Tag Archives: nature

rusty fence

Local Viewpoint and Not Being Lost

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I was asked twice on this walk if I was lost! I know the viewpoint well and the various routes to it but this was clearly not evident to those asking the question and I can only wonder what expression I had on my face to prompt it.

Local viewpoint

This viewpoint looks over my local landscape to the Loughor Estuary and the Gower Peninsula. As with the other local hills, it is a great place to climb to if you feel the need to rise above things rather than explore the more enclosed environment of the forest. Continue reading→

Fuchsia

Autumn Reds in the Garden

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I am lucky enough to have a long garden down which to walk each morning and enjoy the changing colours, patterns and textures it presents along the way. I don’t know what I would do without this resource for my wellbeing. Being outside my door, it is the closest that nature could be to me and much as I enjoy my walks to local marshes, woods, hills and further afield, I don’t know how I would manage without our garden as well.

dogwood

The reds are really coming through now, but there is more to come as Autumn proceeds. For now we have the berries, rosehips, fuchsia and dogwood.

I’m not one for controlling nature but if we didn’t do some maintenance jobs, it wouldn’t be long before we couldn’t move in the place. And so the garden heap is still waiting for a convenient dry evening to be burnt before the cuttings from the pruning of our cherry tree can be moved into place to await their turn for a bonfire.

Fuchsia
Berberis berries
Autumn Dogwood
dogwood red
Autumn dogwood leaves
garden heap
Welsh Poppy

Before and After

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So on my saunter down the garden for “my walk this week”, this is what our flowering cherry tree looks like – after the pruning it was given a few weeks ago. Our friend Joe did a fantastic job of untangling branches from telegraph wires and opening the tree out to allow more light amongst its foliage. You can see the before and after photos is in the image set below.

Cherry Tree

The tree is still green but in other places the greens are changing to yellows with the brightness of a lone Welsh poppy still standing out against the backdrop.Continue reading→

Ouse Walk gate

Millennium Footpath

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It turned out that my walk this week was along the Millennium Footpath – another one! If “millennium” means one thousand (as in years), then I think there must be a millennium of “Millennium Footpaths” in Britain and probably many more around the world. This one is alongside the River Ouse as it flows out of York in the North East England.

River Ouse footpath

I suspect that this footpath was already here and frequently used before the turn of the century. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with giving that or any other name to a walking route, as anything that encourages people to walk and enjoy their surroundings is good in my book.Continue reading→

Following the creek

Following the Creek

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On my recce walk this week on the marshes with other project workers, we were told that, basically, we would follow the creek. This turned out to be important!

Marsh creek

The creek, although well hidden in the expanse of marshland, is still the only clearly identifiable feature – as long as you stay close to it.Continue reading→

Moss and Ferns

My Walk this Week – Project Recce Walk, Bishopston Valley

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My walk this week follows one of the routes we will be taking on a schools project this Autumn. A recce had to be made and a risk assessment done and in Bishopston Valley on the South Gower coast there are plenty of risks, particularly when it has been wet.

mossy rocky terrain

But nothing ventured, nothing gained and the young 13 and 14 year olds we will be taking along this exciting footpath will hopefully enjoy the challenge. Continue reading→

bracken detail

The Density of Bracken

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The density of the bracken on the steep hillside down which I was climbing cautiously, is common on the open commons of the Welsh landscape. While bright green in the Spring and Summer, it changes the hills to bright red in the Autumn when the light is right.

Beneath the bracken

We are having August weather this year as if we were already in Autumn and the bracken is now beginning to change colour. However, it was still bright and thick on this walk back at the end of June. My poor knees were aching from the steep descent (I much prefer climbing) and I had to sit down to give them a break half way down the slope. Continue reading→