My Walk this Week – Edgelands and Old Reens

Posted on 02/04/201830/03/2018 by Alastair

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.

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→

What’s Left Behind – Jetsam and Ice

Posted on 09/03/201805/03/2018 by Alastair

In this my third and last post for my walk this week I am looking at some of what is left behind by both recent weather conditions and humans – the ice and jetsam scattered in the river and around the frozen woodland in a semi urban / industrial area.

The ice was not yet melting but had created strange bubble-like forms around old reeds at the river’s edge. Also at the edge of the Afon Llan was a collection of abandoned shopping trolleys tangled up with bits of wood swept downstream and caught up in their old metal mesh.Continue reading→

My Walk this Week – Freezing Over

Posted on 05/03/201803/03/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week braves the bitter wind blowing across Britain from Siberia. I have never seen ice like this on our local river, the Afon Dulais, but despite this and the fact that the rest of the country was under thick snow, we had next to none of it! The “beast from the east” and Storm Emma brought high winds and bitter cold but we were disappointed not to get any snow when seemingly all around us a colour, texture and acoustic change was taking place across the land.

Never mind, despite the ice feeling like it was inside my fingers, I still enjoyed my walk and the sights and sounds were still different to normal, but more of that later in the week. There was still someContinue reading→

Back at the Bramble Beginning – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 02/12/201730/11/2017 by Alastair

Looking back from the bramble beginning by the road on my walk this week along the Tennant Canal near Swansea, South Wales, I can see and hear again some of the varied natural and industrial features of this environment that I enjoy so much.

I first discovered the beauty of this place on a guided walk with a bird specialist who worked his magic at identifying and translating all the birds and, seemingly, their conversations. The ability the human brain has for focusing our senses in different ways is remarkable but there is no questionContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – Reflecting On The Canal

Posted on 27/11/201725/11/2017 by Alastair

My walk this week is along a section of the Tennant Canal on the eastern edge of Swansea. I have walked along this footpath on a few occasions, the last time being a couple of years ago and the conditions now are similar to what they were then.

Similar conditions does not mean I have taken the same photographs as last time, although the swans are still there and one posed perfectly for me while the other slept. Continue reading→

Exit and Reviewing the Week 3

Posted on 30/11/201430/11/2014 by Alastair

This apparently disused railway line is fact one of the entry and exit routes for deliveries to and from the steel processing plant I have been looking at all week – see the gallery below.

Torn Curtains

Posted on 29/11/201429/11/2014 by Alastair

I assume these torn screens were supposed to stop dust and debris getting out rather than stopping me looking in, but they seem to have come pretty close to the end of their life!