My Walk this Week 216 – Returning To What Was

My walk this week takes a look and a listen to what was at one time a railway track. Listening to the soundscape for the walk also means returning to the sounds we were used to pre-pandemic.

The old railway track could still be seen in places when we first moved here many years ago. Things have changed significantly over that time and this part of that old rail route has become a wonderful slice of wild woodland. Unfortunately I suspect its days are numbered as the ever encroaching local housing and road developments continue apace and I was sorry to find my way blocked by a building site.

The soundscape below could have been edited down further. Although there are few birds singing at this time of day, I still enjoyed the sound of the wind in the trees and even the nuances of the distant motorway traffic. Returning to what was, pre-pandemic, means inevitably more traffic on the roads, jet aeroplanes in the sky (listen carefully) and of course the sirens of police cars. This last one I decided not to include and is the point at which I stopped recording.

Old Railway Woodland Soundscape

 

foxgloves

My Walk this Week 170 – Wind on The Mawr

My walk this week is back up on top of The Mawr again – this time as a visit to the Awel Aman Tawe Community Wind Farm above Cwmgors. It was a beautiful day and the wind was blowing well, with the result that the turbine blades were turning fast and producing the electricity they were designed for.

Awel wind turbines

This moorland is on the eastern edge The Mawr – in fact I am not even sure if it is considered part of that upland landscape! Whether it is or not, the scenery is beautiful with views over to Pen-y-Fan, the Brecon Beacons highest peak and a peacefulness most of the time that I have spoken of before.Continue reading

lakeside

My Walk this Week 168 – Waterside Wildflowers

My walk this week takes a further look at wildflowers, this time they are around the lake at The Waterside. I admit I do not know either the common names or the Latin of most of the flowers, but that does not spoil my enjoyment of them one tiny little bit.

waterside wildflowers

Their beauty and the ecology associated with them is something I appreciate without knowing the details. I suspect the house martins speed-flying low across the surface of the lake, darting left, right, up and down to catch insects inContinue reading

holloway footpath

My Walk this Week – A Countryside Hike

Hike is an exaggeration for my walk this week but I was wearing my hiking boots which, with the hot weather we have been getting recently, was unusual. Though boots may make my feet hot, they are still much more comfortable to wear when climbing hills and crossing a multitude of terrains, than open sandals are.

country lane

So on my “hike” I crossed the river, climbed the countryside lane and entered the holloway (or hollow way as it is sometimes written), to climb higher – Continue reading

thistles

Colour in the Valley and Some Cautious Sheep

Colour and sheep were significant features of this first part of my Cwmdu walk up Cwm Sorgwm between the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains in Wales.

Gate and foxgloves

The colour was largely the vast array of greens common to the Welsh countryside and hills, but also other colours such as the purples of thistles and foxgloves. The sheep too,Continue reading

Forest steps

In the Pink and Green

Summer walks in the woods reveal the pink flowers and the green grass in sunlight.

Forest Foxgloves

While there is plenty of shade under the trees – indeed the forest is often darker than usual because of the density to foliage – there are also pockets or glades of sunlight picking out the Continue reading

Wildflowers - thistle

Wildflowers – Pink

One could get argumentative about the recognition and naming of any colour – in this case pink. When it comes to wildflowers (or anything else for that matter) there is a huge range of tones, tints and shades lying between pinks and blues.

Wildflowers - red campion

I chose to go with pink for some of the wildflowers found on my walks during a holiday in south west Scotland because to me that is the obvious hue in the image above and some of the other images below. However, the flowers in these shots Continue reading

Forest Flower in June

This flower-to-be is a classic of the forest in June and if you don’t immediately recognise it without its colour, check out the patch of colour in the background as a hint or the other photos below. The sun and the colours are bright in June and with the forest in full bloom the light and shade is dappled.

June in the forest

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