blossom

My Walk this Week 157 – High Tide Deposits and Spring Growth

My walk this week follows high spring tides on my local marshes and looks at the deposits they left as well as the new wildflower and marsh grass growth coming through with Spring.

Bluebells en route

Bluebells en route

Spring tides occur twice a month every month, as do neap tides, not just in the Spring. The term “spring tide” is given to those tides that have the greatest difference in height between high and low tide, but the highest tidesContinue reading

Bluebells by the river

My Walk this Week 156 – Springtime Hill

My walk this week follows an uphill route I have climbed many times in the past but on a sunny Springtime morning felt really fresh and new. Atop the hill the view was very hazy for me and the crow below and I could see across to the far side of the valley and area of woodland that is being harvested for its conifers. My walks through those woods will never be the same again and while I knew that some day the trees would be felled, I feel very sad about it.

Crow with a view

The sunlight and life of this walk on Goppa Hill had no sadness to it and as I walked up the hollow way I was surprised to meet a goat which I thought had a somewhat “knowing” smile on its face. What it knew I cannot say but he appeared to be welcoming enough to a stranger and let me pass on by to say hello to a group of playful young cows in the field above.Continue reading

Distant Gower from The Mawr

My Walk this Week 141 – Exploring Down from The Mawr

On my walk this week I went exploring a footpath I have passed on top of The Mawr on many occasions but never stopped for a closer look – until now.

Woodland ravine path

Looking across to the Gower Peninsula in the distance, I stood and enjoyed the wind as it gently swirled around me and brought the sound of skylarks to my ears. Setting off down an old moss covered farm track, it wasn’t longContinue reading

Squall

Herded by Cows and a Squall

At the start of my walk this week I mentioned my caution regarding cows and how I cut off across the top of the hill to avoid them. But they were having none of that and following a sudden squall of hailstones I was persuaded yet again to take an alternative route back down the hill.

cows

The fast changing weather provided me with a range of lighting effects and I found myself blinded by the light one moment and then wowed by the hailing clouds over Swansea Bay the next. It was still very cold and although this wasn’t a long walk,Continue reading

Dorset Wind – Reviewing the Walk

Dorset walk

My walk this week has been from June 2012 and features the Dorset wind. I don’t know to what extent the wind has been apparent to anyone viewing the photos for this walk that I have posted through the week, but the soundscape below should give a sense of time as well as place. Continue reading

Bovine Greetings

Dorset cows

My walk from the past this week took me up one of the rolling hills of Dorset. At the top I was given a bovine greeting from a herd of very curious cows – not so curious to push up against the electric fence, I guess they had learned their lesson with that. Continue reading

Passing Underneath

The puddle below tells the story of the weather and the long horned cows underneath the M4 motorway bridge know that story as well as the farmer and I do. Having constructed a coral for his cattle the farmer has given some convenient shelter to these mothers with their calves and allowed me to walk without fear of being pronged by one of those sharp looking objects.

The railway bridge which also crosses this footpath is made of older material than concrete and the various colours of the stone used create a fascinating pattern within pattern in the construction of the bridge. You will have to watch the video at the end of the week to see more.

Under the motorway

puddle reflection

colourful railway bridge stone