I took these photos with my iPhone on a wet walk on the marshes this afternoon and now I’m trying out publishing this post from it as well.
It stopped raining for 5 minutes so I thought I’d get out quick – but I still got rained on. Mind you, 90 minutes without rain was asking a lot.
Happy Christmas !
Walking out along the Loughor Estuary last Sunday morning, the weather was still but overcast and the sound of the M4 motorway was even more evident than usual. I love the marshes on the estuary and the old St Teilo’s churchyard, and I normally find that I suppress the sound of traffic in my head and listen instead to the birds, sheep, cattle and wind along with the sound of my footsteps in the grass or mud and the rustling of the reeds.
These are some of the sounds recorded in the StillWalks I have produced here. I did not do any sound recording on Sunday but I got a few shots of the area and thought about how much the sounds we hear are so unique to the time and place we are in. They are the result of things like the weather conditions before and during our visit as well as the activities of others, like driving along the motorway on a Sunday morning to go shopping or visit family or whatever. Twenty five years ago there was virtually no Sunday morning traffic on the M4 but even now the traffic sound can seem distant if the wind is in the right direction or other environmental aspects such as a high tide, rain or time of year change the conditions.
This is something we’ll be looking at on the Sights and Sounds of the Countryside project which you can find out about here or follow on Facebook.
The StillWalks website is offline at the moment due to malicious hackers but you can see 480p versions of two StillWalks from the Loughor Estuary on Vimeo – After the Tide and the Old Churchyard Walk. They will be available to buy in full HD when the site is back up and running.
Here are some photos of the Loughor Estuary and the marshes. Image prints can be purchase at PhotoBox.
Here are some photos from last weekend’s Green Fayre at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. They can also be seen on Flickr.
All in all the fair went well but I look forward to a weekend off sometime. Not this weekend though as we are off to Hereford tomorrow for a College of Art open day and exhibition – not a bad way to be busy 😉 It’s another place I have never been so I’m looking forward to it – I should probably take my camera!
This weekend StillWalks will be at the Green Fayre in the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. Organised by Swansea Environment Centre and next to the Winter Wonderland Christmas Fair with its Big Wheel and ice skating rink, to say nothing of the attraction of the museum itself, it should prove to be a busy weekend – fingers crossed again!
We will be showing the full StillWalks video range on HDTV and will be selling
Lizard Point again – In my last post I said I was going to put up some more images from Lizard Point this week but I have been so busy with project work, I have not managed it. Below are some photos from my daughter, Hannah, that I have picked out from those she took at Lizard Point and I think they’re great 😉 She has done her Photography A level, is now doing Foundation Art and is looking at universities for next year. Her own blog can be found at hduncanphotography.wordpress.com
Looking out at the Lizard
Over the edge at the Lizard
Peeping out at the Lizard
Caught in the act
Travelling down to Falmouth last Friday was difficult and disappointing – there was mist all the way and so, as we crossed Bodmin Moor, we could see nothing of it. We were visiting Falmouth University with my daughter who thought the place was great.
Falmouth, despite the weather, was clearly a very attractive town. We had a walk about after our tour of the Tremough Campus and then enjoyed fish and chips for tea.
Staying overnight at Lizard Point Youth Hostel was fun! “It was a dark and stormy night” as we approached The Lizard along roads that became increasingly narrow and dark. It was only the light from the lighthouse (and the foghorn) that finally guided us to our destination. We kept our fingers crossed that the weather would improve by morning and in the meantime I enjoyed recording the foghorn.
If you don’t see the sound clips below because you’re viewing this in an email, then click the title to go to the blog or the individual links to listen to the Lizard Point set on SoundCloud.
Saturday morning did reveal much better weather which improved through the day. I had never been to this part of Britain before and enjoyed it immensely! I have included a few images below but there are 31 in all on Flickr all of which are available to purchase through the StillWalks PhotoBox site.
Lizard Lighthouse-1
Lizard Point Youth Hostel
A View from Lizard Point
Taking a Bow at Lizard Point
I might put a few more up in the next day or two 🙂
The Green Fayre at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea on 24th and 25th November is the next event for StillWalks. Last weekend’s Christmas gift fair at the Botanic Gardens went OK overall as long as I remember that it is about meeting people and getting StillWalks seen as it is about making direct sales.
Having said that, Saturday wasn’t a bad day for sales – Sunday was a better opportunity for taking some more photos of the gardens myself . . .
. . . here are a few – more are on Flickr and if anyone is interested in buying any prints, you can do so through the website by clicking on the Photobox Prints button or going direct to Photobox Gallery here.
NBGW Great Glasshouse
Inside the Great Glasshouse, NBGW
The heating grill inside the Great Glasshouse, NBGW
When I arrived at corporate entrance to the National Botanic Garden of Wales today for the Christmas Gift Fair, I was met by Paxton’s Tower looming out of the mist across the valley. I got a quick pic and went on to set up the StillWalks stall.
The day went well, i.e. it didn’t rain, and subsequently there were visitors. I not only had a lot of interest but also made reasonable sales which is great as I had no high expectations.
I’m looking forward to the 2nd day tomorrow (Sunday) – anyone coming? 😉
Here is Paxton’s Tower and a few other photos I snapped during a quiet moment or two.
Careful placing of the stalls kept most of us gratefully warm on a bright but cold day.
It still seems quite early to me for this kind of thing but I know how fast time passes and before you know it, we’ll be running around trying to think of gifts for people at the last minute.
Buy a DVD at the gift fair for just £10. Buy two and get a free gift voucher worth £3.00 – only at the gift fair.
This weekend StillWalks will be at the first of two Christmas Gift Fair weekends. The first is at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in the Great Glass House and runs from Saturday 10th – Sunday 11th November.
We will have DVD Collections 1 and 2, framed and unframed prints from some of the walks plus gift vouchers and greetings cards.
Individual StillWalks, DVD Collections, gift vouchers and prints are always available on the StillWalks website but you’ll only get the gift fair prices and offers at the gift fair.
“My sister bought me one of the StillWalks DVDs and I really enjoy it. I look forward to new collections coming out.” Reg Wadsworth
“Great idea. Have bought 2 DVDs for my sons.” Helen (formerly of Belfast)
from Forest Walk – Winter
Forest Walk