hilltop heather

My Walk this Week 219 – Working Up Above

My walk this week meant that I was working up above the place I have been working in for the past nine months. Sitting outside at break times in good weather, I would look up at the hills overlooking the bay and wonder if there was a footpath that would allow me to look down from above.

rocky outcrop

Finally, this week, the opportunity arose and on investigation I discovered there is no footpath and some of the land is private. However, a helpful resident told me his kids play up there and on taking a closer look, I found the route they had worn over time.

It was a steep clamber through the wild woods but on reaching a rocky outcrop near the top, I was rewarded with the views I had been seeking. I felt a bit like an intruder to a hidden lair but and I cannot imagine many other people (if any) making their way up there. With my kit bag on my back and seemingly insistent on dragging me back down the hill head over heels, I was grateful to find a rope tied between a few tree trunks to aid the persistent climber.

Bay Soundscape

The soundscape reveals the ambience of the bay as well as that of the woods. Sitting on the outcrop of rocks the full scene could be heard with deep rumble of traffic beneath the mid pitches of the sea and the higher pitches of seagulls. Turning back to dip down from the edge of the slope the ambience changed – the traffic disappeared, the sea became distant and flies could be heard buzzing among the damp undergrowth.

Back in the woods on my precarious downward journey, jays were calling vociferously. But as always seems the case with jays, I couldn’t tell whether they were arguing about something or laughing their heads off at a good joke (probably me negotiating the steep, muddy slope).

Ending the Year Part 2 – Walks in the Forest

Moving into the second half of my year of forest walks in a local woodland the place is dark with dappled shade from canopy of foliage. This is a mixed woodland with both broad leaved trees and coniferous. The two types of tree tend to stay with their own and so the sound of the wind can be, if not distinctly different as it blows through either needles or leaves, certainly discernible, though perhaps not in the short sound clip below.

Forest shade in July

Continue reading

Going Backwards – One More from the Park

I am pleased to say that I am not actually going backwards – at least I hope not! Just leaving Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea until I have worked on other StillWalks productions from earlier in the year.

And below is the final sound clip I recorded before leaving the park. Are these squirrels or jays? I know they can sound similar and I know there were plenty of squirrels around but I saw no Jays at all. Also available on SoundCloud.

Cwmdonkin Park

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Abertawe Walk” which is along the cycle path alongside the River Tawe going into Swansea, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Paypal button