The clear landscape didn’t last for long at the top of my walk this week to Penlle’r Castell on the heights of the Mawr above Swansea. As I walked back down to my car it quickly became a very misty descent as the heavy weather set in again.
Tag Archives: landscape
Marking the Gower on the Mawr
The first stone (concrete) way marker I reached on my walk this week on the Mawr was marking The Gower Way or Llwybr Gwyr. With my short route marked this clearly (!?), I lost much of my concern for being enveloped by cloud and happily carried on towards the top.
My Walk this Week – Weather on The Mawr
My walk this week is on the Swansea Uplands again. The weather on The Mawr (pronounced the same as “power”) can be unpredictable, but at least you can be sure that it is unpredictable! Crossing the area on my way home from an unproductive production day, I stopped in a small lay-by and took a walk up the hill to my left. It wasn’t raining or snowing at the time – in fact it had cleared quite nicely and I could see a vague track going straight upwards towards a half hidden way marker.
Taste of Gower Oxwich 3 – Focusing on the Footbridge
Crossing Oxwich Marsh towards the footbridge, the Taste of Gower walkers enjoy the sunshine and their company while I look on and enjoy the textures of the grasses and the colour of their costumes.
Following the Wind – Reviewing the Walk
On this walk I was following the wind and focused more on that than anything else. The soundscape below along with the images will hopefully help you to accompany me on this walk during that day of Storm Doris.
I ended the documentation of the walk at the weir on the Afon Dulais river where the roar of water collected by the river overnight overwhelmed any amount of noise the wind was making.
Stepping Stones and Wind in Pylons
Descending on my walk this week into the base of the valley, proof of other (helpful) walkers is evident from the arrangement of stepping stones through an expansive puddle. From here I climbed up a steep hillside track to arrive on the opposite side of the valley and a return to the double rows of electricity pylons.
Rising Wind
Rising slightly higher on my third walk up above the valley I began to get better views across the estuary. As this was the day of Storm Doris (Doris Day!), the wind was also rising or at least it sounded like it was.
The trees clustered round the phone mast on the top of Goppa hill are mostly coniferous and I have noted in the past that a different sound is created by the wind blowing through these rather than deciduous, broad leaved trees.
Valley Walk 2 – Reviewing the Walk
Nearing the end of my walk this week, the second of my walks up Cwm Dulais on consecutive days, I am reminded how different this walk was to the one on the previous day (posted last week). I did not do any field recording on this occasion and so the soundscape below does not reflect the misty atmosphere. However, I didn’t want to leave without an aural experience so I have included an edit of another recent walk in the same place but on a much brighter day.
So remember, if you are listening to the sound file at the same time as viewing the images, the two environmental atmospheres are quite different.