Water in Turmoil – Looking Upstream

Posted on 29/07/201625/07/2016 by Alastair

It is difficult to tell in this first image whether you are looking upstream or down. The water is in such turmoil that its direction seems to be every which way.

It wasn’t raining on my walk this week around Corris in the Welsh mountains but the memory of it was fresh in my mind when I looked down at the Afon Deri flowing under the small main road through the village.

I’m sorry now that I didn’t record any of the sounds of the village – I think I was focusing more on the potential sounds of the StillWalks production walk up the mountain that I was going to take later in the morning.

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Corris river – Afon Deri

Corris

railing decoration

Under the Mountains

Posted on 28/07/201625/07/2016 by Alastair

In a place like Corris, situated in the deep valleys amongst or under the mountains in Wales, there is no horizon to be seen. Seeing as how I love trees so much and they cover the mountains on all sides, I shouldn’t have a problem with this, and I don’t!

Recently I was at an artist’s talk – Lee Williams at the Elysium Gallery in Swansea – where he was exploring the notion that we are affected by our surrounding environment. This is a subject I have thought about for many years but it is hard to come to any definitive conclusions about whether or not the topographical element of our living environments influence the way we are or the way we behave as there are always so many other contributing factors. Those mentioned in Lee’s discourse at the link above relate to Port Talbot which has the best and worst of worlds in its beautiful mountains next to the sea and its heavy industry and pollution.

It could be argued that the people of Corris, while enjoying the wonderful moubtain-scape of their surroundings, also have to suffer what most would consider an abnormal amount of rainfall. Ah well, you can’t have it all I guess.

cemetery in the mountains

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cemetery in the mountains

Corris road

Corris bench

Corris wall

Visiting Corris and its Narrow Guage Railway

Posted on 27/07/201625/07/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week was my first visit to Corris in the Welsh mountains. I have passed it on the main road often enough but never had the opportunity to stop. It is a beautiful place even when wet and now that I have had a look around, I know that there is a narrow gauge steam railway to be enjoyed.

I wasn’t able to take advantage of this feature as I had other plans for a StillWalks production walk up the mountain above Corris Uchaf and overlooking Tal-y-Llyn but if you are planning a holiday in the area . . .

Morris railway station

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Railings pattern

Morris railway station

Corris railway

Corris

Rainfall and Rivers – Looking Downstream

Posted on 26/07/201625/07/2016 by Alastair

After the rainfall had stopped and I was able to get out for my walk this week around the village of Corris in the Welsh mountains, I found the Afon (river) Deri was raging with the volume of water it had received over the previous 24 hours.

I particularly like the middle shot in this trio of images looking downstream as it seems to me to clearly (perhaps that’s the wrong word) illustrate nature overwhelming the architectural presence of man. Having said that, I wouldn’t want to see this torrent of water overwhelming its natural course and causing trouble for the inhabitants. While the river ravine is quite deep at this point, it can be surprising what the power of water can do.

Afon Deri

My Walk this Week – Corris, Welsh Mountain Village

Posted on 25/07/201619/07/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week comes from another visit to North Wales. Having planned a StillWalks production walk as part of the trip, I stayed overnight at a great Youth Hostel in the village of Corris. The village is nestled in the steep sided valleys of the area just south of Cader Idris, in my opinion one of Wales’ most dramatic and interesting mountains.

The drive up north on the previous day had taken me through this area in absolutely foul weather. This cleared by the time I got to Colwyn Bay but on returning that evening nothing had changed and Corris was still suffering an incessant downpour.

It had been my intention to get up early and climb the mountain on the south side of the lake, Talyclun, but when my alarm went at 5.30 I looked out the window and went straight back to bed! Suffice it to say that the rain cleared later on and I was able to do my production walk but before that I took the opportunity to look around the village a little. No sound clips this week though, I’m afraid.

Old School Hostel

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Hostel

Old School Hostel

Corris

Corris street

Nicholaston Farm Cafe – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 24/07/201618/07/2016 by Alastair

Always on the Taste of Gower walks there is a welcome cafe to be enjoyed at the end of the walk. Many of the walks have given me a first visit to the cafes associated with them and do an excellent job of persuading me and others to return in the knowledge that refreshments are available as well as beautiful views, wonderful habitats and enjoyable exercise. Nicholaston Farm Cafe was no exception and everybody enjoyed the fayre they provide.

The next walk will be next week on Friday 29th July and starts from Gower Heritage Centre – I’m looking forward to it!

Nicholaston Farm Cafe

Listen to the walk soundscape below while viewing the image sequence, just click the play button and then the first thumbnail image.

Nicholaston Walk Soundscape

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Oxwich Bay

grasses and clouds

Big Tor, Tor Bay, South Gower

Three Cliffs Bay

overgrown site of an old church

Taste of Gower walkers resting

Three Cliffs

Heading back

Rocks from above

Little Tor, Tor Bay and Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay

Bleach Walkers

natural tunnel

Nicholaston Farm cafe

Natural Patterns

Posted on 23/07/201618/07/2016 by Alastair

Almost back at Nicholaston Farm on the Taste of Gower walk from June, the footpath moves away from the cliffs and runs through this natural tunnel. Looking around me in this more enclosed environment I naturally discovered more details rather than the open vistas of clifftop views. The shots I have chosen below demonstrate natural structure in the tunnel, natural texture in the crinkled petals of the wildflower and natural pattern on the underside of some path side plants.

natural tunnel

Natural Pattern

Beach Bottleneck

Posted on 22/07/201616/07/2016 by Alastair

I photographed Oxwich beach at the start of my walk this week. The shape may be a little less obvious in the shot below but it still reveals a bottleneck form. If from this angle the shape is a bottleneck, then the third image in the sequence below could only be described as a wedge. The shape seemed obvious to me and is the reason for taking the photo but I wanted to emphasise it more and experimented with the contrast in monochrome.

Having enjoyed the overexposed beach image I posted from the previous Taste of Gower walk at Llanmadoc, I increased the exposure on the last photo below as well. With almost no reference points in the image, what is real becomes abstract.