My walk this week follows high spring tides on my local marshes and looks at the deposits they left as well as the new wildflower and marsh grass growth coming through with Spring.
Bluebells en route
Spring tides occur twice a month every month, as do neap tides, not just in the Spring. The term “spring tide” is given to those tides that have the greatest difference in height between high and low tide, but the highest tidesContinue reading
Iron standings, rusty rings and other objects – these are from a short stretch of the Scottish shoreline which I was walking along last month and which includes two old, small harbour jetties.
The colours and textures of rust are always attractive to me and in this location they also reflect the colours and textures of the surrounding rocks and lichens.
So far as I can tell these small ports are not used any more, althoughContinue reading
The rest of the UK had snow but our little pocket of the country somehow managed to avoid it and so my walk this week was freezing but no more than that. The images of frozen water below may not be as dramatic as some of those to be found in countries closer to the arctic circle, but they are different to our normal situation here in South West Wales where, since taking these photos, we have returned to rain!
My walk this week was, however, one I had not taken before and although short, allowed me to view an area that combinesContinue reading
Having left the park on my walk this week across the marshes and down to the river, the wild flowers were out and the birds were singing in the sunshine.
There were the usual items of flotsam as well of course, brought up by the tide – that’s why these are salt marshes. Continue reading
I am not often walking on Swansea Bay when the tide is in – for some reason it seems to be out far more often. This must be coincidence but it means that when I am there when the tide is high, it feels new and fresh, a bit like the way snow changes the landscape.
The tide was not particularly high on this occasion but it was still lapping at the foot of the promenade steps and this, for me, is an almost iconic sound of the place. So click the play button below for an aural backdrop to the images posted about my walk this week. Click the first thumbnail image to view them in sequence.
Waves on Promenade Steps
If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.
Swansea harbour sea wall is, to my mind, an amazing structure. The textures, colours and patterns of this seemingly huge scabrous metal arm that reaches far out into the bay intrigue and fascinate me. I say “seemingly” and “intrigue” because of the deceptive sense of scale that it presents to the walker as you proceed towards it along the beach.
Until you are standing right next to it, you do not realise how much it will tower above you. No doubt this has to do with its length relative to its height – a length that helps guide some of the flotsam and jetsam up to the top of the beach.
All sorts of stuff had been washed up on the beach to entertain me on my Swansea Bay walk this week. Everything from a colourful tree stump to a limbless doll. The sand, too, gets washed up into some interesting drifts – I can only imagine the state of the windows of the apartments on the promenade. Having lived on a seafront in the past, I know how quickly the salt and sand builds up in the Winter months.
Even a beautiful city like Hereford can have its other side. The flotsam of life has got stranded on one of the bridges across the River Wye while the view across, rather than down, reveals the magnificent cathedral that makes the town a city.
