Category Archives: Photography

Stone Character and Looking Inside the Tomb

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Looking at the second chambered tomb of Cairnholy on my walk this week in Galloway, SW Scotland and facing east (approximately), the covered chamber takes on the appearance of an oriental character in stone. I don’t speak Chinese or Japanese so have no idea if the chamber’s form seen from this angle actually does resemble anything in those languages, but it seems to have an essence of it. However, I imagine this is completely coincidental.

Cairnholy 2

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Cairnholy 2

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Continuing up the hill on my walk this week we found the second Cairnholy chambered tomb site. There are not so many standing stones arranged around this burial chamber but the profile of it against the cloudy sky made for a strong composition.

Cairnholy 2

Cairnholy 2

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Cairnholy 2
Cairnholy 2
Cairnholy 2 entrance

A Place to Lie – Neolithic Chambered Tomb

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It was tempting to lie down in the neolithic chambered tomb at Cairnholy but it felt like it might be dishonouring the place somehow – I would also have had to have been quite short. My walk this week to visit both the tombs at Cairnholy was well worth it even though the weather was coming in around us by the time we were up there. It didn’t stop me trying a few different perspectives on the standing stones at the entrance to the tomb but raindrops on the lens did create a bit of a challenge.

Cairn holy chambered tomb

Cairn holy chambered tomb

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Cairnholy chambered tomb

Leaving the Cliffs Behind and Reviewing the Walk

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Monknash footpath

leaving the cliffs behind

Although I said I didn’t do much field recording on this walk, I did manage to capture the sound of the wild wind there that day and if you listen carefully you will also hear the sound of a buoy bell ringing two or three times. The buoy floats just offshore and now and then was tossed roughly enough by the wind and waves to sound out faintly through the roar of wind and sea. Be warned – I have added the sound of the old fog horn to the end of this soundscape but there is an amusing ending to it if you care to listen.

Nash Point Soundscape

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Nash Point Lighthouse
Nash Point
Nash Point Layers
coastal pavement
Pavement Perspective
Roundstones
Sand expanse
leaving the cliffs behind
Nash Brook

Content of the Cliff

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Nearing the end of my walk this week from Nash Point to Monknash on the South Wales cliff-lined coast I have arrived at the mouth of Nash Brook and a place where the cliff tops come down to beach level. Looking at the content of the cliff it is easy to see why they are no longer the towering structures I have been enjoying along the rest of the walk. Although the durability (or lack of) in the layers and blocks of the cliffs can be seen in the structures and curves in photos below, the geology seen in this first image is much softer and in part explains the small valley from which Nash Brook flows.

cliff texture

leaving the cliffs behind

Layer Upon Layer and Pieces of the Jigsaw

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The depth of each layer of the cliffs along this section of the South Wales coast varies, as do the colours. From my artist’s viewpoint (or anyone else’s for that matter) these make for some fascinating and beautiful patterns. I know the basics about the geology going on in features like this and the length of time involved, but you will have to ask a specialist such as Jessica’s Nature Blog or perhaps Google.

Huge chunks of the cliffs have fallen onto the pavement below. No doubt this has happened over millennia, but whatever the timescale and geology, it is difficult not to be in awe at the structural patterns in them and the wider layout of the what could be the draughts pieces of giants.

cliff layers

Round Stones in a Sea of Rectangles

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One of the strangest things on my walk this week at the foot of the cliffs along the South Wales shore between Nash Point and Monknash, were the smooth round stones nestled in amongst the rectangular rocks of the wave platform pavement. I almost expected them to be polished to a shine in the same way that gem stones are made smooth and reflective for display. The wave action of tumbling the stones against the harder rocks of the pavement has produced a fascinating juxtaposition of forms. Speaking of which, having walked across such an expanse of wave platform, it was then a surprise to come upon a wide area of beautifully smooth sand!

Roundstones

Roundstones

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Roundstones
Roundstone
All washed up
Landslide
Sand expanse
Sky in Sand

Waves of Stone

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Having first visited Nash Point Lighthouse on my walk this week, we actually started our circular walk at site of the StillWalks production “Breakers Walk”. From there we walked along the cliff tops back towards the Nash Point. The tide was out and the view over the wave platforms of this stretch of the South Wales coast were incredible. The patterns of those waves of stone were so clear – it was as though time had frozen still and allowed the structures to form in an instant.

Waves of Stone

Waves of Stone

wave platform

 

Nash Point footpath

Descent to Nash Point