Crossing Oxwich Marsh towards the footbridge, the Taste of Gower walkers enjoy the sunshine and their company while I look on and enjoy the textures of the grasses and the colour of their costumes.
Category Archives: Wellbeing
My Walk this Week – Taste of Gower 2017, Oxwich
My walk this week is the first Taste of Gower walk of 2017 and took place at Oxwich where we walked through the burroughs (sand dunes with vegetation). The walk was led by James Malatynski and we had Charlotte Toft and Helen Nicholas from Gower Unearthed giving some informative talks along the way about the heritage of the area.
Rusty Railings Over the River
Having descended to the valley bottom on my walk up Cwm Dulais, I crossed the small footbridge over the Afon Dulais (“river” in Welsh is “afon” just as “cwm” is “valley”). Saying that the bridge railings are rusty might suggest that they are worn and falling apart but the rust is only a surface colouration rather than a deep and weakening phenomenon. What I assume is cast iron is as hard and strong as ever.
Walking through the mist
Rising higher on this, my second consecutive walk up the Cwm Dulais valley, I came into a heavy mist. The mist was not so heavy that I couldn’t see the friendly horse in the field at the top to whom I like to chat, but his own grey colour is not far off that of the mist – well camouflaged for weather like this!
Solar Attempt
On this first of three consecutive walks in my local valley of Cwm Dulais, as I returned down one of the lanes towards home, there was what I can only describe as a solar attempt. The sun tried repeatedly to break through the clouds that had blown in gradually as I continued my walk, but alas, was unable to make a lasting impression and it was only by diligent timing and patience that I managed to get this shot.
Deceptive Dancing Sunlight
Even though I know the context of this image I still thing the pattern of dancing morning sunlight on the railway bridge wall is deceptive. It looks as though the bridge may be crossing water, but in reality it is a pattern created by the shadows of tree branches next to the bridge and the relief texture of the stones with which it is built.
Double Walled Garden and Beyond
Walking through the double walled garden at the National Botanic Garden of Wales I focused not on the walls but on one or two of the other features. My choices were largely influenced by the light and two of these were the simple and beautiful design of the seat in front of bamboos and the thistle seed heads.
My choice for the first image in this post is however not in the double walled garden but just outside it.
Towards the End of the Day
My walk this week was longer than I had originally intended and I think that is partly the result of the straight path I was on. Even where the path was not straight, the bend was long and gentle and my memory of it from a number of years ago was not clear enough for me not to want to see round the bend. The result was that the sun was pretty low in the sky on my return.
