Nicholaston Farm Cafe – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 24/07/201618/07/2016 by Alastair

Always on the Taste of Gower walks there is a welcome cafe to be enjoyed at the end of the walk. Many of the walks have given me a first visit to the cafes associated with them and do an excellent job of persuading me and others to return in the knowledge that refreshments are available as well as beautiful views, wonderful habitats and enjoyable exercise. Nicholaston Farm Cafe was no exception and everybody enjoyed the fayre they provide.

The next walk will be next week on Friday 29th July and starts from Gower Heritage Centre – I’m looking forward to it!

Nicholaston Farm Cafe

Listen to the walk soundscape below while viewing the image sequence, just click the play button and then the first thumbnail image.

Nicholaston Walk Soundscape

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Oxwich Bay

grasses and clouds

Big Tor, Tor Bay, South Gower

Three Cliffs Bay

overgrown site of an old church

Taste of Gower walkers resting

Three Cliffs

Heading back

Rocks from above

Little Tor, Tor Bay and Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay

Bleach Walkers

natural tunnel

Nicholaston Farm cafe

Beach Bottleneck

Posted on 22/07/201616/07/2016 by Alastair

I photographed Oxwich beach at the start of my walk this week. The shape may be a little less obvious in the shot below but it still reveals a bottleneck form. If from this angle the shape is a bottleneck, then the third image in the sequence below could only be described as a wedge. The shape seemed obvious to me and is the reason for taking the photo but I wanted to emphasise it more and experimented with the contrast in monochrome.

Having enjoyed the overexposed beach image I posted from the previous Taste of Gower walk at Llanmadoc, I increased the exposure on the last photo below as well. With almost no reference points in the image, what is real becomes abstract.

Beach Bottleneck

Young Whin flowers

Beach bottleneck

beach wedge

monochrome beach wedge

Little Tor, Tor Bay and Oxwich Bay

Oxwich Bay

Bleach Walkers

My Walk this Week – Taste of Gower, Nicholaston Farm

Posted on 18/07/201618/07/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week is the Taste of Gower walk from June. The walk starts at Nicholaston Farm and follows the footpath along the cliffs to Three Cliffs Bay. The walk was led by Steve Lancey who organised it for Gower Landscape Partnership and we had Helen and Charlotte from Gower Unearthed as guides and providers of information on aspects of the walk such as Pen y Crug burial chamber.

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Nicholaston Farm

Taste of Gower walkers at Nicholaston Farm

Oxwich Bay

Nicholaston Walk

Bleached Beach

Posted on 16/06/201613/06/2016 by Alastair

When walking with a group and trying to do some photography and field recording at the same time, it is easy to end up rushing a bit and, as in this instance, forget to adjust the camera setting for the scene I’m wanting to capture. More often than not this results in useless images, but sometimes you get a happy accident.

When I first looked at this photo I thought “Whoops but wow! That’s just what it felt like at the time!”

The over exposure produced a bleached, white hot effect and when the sun was out this broad exposed hazy seascape felt just like this. I have included a more correct exposure of the scene in the gallery below so you can compare.

Bleached Beach

As can be seen from the “Pergyl – Danger” notice, the area used to be a firing range and people are advised not to touch anything they find as it may explode. One of the walkie talkies for the group was dropped on the beach during the walk and could not be found – I hope it doesn’t cause a scare for the person who finds it.

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Bleached Beach

Beach Walker and Dog

Walkers

Beach Pebbles

Warning notice

Shoreline

Magical Calm Before the Storm

Posted on 15/06/201612/06/2016 by Alastair

I have said that the weather was kind to us on my walk this week. It can be seen here on the expansive beach at Whitford, that there was the potential to be caught by an impending storm. Fortunately the wind favoured us and took this huge bank of dark cloud off to the north east.

calm before the storm

The scene felt other worldly with the calm humidity and the simplicity of the open space. The haze blurred the details of what land could be seen and the “canvas” was reduced to indistinct sea and sky in muted colours. The old Victorian iron built Whitford Lighthouse was an enticing object just out of reach in the water and a small flock of one of my favourite birds flew as if in slow motion along the length of shore, mixing their calls with the skylarks. It was magical!

Larks and Oystercatchers

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Still beach scene

calm before the storm

Oystercatchers

Whitford Lighthouse

Enjoying the Water

Posted on 14/06/201612/06/2016 by Alastair

The weather was good to us during my walk this week with the Taste of Gower walkers at Llanmadoc. However, there had clearly been recent rain in the area or the tide had come high enough to fill the track ruts and Cefyn, liking water, took full advantage of the fact.

As we passed by on a dry part of the burrows next to the beach he could not resist running backwards and forwards in this stretch of water again and again. Such enjoyment was great to see 🙂

He also thoroughly enjoyed being down at the water’s edge once we got further along the beach where we met one or two other walkers and their dogs!

Water and Dog

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Heading for the beach

Buttercups in the Burrows

Walkers on the Beach

Cefyn enjoying the water

Cefyn enjoying the sea

Cefyn enjoying the sea 2

Irish wolfhound

Bay Campus – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 08/05/201607/05/2016 by Alastair

During my walk this week at Swansea University Bay Campus there were some beautiful sunny spells which allowed me to enjoy the campus at its best. However, below is the proof that bad weather will set in eventually! Even when the prospects look good for sunshine, these unpredictable days can so easily change and suddenly bring in wind and rain, even hail or snow.