bumpy surface

Scottish Seas 1 – All Quiet on the South West Coast

From Scottish skies last week to Scottish seas this week and all is still and quiet – the gentle ripples on surface and sand reflect the warm breeze of an unusually warm Summer.

tidal ripple

No drama in the form of storms and crashing waves, just the peaceful lap of the gentlest of tides and the hot hazy light that so often disguised the horizon and prompted me, on occasion, to play with focus.Continue reading

lake surface

Waterside and Woodland

Just realised I put the wrong date in on this post so it’s a little later in the day than usual – hope you all missed it!

Following the lakeside on my walk this week at The Waterside – Felindre, where we also enjoyed Welsh Valley Alpacas, we spotted some of the other fauna to be found there, namely a host of little tadpoles and fish.

woodland alley

From the waterside we climbed up into the woods where we enjoyed the bluebells still covering the sun-dappled glades and the alley-ways of trees. The carpet of needles was soft underfoot and, away from the crowd of people visiting the alpacas,Continue reading

starfish on the move

Safe For Swimming – Flags and Patterns On the Beach

I liked the bright red and yellow flags on Aberavon Beach when taking this week’s walk there. They denote an area where it is safe to swim but I don’t think the child in this picture, walking determinedly up the beach, had been swimming.

A determined stride

This wasn’t the only young one on the beach – there were plenty of other children running around of course, but also starfish on the move. The patterns made in the sand by the starfish weren’t the only ones eitherContinue reading

bullrush

Nature on the Banks of an Inland Marina

I was slightly surprised on my walk this week in Northampton to find a marina – Northampton is land locked and not far off the centre of England. However, this inland marina was not for sailing and motor boats, it was for canal boats and there were plenty of them.

River Nene lock gate

The photo above shows one of the locks on the River Nene. I thought the sepia treatment of the image added some character to what was otherwise a fairly ordinary feature. What I really enjoyed about these water ways wasContinue reading

Woodland backdrop

My Walk this Week – Spring Walk in A Woodland Park

My walk this week is in my local park – it’s a beautiful place and in recent years has been managed and developed by a volunteer group. I am ashamed to say I have not contributed my time to this group unless you include the promotion of the place via this blog.

Woodland Reflections

The management and development of the woodland and other areas is a good thing in many respects, certainly it is if it gets more people using and benefiting from it. For myself, I love it now and I loved it before just as much. I suspect the birdsContinue reading

trees silhouette

The Moon and A Mirror

I think the shot below is probably my favourite from my walk this week down on our local marshes during the sunset and moon rise. The flat water of the high tide filling the river and reflecting the fading light and lunar crescent like a mirror was so peaceful and calming.

The soundscape for the walk also reflected the evening peace, even with the backdrop of motorway traffic. The birds sang and along with the bubbling of a small stream flowing into the river, they allowed me to ignore the trundle of tyres on tarmac. The soundscape is in three sections – Continue reading

Marsh Evening silhouette

My Walk this Week – Sunset On the Water

My walk this week is from my local marshes with a beautiful evening stroll in the sunset reflected on the high tide water in the river.

Marsh Evening

I don’t think I need say any more – enjoy! 🙂

Fighting geese - monochrome

Watery Park – Fighting in the Floods

My walk this week features the effect of the flooding River Ouse on Rowntree Park in York. The park was closed due to the excess of water but the cafe overlooking the watery scene was not and so I was able to sit with a coffee and observe.

Fighting geese

I don’t think it was the stress of too much water that set the Canada Geese fighting – more likely it was the time of year. It provided some action entertainmentContinue reading