My Walk this Week 200 – Overlooking the Landscape from Paxton’s Tower

Posted on 27/03/202024/03/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week was in a location carefully selected to not have many other people around – Paxton’s Tower in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Please remember that these blog posts are not intended to prompt you to go out during this difficult time with the Coronavirus, but rather to bring the outside in and hopefully help with some of the difficulties of confinement. For more free StillWalks® resources visit my previous post.

It was a beautiful day and the views from the hill on top of which Paxton’s Tower sits were also beautiful. The photos below look in all geographical directions as well as up at and up in the tower. There are some details too – signs of Spring and the patterns and textures of the full cycle of life.

Can you see the horned creature leaping out of the dead tree? Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 199 – Corona Confusion

Posted on 20/03/202024/03/2020 by Alastair

My Walk this Week 198 – Gnoll Country Park

Posted on 13/03/202009/03/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week is from Gnoll Country Park in the Neath Valley, South Wales. It is a beautiful park on the edge of Neath and is enjoyed by many of the local inhabitants, including the wildlife. Where this blog post is concerned, the wildlife is the birds – mostly aquatic.Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 197 – Garden Details

Posted on 06/03/202006/03/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week didn’t take me far – just into the garden to look at some of the details of change at this time of year. There is more than the plant life in the colours, textures and patterns there as well. Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 196 – Woodland Wander

Posted on 28/02/202027/02/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week is a wander through woodland I have not visited for some time and it was good to see that whilst there had been developments and changes made, the character of the place remained as I remembered it.

Penllergaer Valley Woods is wonderful place on the outskirts of Swansea that I have enjoyed immensely at different times of the year. One of my favourite visits was about 4:30 AM for an early morning StillWalks production walk in Spring, but I have made StillWalks videos there from all seasons.

My visit on this occasion was a short one but I still very much enjoyed the patterns, textures, colours and sounds to be found there. I think my favourites below are the various tree stumps and the mass of bare birch branches on either side of the footpath as it descends to to the valley floor.

Woodland Soundscape

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The soundscape is a little shorter than usual this week as I was recording on my phone again but I hope no less enjoyable.

So click the play button to listen while viewing the images below – click the first one and then again to move forward through the carousel.

fence and path

Lake through trees

woodland stream

long shadows

lake in sunshine

tree stump strata

Across the valley

old fallen tree

fallen tree perspective

tree stump patterns

descending the valley

bare birch branches

tree stump arrangement

river

waterfall

water falling

moss

ascending the valley

reaching tree stump

steps

garden arrangement

My Walk this Week 195 – Station Stroll

Posted on 22/02/202021/02/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week is more of a stroll along my local railway station and is another short walk fitted in between other things going on in my day.

Having to wait for something or other, I took a wander down there knowing that, as stations go, it is quite an attractive one. The thick carpet of moss on the unused section of the bending platform was luxurious to say the least – it felt wonderful to walk on! When I turned round to face the sunshine, I could see the light, not at the end of the tunnel but at its far side. Powerful and bright in the distance, it was a classic effect of the conditions.

One of the other noticeable things about the station was the number of bright-sounding birds – I wasn’t the only one enjoying a brief respite from the wind and rain of one storm following directly on from another. And if you listen, you will here amongst them one of our local song thrushes 🙂Continue reading→

My Walk this Week delayed

Posted on 21/02/202020/02/2020 by Alastair

For those of you expecting to see my usual weekly walk post this today, I apologise for the non-appearance of it this morning. I will do my best to publish it as soon as possible.

My Walk this Week 194 – The Marsh and Ciara

Posted on 14/02/202016/02/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week is another to my local salt marsh, this time during the tail end of Storm Ciara and the wind that was probably worse in other parts of the UK. All the same, we weren’t tempted to venture out in the wild weather.

When crossing the River Loughor on the motorway, I could see that the the tide was high and the marshes were getting there regular dose of salt. But by the time I got down there the sea had retreated and I was able to get to the river bank.

I loitered a bit amongst the trees at the edge of the marsh as the wind was strong and pretty cold and so the photographs I took focus mainly on that view point and some of the lichee details and tree textures around me.

Windy Marsh Soundscape

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The soundscape is a bit shorter than usual and perhaps the main feature of it is the sound of motorway traffic being blown strongly from the southwest. However, if you listen carefully, you will also hear the hissing rustles of the marsh grass which is a sound I love, though less because of the sound itself and more because of the marsh environment it conjures in my mind.

So click the play button to listen while viewing the images below – click the first one and then again to move forward through the carousel.