My Walk this Week 248 – End of the Day

Posted on 12/03/202110/03/2021 by Alastair

My walk this week was a much needed one towards the end of the day – a day on which I had spent all my time on the computer.

It is the sounds enjoyed on this walk that are most important to me but the images and video give a visual context to it as well.

The robin and the blackbird seem to be having a conversation – and the sheep have something to say too.

Birds and Sheep

The walk took me up a familiar footpath where I noticed things I hadn’t really paid attention to previously – such as the arboreal elbow of a tree or the integration of another tree and old build wall. Perhaps I should describe this as a take over of man-made by natural.

And from my elevation with views I descended a steep track to the valley floor and the river I have so often featured here.

Click the play button for the sound file and then the first image to view the images in sequence.

Landscape, river and route

My Walk this Week 190 – River Ely

Posted on 17/01/202003/02/2020 by Alastair

My walk this week was a short one by the River Ely on the edge of Cardiff and slotted in between the rain and meetings. The profusion of recent rain was showing its effect on the river, though I am sure this is nothing compared to other areas of the country.

The sights and sounds of the river rushing and gurgling along during lunchtime break in a nearby school (you can hear the children in the playground) was intermittently overlaid by the speeding by of local and intercity trains.Continue reading→

Nature on the Banks of an Inland Marina

Posted on 16/05/201814/05/2018 by Alastair

I was slightly surprised on my walk this week in Northampton to find a marina – Northampton is land locked and not far off the centre of England. However, this inland marina was not for sailing and motor boats, it was for canal boats and there were plenty of them.

The photo above shows one of the locks on the River Nene. I thought the sepia treatment of the image added some character to what was otherwise a fairly ordinary feature. What I really enjoyed about these water ways wasContinue reading→

Natural and Man-Made

Posted on 24/01/201822/01/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week took me through Swansea University’s Bay Campus to the open view it has of the expansive Swansea Bay. The combination of the natural and man-made had a number of crossover points – one of these was how cold it was with the wind chill coming off the sea, exposed as I was both in the open and amongst the buildings.

Other overlaps of the natural and man made came in the birdlife and young trees planted around the buildings, the moat-like sea defences (I suspect that, one day, these will not be enough), the rusting structure of an old disused outlet pipe onto the beach, and the industrial view looking east to Port Talbot.Continue reading→

Campus Evening – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 14/01/201709/01/2017 by Alastair

At the end of my walk this week it is still only 4:20 pm but the last remaining light in the sky is all but gone. In the shade of York University campus it is completely gone and lights are reflecting on the dark surface of the campus lake around which I have been walking. There was no ice on the lake but it felt bitterly cold at the time – however, this may have been because I kept stopping to take in the sights and record the sounds.

The soundscape is below along with a selected sequence of images from my walk.

Continue reading→

Nature and Power Patterns Against a Blue Sky

Posted on 02/12/201628/11/2016 by Alastair

The patterns I saw on my walk this week were wonderful. Both natural and man made, these objects were clear and crisp against the most significant aspect of the views – the blue sky. Whether it was the near fractal patterns of a bare tree or the electrical loops of power lines, the bright blue sky made them stand out and I was in awe at the complex beauty around me.

Willow Wall

Posted on 05/10/201629/09/2016 by Alastair

Returning from the wildflower garden to the children garden on my walk this week at Kunsthuis Gallery I explored one of its features. The willow tunnel entrance to this natural / man-made “dwelling” was too enticing not to do so. Bending down to child height I entered the dome shaped structure and enjoyed the changed and semi-secretive space with its growing willow walls and willow roof creating patterns and textures as it changed the sunlight from above.

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

willow tunnel

Willow roof

willow wall

willow exit

Under the Woodland Bridge

Posted on 24/05/201621/05/2016 by Alastair

This was a first for me – viewing the railway into Swansea from underneath. For some reason it had not occurred to me that the Tawe riverside footpath would, at this location, inevitably pass under the railway.

There is something fascinating, even exciting, about the combination of natural and man made – wood, leaf, concrete and iron – the different (and similar) scales has as much to do with my fascination as the juxtaposed materials and textures.

The reflection of the bridge in the waters of the river below provides a link between the hard functional materials of its construction and the more natural woodland lining the river.

Both the railway and the footpath were in use on this Sunday morning with plenty of walkers, joggers, children and dogs enjoying the woodland. However, I didn’t either see or hear a train during my walk.

Walking Conversations