Out of the Light and Into a Rhododendron Tunnel

Having risen towards the sunlight at the start of this walk, I then had to descend again, and in doing so took a route that led me through a natural tunnel rhododendron tunnel.

This is the final part of my walk this week and a slight change of format. I am no longer going to post a review of the walk each week so if you want top see the rest of the walk you will have to visit the two previous posts.

The tunnel is dark but feels fabulous and the middle of it is the quietest section of the walk. While the images below cover only the last part of this walk, the soundscape is from the whole walk which starts and ends with the sounds of the Dulais River or Afon Dulais.

The peacefulness of the natural tunnel, sheltered as it is from the sounds of both distant background traffic and (surprisingly) the rushing river, means that almost all that is heard is the drip, drip of droplets falling from living leaves to dead leaves on the woodland floor.

Goppa / Cwm Dulais Soundscape

Another natural feature enjoying the dampness of the valley was the moss – on the ground, on the branches, and on the walls of one of the old man made tunnels. And then there was some early signs of growth with buds already looking forward to Spring. They may need to wait a little while yet for that!

I hope you enjoy this soundscape and walk as much as I did – it might be one worth listening to through headphones.

hillside footpath

leaf pattern

moss in the depths

perky moss

River Dulais bridge

Dulais River

Rusty Iron Post

Early buds

Heavy moss wall