Tag Archives: gates

Castell Ddu – Reviewing the Walk

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Returning to my starting point in my local park on my walk this week, I had a last glimpse of the marshes on the Loughor Estuary. The light was still strong as there was not a cloud to be seen and the air was clear.

Reviewing the walk, I am reminded that although I have called it the Castell Ddu Walk, the castle, or what remains of it does not feature in the images other than the related nearby motte situated at the side of the motorway. The link and quoted text below gives some information on the place.

looking across the marshes

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Sheep in the Shade – Reviewing the Walk

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At the end of my walk this week I found myself cold again. Unlike the sheep in the shade of this frosty field, I did not have a thick wooly coat but a few hundred yards earlier I had been hot in the sunshine on top of the hill.

Listen to the soundscape for the walk below and take a look at the image sequence at the same time – I hope find it different to the last time I walked this route in the opposite direction just a few weeks ago.

sheep and frost

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Way Barred at the Final Gate

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The title of this post is literal rather than metaphorical. The sixth and final gate on my walk was accompanied by a cattle grid and so the way, at least for animals, was indeed barred. I started the posts for my walk this week with some images of walls and so as I approach the end of the walk it seemed appropriate to include the walls I found at this last stage.

The sound of this gate is also included below.

cattle grid

Barred Way

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Perspective on a Rusty Railing

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Having descended from the hills on my walk this week, I came eventually to the River Dulais. The footbridge across the river at this point in the valley is not the most attractive of bridges, being more functional than decorative, but it still has an attraction for me and not least for the old  but solid rusty, mossy colour and texture.river railing

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The Challenge of Gates

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Yesterday I mentioned the difficulty for horses of a steep and slippery section of the footpath/bridle way that I have been following on my walk this week. Here is another challenge for the riders of those horses. While gates may not present much of a difficulty to a well practised rider, some of them have mechanisms that require some extra effort to operate. I can’t remember for sure but I think one of the riders of the pair below dismounted in order to open this one.

As well as the pleasure I get from gates and in particular their various sounds, I also get (as I am sure do many other people) enjoyment from the sound of horses hooves on the ground. Listen below.

gate

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Natural Pattern and the Convenience of Stiles

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Natural pattern can be seen all over the place, nature is full of it. The natural pattern for me, perhaps I should say rhythm, of a Taste of Gower walk is one of regular pauses followed by a rush to catch up with the group. My pauses are taken in order to do some photography and field recording but as a result, I inevitably need to catch up to the rest of the group. And that is why it is so convenient to have one or two stiles along the footpath route. The palaver of a group of people climbing over a stile or going through a kissing gate individually provides me with all the time I need to cover the ground between us.

Natural pattern

Natural pattern

Bird and Gate

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Natural pattern

Walking and Talking

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Having left the fields and re-entered the woodland on this Taste of Gower walk at Weobley Castle on north Gower, we encountered yet more gates. There were many more gates and stiles on this walk than I have shown and this can sometimes cause delays if the group of walkers is large, but on this occasion it did not seem to be a problem.

Of course it may have been an issue of which I was unaware, hanging back from the main group as I was and taking photos of the conversations ahead of me as well as the colours, textures and patterns of different gates and mossy walls.

Woebley Walk-24

The soundscape below features a number of the gates on this walk. They do not appear in the clip in real time, instead I have composed this piece to emphasise the different sounds of the gates on the walk – its as though they have their own language.

Weobley Gates

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