfilment Centre (or 'CFC') is the largest of its kind in the world, and currently handles the same order volume as 25 supermarkets. The four-floor CFC covers the equivalent space of eight football pitches and is operated using smart software and proprietary technology that we have designed from scratch. It houses the world's largest order storage and retrieval system. Combined, its conveyor belts extend over 10 miles. In the absence of a similar system anywhere in the world, we have made a significant investment in this innovative approach. Supporting the CFC is a network of local 'spokes' and a 75-strong fleet of single and double decker LGVs. Across the spokes, we operate a fleet of over 800 specially-designed delivery vans. Combined, this current infrastructure enables us to reach 70% of the UK. But the big news is that we're currently working on a second super 'shed' in the West Midlands. This will be able to handle approximately 180,000 orders per week, more than doubling our current capacity. It will provide around 2,000 new jobs, from cutting-edge engineering, logistics and operations roles to picking, packing and delivery opportunities." In the current economic climate an expansion on this scale could be seen as a huge gamble. Watch this space.

This is the colossal rectangular building on the map. It has an area of over 64,000 square metres (6.4 hectares). It can only be for emptying or filling the shipping containers from the terminal alongside. In the foreground is a hardstanding under construction, part of Ocado's second Customer Fulfilment Centre. Ocado is an online supermarket that delivers Waitrose groceries to customers' homes.

On the left appears about half of the south side of the 6.4 hectare shed alongside the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal. In the distance is the Customer Fulfilment Centre under construction for Ocado, the online supermarket. Photographed from near the foot of the old railway embankment.

Riddled with burrows and densely colonised by scrub, the old trackbed is perfectly walkable although not a public footpath. The line was a branch of the Midland Railway from Kingsbury to Baddesley Colliery at Baxterley. It opened in 1878, may also have served the Birch Coppice mine, and may have been intended to replace or augment the tramway from Baddesley Colliery to the West Coast main line north of Atherstone. Link

See SP2599 : Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal and SP2599 : Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal, Birch Coppice. This view is from the disused railway line to the south. In the background is the landscaped hill of spoil from the former Birch Coppice colliery.

The railway crossed a track and a watercourse here. Riddled with burrows and densely colonised by scrub, the old trackbed is perfectly walkable although not a public footpath. The line was a branch of the Midland Railway from Kingsbury to Baddesley Colliery at Baxterley. It opened in 1878, may also have served the Birch Coppice mine, and may have been intended to replace or augment the tramway from Baddesley Colliery to the West Coast main line north of Atherstone. Link

Taken when I was delivering to the unit next door shortly after buying my new camera! This is the container terminal just off the A5/M42 junction near Tamworth in Staffordshire, taken around 6pm.