Category Archives: Landscape

In the Glare of the Sun

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My return walk along Rhosilli Down meant heading into the sun. This is far from ideal in photographic terms, but as one of the purposes of a StillWalks video is to illustrate the walk taken whatever the time of day or direction the walk is taking, the only answer, photographically speaking, is to deal with it.

The photos taken obviously don’t have to be taken into the sun but if they are, as  in the first shot below, the almost blinding haze from the sun is simply a true illustration of the real view of the walk at that point. Photographers will gather from this that I am not a huge fan of lens filters. That’s not to say they aren’t useful sometimes, but on this occasion the glare is what I was  wanting to represent.

The kind of light the sun was giving at this point of my walk was white and glaring from virtually every angle and even directing the camera down towards the beach from high above had its issues. The height of the Down above Rhosilli Bay, however, can easily be seen when you pick out the tiny people walking on the beach.

track

Rhosilli Bay

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The turning point for my walk along the ridge of Rhosilli Down was a promontory at the western end from which a spectacular view across Rhosilli Bay towards Tenby which was well and truly hidden in the haze – a haze which was fast becoming mist.

It was a good spot to stop and eat my sandwiches and the sounds of wind and sea were only disturbed by a jet fighter on exercise against the horizon – listen to the sound clips below.

Rhosilli Bay

Rhosilli Bay

Blustery Wind

Walking and Flying

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Rhosilli Bay aircraft

Walking Under the Radar

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Considering that the old WWII radar station on Rhosilli Down is in ruins, I was definitely walking under the radar when I reached this point on my walk this week. The light and shade on the old slabs of concrete made for some interesting abstract patterns in the landscape.

old radar station

Rocks in the Landscape

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From this viewpoint on my walk over Rhosilli Down at the end of the Gower Peninsula, I wouldn’t need to do much by way of camouflage to hide the houses of Llangennith, as they already appear to fit so well with the rocks in the landscape.

I recently attended a talk at our local library by Geraint Owen of the geography department at Swansea University. It was a fascinating illustrated talk about the geology of our local area and so I now understand the reasons behind the forms of the rocks in the outcrops in the last couple of photos below.

I am not going to go into the details of this geology but Geraint and his associate Siwan Davies have developed a series of 10 wonderful walking leaflets featuring details of walks and the local geology. Unfortunately a direct link to the website currently reveals it to be under construction, but at least it gives contact details.

Llangennith from Rhosilli Down

There is a fair wind blowing in the sound clip below. The background sound of surf in the sea mingles with it but none of that stops the skylarks singing and there are not in my opinion, many sounds more uplifting than an lark.

Wind, Sea and Larks

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My Walk this Week 22- Rhosilli Down

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My walk this week features a walk I did exactly a year ago to the week and took me up onto Rhosilli Down at the end of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales. It was one of those increasingly rare days in February when the sun shines, albeit through a haze, the weight of which changed with the wind throughout the day.

The track leading up from the village of Rhosilli to the top of the ridge overlooking the bay is quite steep. Whilst ascending this was not a problem, descending it again at the end of the day was most definitely an issue – one which my knees complained about bitterly and had me inching down from the down at a snail’s pace.

The walk, however, was most enjoyable and although I did not find the time in 2015 to post produce this as a StillWalks video, I hope to do so this year and in the meantime bring  a sample of the place to my posts throughout this week.

Rhosilli Down

Scale in the Bay – Swansea Sea Wall

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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.

Bay Walk-33

 

Fun and Games on the Beach

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The sky may still be murky on this Swansea Bay walk, but the dogs are having great fun playing games on the beach. Walking along the tide line, it was great to watch them and see how much they enjoyed it. The patterns of tracks they left in the sand were mostly chaotic, but now and then there would be clear arc of paw prints showing a dog’s direction as it chased a stick or ball.

Other fascinating patterns were also to be seen in the black sand or coal dust covering part of this eastern end of the beach.

dog tracks

Playing Fetch

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Beach Finds

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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.

Beached Wood