Old Buddleia flower

A Space Between – Edgelands of Industry and Nature

My walk this week has been through a space between, a space on the edge of both nature and industry – and nature, of course, wins every time and in so many ways.

return route

Looking at the evidence of man is perhaps not the best way to finish my posts on this walk but there are other elements to the landscape apart from the old tyres and wires. The profusion of old Buddleia bushes will soonContinue reading

Red water grasses

Fluffy, Furry and Fuzzy – New Edgeland Growth

The edgeland of Newport which I was exploring on my walk this week were partly coloured by industry, but Spring knows no bounds and prompts all plant life to new growth at this time of year.

Spring growth?

And so, looking away from some of the other aspects of this liminal industrial space, I took a closer look at some of the different wasteland plants that were coming to life around me. The buds and seed heads were fluffy, furry and fuzzy as they set out for the sun against the red earth and water of the ponds in this abandoned area of the Newport Levels.

I never did get to the official Newport Wetlands but was very happy to see this less cared for environment where there was plenty of evidence of man but no man to be seen.

Red Wetland

My Walk this Week – Edgelands and Old Reens

My walk this week is through the edgelands of Newport, South East Wales (UK). It took me towards what promised to be Newport Wetlands, according to the footpath sign post. I hadn’t gone there for this purpose but found myself frustrated in another errand and in need of an escape from the pressures of the day.

old wetland reen

I’d looked to see if there were any nearby walks in a natural environment. What I found was a wild space between industries that promised at least the potential to check out the reensContinue reading

My Walk this Week – On the Edge

organ on beach

On my walk this week I would like to show some of what we experienced and enjoyed during our time away in the last few weeks. Above is an unusual sight – it’s not often you find an old organ on a beach, but this was part of an art installation called Edge by two artists commissioned as part of the Spring Fling weekend event in South West Scotland. Jo Hodges and Robbie Coleman Continue reading

Into the Light

Finally on my walk this week I rounded the corner of the edge lands to the salt marsh and was able to appreciate the vast cloudless afternoon sky. The only blemish(?) on the pale blue>green>yellow>orange canvas was a distant airplane. The other mark on that sheet of colour apart from the land itself is a tiny object on the horizon line –  that is Whitford lighthouse. This a Victorian cast iron built feature of the Burry Inlet that I have been to within one or two hundred yards but have yet to find the time to time it right and get right out to it when the tide is low enough . . . someday I will.

sky light

Heading further along I met up with the river which at low tide features some very glorious mud – “mud, mud, glorious mud. nothing quite like it but . . .”  something the birds in the area thoroughly enjoy or at least feed in. Enjoy the sound below.

Continue reading