Tag Archives: water

view from the footpath

My Walk this Week 145 – West Wales Winter Wander

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My walk this week is a Winter wander in the West Wales countryside around Narberth. There had been a layer of snow in the morning but by the time I was able to explore this footpath from the town, the sun had all but cleared it and the only evidence was a thin strip or two in the lee of lane-side hedges.

countryside footpath

I have visited the attractive town of Narberth on a number of occasions and the purpose of going has mostly been to view the exhibitions held in the excellent Oriel Q Gallery in the Queens Hall. I had a small exhibition of my tapestry weaving there atContinue reading→

Distant Gower from The Mawr

My Walk this Week 141 – Exploring Down from The Mawr

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On my walk this week I went exploring a footpath I have passed on top of The Mawr on many occasions but never stopped for a closer look – until now.

Woodland ravine path

Looking across to the Gower Peninsula in the distance, I stood and enjoyed the wind as it gently swirled around me and brought the sound of skylarks to my ears. Setting off down an old moss covered farm track, it wasn’t longContinue reading→

bare branches

My Walk this Week 138 – Another Quarry Walk Through Time

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My walk this week is to another quarry but one that is quite different from that which I explored last week. The rock is not black this time but the sides are steep and I cannot imagine how the writer of the graffiti, still to be faintly seen near the top of the quarry face, got up there. Nor can I make out what is written as time and weather has done its work and taken most of it away.

Dantwyn Quarry

It is 35 years since I first explored this place in my local countryside and I guess the plants and trees have grown up since then. I certainly remember it being more open back then, whereas now the small footpath leading through to the pool at the foot of the rock face is kept open only by a few dog walkers and young people playing on bikes, sitting round a bonfire or perhaps writing some more graffiti.

Dantwyn Quarry Soundscape

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Autumn sumac

My Walk this Week 130 – Soundscape for an Autumn Valley

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My walk this week in a damp, misty Welsh valley Autumn landscape provided me with a fantastic and varied soundscape. The walk took me up one side of the valley and back down the middle where the river was further engorged by rushing tributaries.

water gushing

Having enjoyed the Autumn colours of a Staghorn Sumac, I descended the twisting path towards the river and recorded its approaching sound as I went. I have kept most of this clip included in the soundscape below (making it longer than usual) because the changes in its timbre as I twist and turn are, to me, fascinating and beautiful. Also included Continue reading→

weeping willows

My Walk this Week 128 – Rowntree Ramble

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My walk this week is a gentle ramble round Rowntree park in York but it is written with tears in my eyes. I took the walk on a recent visit to my parents who since then have both died, with my mother going through what she thought of as a transformation just one week after my father. They were both ill and each going peacefully in their sleep was a blessing, but that makes me no less sad for their passing away.

Pergola promenade

This walk shows my first visit inside Rowntree Park – I have visited York often enough but until this occasion I have only been able to look into the park from the outside because my previous opportunities all coincided with the River Ouse being in flood. Continue reading→

stepping down

My Walk this Week 126 – Step Up To the Lake

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I step up from one lake to another in this second stage of my walk this week  – and there is a third lake in Gnoll Park, plus a reservoir! This lake is the largest and features a wonderful cascade which, even when it is not flowing with water, makes an attractive feature.

stepping up

We are at the start of Autumn now and the colours are beginning to change. There are only hints of the season to be seen in my photos but they are there all the same, plus the temperature has dropped.

I restricted my walk to this larger lake becauseContinue reading→

Nith Weir

Dumfries 2 – River Nith

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The River Nith in Dumfries, Scotland, is a fabulous river to watch in the sunshine as the excited water tumbles and tangles over the weir.

Nith rapids

The river is tidal and before the weir was built a greater length of it was affected by both high and low tides, meaning any business that relied on its flow was beholden to the actions of sun and moon twice every 24 hours.

The weir may not be needed nowadays for trade purposes but it stillContinue reading→

ripples

Scottish Seas 3 – The Subtleties of Surface

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The surface of the sea is constantly changing – colour, pattern, texture – it all depends, from moment to moment, on the changing conditions of light, wind, currents and the pull of the sun and moon.

surface colour

However rough or calm the sea is, the changing patterns on the surface of the water can hold my attention for a long time. The longer I look, the more subtleties I see and although there is an overall rhythm to the motion, that too changes gradually as the tide gently rises and falls against the rocks and seaweed – see the video below.

The longer you sit quietly, the less you are noticed byContinue reading→