My walk this week is another from my archive of StillWalks® videos. I have chosen it because (writing in advance) this is where I will be during the transition to 2016 and I will certainly be taking at least one walk around this lake at that time.
Blue sky and crisp coldness – if there is no snow or ice to denote the season, the bare trees at least should prove the time of year. These photos are clearly from a less damp winter than we have experienced in Britain this year, even allowing for the fact that the north east is drier than the south west.
My walk this week is another one I take quite frequently – I know it well but there is always something new to look at or listen to. The start of the walk goes through our local park and as can be seen, the rain has finally arrived with the colours of Autumn.
You must not let a little rain put you off walking in this country (or a lot of rain for that matter). Indeed, it is the damp weather we so often seem to have that provides us with so many wonderful mosses and lichens.
Towards the end of September we visited the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW) – it is a place we go whenever the opportunity arises as it is so beautiful and has a wide range of environments. The weather was excellent on this particular day, so I hope that you will join me on this week’s walk posts and enjoy some of the details of the gardens.
The gardens are visited by many photographers, professional and amateur alike, as it gives such a good opportunity to photograph the wide range of plants both in the grounds and in the Great Glass House. My photos this week are a selection of those I took on this September visit and although they are mostly shots of plants and flowers, you can see a wider view of the gardens through their film or virtual tour on their website.
My posts this week are about a recent walk along the cliffs at the end of the Gower Peninsula. Gower Landscapes Partnership and Swansea Walking Forum have been organising a series of walks on the Gower peninsula this year. As a member of the Walking Forum I have been taking part in these Tastes of Gower walks. The most recent was at Rhosilli where the Worm’s Head spits out into the sea.
It was a very enjoyable walk on a beautiful day. Walking out from Rhosilli to the tip of the peninsula and the Worm’s Head, we had spectacular views from the cliffs over Rhosilli Bay. People and dogs on the beach looked smaller than ants!
We didn’t venture onto the Worm’s Head, though the tide times on that day would have allowed it. The tide times are shown on a large notice at the start of the path to the Head but despite this many people get caught out and end up stranded on the island. Many of these, so I am told, are from China and don’t speak English, yet it has not occurred to the Coast Guard that has top go and fetch them by boat, to put up a similar notice in Chinese (and other languages).
The starting point for a recent walk around Cardiff Bay can be seen below in some of the angular architecture of the area. The architecture may be one of the things that Cardiff Bay is known for but my walk this week, which took us across the barrage, will be taking an alternative look at the area and some of the features that caught my attention.
The materials of the building in the background of the second photo prove it to be the same one as is in the first shot. You may be able to tell that the first image was taken at a different time to the second as is shown by the change in weather. It’s the bird I particularly like in this photo, and the red triangle of the footbridge in the second one, or perhaps I should say the context of these elements of the images.
During the nice weather at the end of September I made a point of going for a morning walk slightly earlier than usual in order to catch the rising sun. The sky was just beginning to lighten when I arrived at my viewing point and the atmosphere with the clouds and mist lying along the valley floor and amongst the trees was almost eerie.
Looking north up the river Loughor valley the distant Betws wind farm could be seen through a gap in the clouds while looking east across the valley the sun is clearly on its way as proven by the vapour trail glinting in the lightening sky.
You will also be able to see the second photo in monotone on Wednesday at Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post – Monochrome Madness 2-28
A few weeks ago I was asked if I would be interested in writing a regular article about my walks in the Swansea and South Wales area for the online version of the South Wales Evening Post. So, with the interests of StillWalks in mind and what they are all about, I will be posting up my sixth article today – My Walk this Week – from Parc-Le-Breos House.
I have recently been planning StillWalks Sights and Sounds Tag Along Days and this has necessitated exploring possible walk routes in suitable places. This not only serves the intended purpose of setting up these events / workshops, but also provides me with good material for the Evening Post article.
My first exploration was to Parc-Le-Breos House. The reason for selecting this as a starting point is the number of already planned walks that start from the Bed and Breakfast and include some beautiful areas on the Gower Peninsula. Also, there is the option for refreshments and facilities and the use of a room for review of photography and sound clips produced on the Tag Along walk.
Below are a couple of the photos I got on my recce walk. I will talk more about this and post more photos over the next couple of days and a selection of the images are available at the StillWalks Photography website on PhotoShelter.
