Bishopston Valley Details and No Rain

Posted on 08/11/201731/10/2017 by Alastair

This walk for the “Our Gower” project extends beyond Bishopston Valley to the beach at Pwll Du, but I thought I would present some of the details of the valley which, with the dry weather of the second project day in the valley, allowed us to explore and photograph more easily.

We also recorded some of the sounds of the thickly wooded valley and made notes about the atmosphere of the place – how it made us feel, what its colours and textures were like and something of the history and geography of the environment. For instance, Guzzle HoleContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – Our Gower Project Walk 2, Bishopston Valley

Posted on 06/11/201731/10/2017 by Alastair

The second of the schools I walked with on the Our Gower project had no more luck with the weather than when we walked out on the marshes (see last weeks posts) – if anything, it was worse!

Bishopston Valley on South Gower is home to some wonderful ancient woodland . . . and when it is wet, it is also home to a great deal of mud. Despite the wet conditions (or perhaps because of them) everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. As well as Wellington boots, everyone had been givenContinue reading→

Evening Landscape – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 11/12/201604/12/2016 by Alastair

This evening landscape at the end of my walk this week in Penclawdd on the North Gower coast was not really very late in the day – just after 4pm. The days seem so short at this time of day, but I must try to remember those further north who, if you go far enough north, see no real sunlight at all through the day. I cannot imagine what that is like.

The sounds of this walk include many of the activities of the place, both man-made and natural. It was good to find myself hidden from the traffic and industry so easily by such a low lying shield of land as I walked at the edge of the salt marsh.

Enjoy the sounds along with selected images from my walk below.

Penclawdd Walk Soundscape

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Into the Light

Posted on 08/12/201602/12/2016 by Alastair

Finally on my walk this week I rounded the corner of the edge lands to the salt marsh and was able to appreciate the vast cloudless afternoon sky. The only blemish(?) on the pale blue>green>yellow>orange canvas was a distant airplane. The other mark on that sheet of colour apart from the land itself is a tiny object on the horizon line – that is Whitford lighthouse. This a Victorian cast iron built feature of the Burry Inlet that I have been to within one or two hundred yards but have yet to find the time to time it right and get right out to it when the tide is low enough . . . someday I will.

Heading further along I met up with the river which at low tide features some very glorious mud – “mud, mud, glorious mud. nothing quite like it but . . .” something the birds in the area thoroughly enjoy or at least feed in. Enjoy the sound below.

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Lapwing On Patrol

Posted on 27/01/201527/01/2015 by Alastair

When I was in the Scouts I was Patrol Leader for Lapwing Patrol – we were well turned out but could never be as smartly dressed as this real lapwing patrolling the edge of the mudflats at Kidwelly.

Lapwing

There are no birds in this next photo but the strange pancake islands of grass that sit amidst the mudflats are still a fascinating feature.

Black and White Bird in a Colour Landscape

Posted on 17/10/201417/10/2014 by Alastair

Colour is almost not there in this Black Headed Gull but there is colour in the landscape below. The bottom image shows both the colour and lack of colour in the Loughor Estuary landscape on this particular day.

My monochrome post about this place earlier this week was prompted by the lack of colour in the estuary at the time those photos were taken. This image proves the difference under light and shade on a day of changeable weather.

Aware of the Water – Hereford and the River Wye

Posted on 05/03/201405/03/2014 by Alastair

The River Wye is another river that swells with flood water on a regular basis.

Like the Ouse in this week’s featured StillWalks video the Wye collects water from a wide area and sometimes there is just too much to contain and so, despite flood defences, the water spills onto the surrounding land.

We visited Hereford again recently to take my daughter back to university. We were lucky enough to have good weather for the trip and had time in the afternoon for a walk along the river. The footpath, however, was very muddy from the recent floods and we were not well enough shod to squelch our way through it.

This new StillWalks video will be here to view all week and will then be changed to sample length. I hope you enjoy it and comments are welcome.

You can use the Donate button below to help pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “City River Walk – After the Flood” which features York and the River Ouse. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Footpath Through the Woods – The Changing Season

Posted on 02/11/201302/11/2013 by Alastair

The end of my walk through Cwm Green Woods brought me back to the clearing and car park where I heard so many pheasants earlier in the morning.

I started this week’s posts writing about the rolling out of Autumn across different areas. The leaves on the ground in the last photo of this post show the difference of change between one kind of tree and another, and the conditions of their immediate surroundings. Even within quite a small area, there can be significant difference.

The trees shown at the start of this series were just beginning to change colour whilst these ones, just a few hundred yards away, are well on their way through the season.

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Woodland Walk” which is from Penllergaer Woods near Swansea, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

Tag Archives: mud