open bay view

My Walk this Week 164 – Bay View Walk

My walk this week is a short one in Swansea Bay that I was able to fit in between meetings. I try to organise my days to allow me to do that as I find even a short walk in the open air a valuable refresher for my brain and body.

bay growth

I often use my StillWalks® videos in the same way – to get a short break in the middle of a busy day as its not always convenient or even possible to go out for a walk. The videos don’t give me the physical exercise but they do refresh my brain and relax my nerves.

My walk took me onto the expansive beach of Swansea Bay Continue reading

Monochrome

River Ouse York – Reviewing the Walk

Back near the start of my walk this week in York, I came out of the trees towards the urban landscape. Having enjoyed my walk along the banks of the River Ouse, albeit a wet one, I felt that this and one or two other shots along my way deserved a monochrome treatment.

Monochrome Mast

I am not sure of my reasoning for producing them as black and white images, they just seemed to work better for me in this format. You can see them along with selected colour shots from my walk below as well as my soundscape for the walk and a video clip of the rowers I passed first on my way into town and then again on my way back.

Continue reading

Ouse riverside walk

My Walk this Week – Wet One by the Ouse

My walk this week is a wet one by the River Ouse in York where I have been travelling on a few occasions lately. It is strange being in York after Wales because there are no hills in York at all – I suspect that is why there are so many cyclists there.

York Millennium Bridge

No hills may be what cyclists prefer but for me, I like a good hill or mountain to climb and I found the only way to work a head of steam was to put on a marching pace. I think if I lived there I might take up running (or cycling I suppose!). Continue reading

Cycling Perspective and Reviewing the Walk

My walk this week has been along a very straight footpath that also doubles as a cycle path. I used to cycle a lot but my preference now is for walking – both are excellent forms of exercise and both give you more time and peace to enjoy the sights and sounds of your surroundings so I heartily recommend them to everyone as a means of maintaining health and wellbeing.

End of the footpath

Continue reading

Look, No Hands – Cycling in the Sunshine

The path we followed on the Swansea Health and Wellbeing Walk is divided like many others into separate areas for walkers and cyclists. It is a very useful thing for cyclists to have bells on their bikes – most useful to the walkers. So thanks to all those many cyclists using this path during our walk for warning us that you were there as it is easy to stray from one part of the path to the other. With the noise of traffic on a busy road, the bells become essential!

cyclist

Continue reading

Mumbles Promenade and Street Photography

Some people get nervous, uncomfortable, even angry when they see a photographer taking shots in the street or other busy public place. However, as I walked along Mumbles Promenade at the start of the Gower Peninsula the other day, I not only had my camera but also my sound kit with its “dead cat” furry cover on the microphone windshield. It’s the dogs that take exception to this, wondering no doubt, what strange creature it is.

People tend to be more interested and wonder what programme I am making and smile or ask if I am from the BBC. I am not sure that I will be able to get a StillWalk from this impromptu stroll along the promenade but if I need to do a full production day there, I’ll make sure I have the StillWalks logo printed on my T-shirt first.

RODE Blimp Windshield

The interest of dogs in the “Dead Cat” is understandable!

And here on the blog is some of the sound recorded or you can hear these and others on SoundCloud.

Mumbles Promenade-1

Mumbles Promenade-3

Mumbles Promenade and Oystermouth Castle

Mumbles Promenade - the feet have it!

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for joggers!

Mumbles Promenade

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for children

Mumbles Promenade

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for cyclists!

Mumbles Promenade

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for walking

Mumbles Promenade

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for walking