Across the sands

My Walk this Week 242 – Sound Memories

My walk this week is from August  2020 when I was taking part in a Sound Memories project called Walk 19. I and three other sound recordists were invited to record the sounds of places described by elders in care homes to Cheryl Beer, project Lead Artist funded by The Arts Council of Wales National Lottery Good Causes and Founder and Director of Sound Memories Dementia Friendly Radio Station.

Burry Port 2

One of the places I visited was Burry Port on the Burry Inlet in Carmarthenshire. Some of the photos I took are below and the project soundscape that Cheryl produced from my audio clips can be found on the Walk 19 page of her website (see link above) along with all the others she made for the care homes she was working with.

Gull on rooftop

My Walk this Week 155 – New Memories from Whitby

My walk this week is from 2009 – let me explain. My wife was recently surprised by the Photos app on her iPhone telling her she had a new memory which turned out to be from Whitby in 2009. That seems to me to be an old memory, not a new one. However, I checked the memory section of my own Photos app and found a similar set from the same holiday we had taken.

Harbour wall left

When looking through the photos it was the one above that caught my eye (apart from the happy family snapshots) – I like the form created by the angle it is taken from. On looking more closely at the images, Continue reading

boats in Penzance harbour

My Walk this Week 147 – Back in Penzance and St Ives

My walk this week is from this time 6 years ago when we visited Penzance and St Ives on the most south western corner of Britain. I was very pleased to have the excuse to visit a part of the UK I had never seen before and about which I had heard so much.

Penzance seafront

As you can see from the blue sea in the images below, we were very lucky with the weather when at St Ives, and though windier in Penzance, that made the place no less enjoyable. The only thing I regret now is that I didn’t get any sound recording done while thereContinue reading

A Different Landscape

Having climbed up from the beach via the sand buried steps (see below) on my walk this week at Aberavon, south Wales, I continued east along the promenade path and found a different landscape to that which I had been enjoying down on the sand. The sea fret had lifted slightly as evidenced by a clearer view of the cranes but turning round and looking inland, the mist was still hanging low over the hills and the light, or lack of it, was still apparent and somehow fitting for the old ruined wooden harbour wall and jetties.

old jetty

Continue reading

Remnants – Finders Keepers

I couldn’t stop myself grabbing some of this old rusty metal coil I found on a stony beach near an old harbour as I took a walk along the shore during our holiday in Scotland. I am sure that this and some other old bits and pieces of metal I found will make some interesting images and sounds – just as soon as I can find the time to experiment!

old rusty metal

Spectating a Lock

Swansea Marina has two locks to allow boats access to both the River Tawe and the harbour entrance at the river mouth. Walking from one end to the other provides many opportunities to stop and gaze at the movement of lock gates, water, people and boats.

There is (must be) a patience in the people living here and using the the marina. Whether a walker or a sailor, if you are waiting to cross or go through the lock gates, the mechanism being heavy and slow to operate, means that time slows down and there is no option but to accept it.

The gulls in the last photograph below look as though they have mastered this patient outlook on life as they appear to spectate the relative inactivity in the marina on this day where the sheltered aspect of their position means the greatest movement is in the rhythmical ripples in the water.

lock gate

A Range of Activities

The weather may not have been great for my walk through Swansea Marina but there was still plenty of activity in the place. I enjoyed standing a while leaning against the railings and listening to the banter of those on the fishing boats, watching the rowing practice and looking at the jewels and beads of water on the bundled fishing nets as they spilled out of their harbour side containers.

rowers

Marina Activity

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Strange Eggs, Public Art or Floats

These strange egg like objects are of course dockland floats. It looks as though it is some time since they were used and they look almost like pieces of abstract public art as they lie there between the marina and the docks. If they were eggs, I wonder what their mother would look like?

giant floats