sunrise

My Walk this Week 143 – Up Hill and Down Valley

My walk this week is another early morning one – the moon was setting as I left the house and as I climbed up hill, the sun was just beginning to show its colours reflected on the clouds. I was on this hill, Cefn Drum, last week but on this occasion I was walking in the opposite direction and returned along its opposite side, looking down on Cwm Dulais.

early morning sky

The day promised to be brighter than last week but the clouds kept intervening and the light kept changing accordingly. It was still a beautiful walk and I had not covered part of the route before. Having always looked at the rocky ridge of Twyn Tyle from the far side of the valley,Continue reading

equine evaluation

Agricultural Show 3 – Equine Evaluation

My last post from our local agricultural show is about the equine presentation and evaluation, an event always to be enjoyed. Unfortunately there was no show jumping this year and as a result the crowds were thinner than I have known in the past.

horse head

I enjoy watching the horses and miss the events I used to regularly photograph. As with the other animals in the show, the ponies and horses are all immaculately turned out and the riders are doing their very best to gain that red first rosette.Continue reading

The Challenge of Gates

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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No Excuses – Photography and Memory

I have posted a total of 14 images of The Kelpies as part of my walk this week and that may well be too many for most of you. However, I have reviewed them sequentially on a number of occasions in posting to this blog and found that they serve me with a good memory. There are aspects of our visit to The Helix, specifically to see these sculptural installations in the Scottish landscape, that I am pleased to have enhanced by the images. The fall of changing light as the sun began to set, the details of pattern and reflection in the structures and a hint at the true scale of the work in relation to myself and the surrounding landscape.

So for those who read these posts as well as those who only look at the images, I make no excuses for the number of photos of these magnificent horses and recommend that if you get the chance, they are worth a visit.

The Kelpies

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Horses in the Landscape – The Kelpies

Returning from my walk this week as a day trip to Edinburgh, we took a slightly round about route and visited The Helix at Falkirk to see The Kelpies. I had known about this wonderful installation but wanted to see it for myself. I have done my best with the photos below but like all the other images available online, they cannot do justice to the real thing.

The Kelpies

The Kelpies, The Helix Park, Falkirk

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Two of a Trio – Unexpected Horses

Almost full circle on my walk this week and I get to meet two of the trio of horses mentioned at the start of this week. There is no equine element to The Waterside so I was surprised to be met by this pair.

It turned out that they had wandered here from several miles away and had to be rounded up at the crack of dawn. The owners were eventually rounded up as well but although they arrived in time to witness the birth of the new alpaca (see Monday’s post), they were not able to arrange for the horses to be collected until the end of the day. This was perhaps most significant for the mare (on the left) as the stallion . . . well, I will leave that to your imagination!

horses grazing

horses grazing

stallion and mare

stallion and mare

The horses were in the field next to the outflow stream from the lake. I stopped to record a short sound clip to use in the soundscape for my walk this week which will be posted tomorrow as usual. The last time I recorded this water flow it was more of a torrent.

waterflow

waterflow

Lledr Valley Horses

Close to the start of my wet recce walk in the Lledr Valley in North Wales, I met this curious pair. They were probably wondering what on earth I was doing out in the damp weather if I had a choice not to be.

They were very friendly and allowed me to take several photos, though there was clearly a sense of the bigger protecting the smaller.

Lledr Valley Horses

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