Tag Archives: park
Cwmdonkin Park Recce, Swansea
Last week I had an unexpected walk around Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea. The park is well known for its association with Swansea’s very own poet Dylan Thomas and it has recently had some work carried out in it with a grant from European funds.
It was a good time to be there as this work had been completed and the colours were changing with the season. The sun was shining and if it hadn’t been for the noise pollution of a park worker blowing leaves away with a noisy machine, it would have been perfect. The noise (which eventually stopped) did not stop me getting a number of photos on my iPhone and I will be posting these here through the week.
This weeks featured StillWalks video can be viewed at the bottom of this post and last week’s video will revert to the sample version.
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 – “Autumn Lakeside Walk” from Gnoll Park, Neath, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video.
Featuring Fallen Fences
Last Sunday morning I went to the park thinking I was going to be late to join the Friends of Coedbach Park on a hunt for mushrooms and toadstools. There was a great deal of activity in the park with two football and matches and a rugby game going on and others waiting in the wing.
I walked around the woods but could find nobody looking for mushrooms or fungi of any sort – I found some mushrooms though – you can see them on Instagram! I should have checked my diary, I would have found the event is down for next Sunday, so I won’t miss it after all.
In the meantime I carried on with my walk and took the opportunity to focus on fences instead and here are a few of the shots I took.
You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks, pay what you want and receive a download of this week’s featured StillWalks video “Troserch Woodland Walk“, click the image below to watch the sample.
A Very Distinctive Voice
This bird has a very distinctive voice but I would need my bird expert, Martin Humphreys, to identify it for me.
I thought I was getting better at bird identification from their songs but it seems there doesn’t need to be much of a gap in practice for the knowledge gained to all go out the window.
Stress Signal Status
Aching, painful muscles?
Tinnitus?
Headaches?
My stress signals include these three symptoms and probably in that order. StillWalks or walking are my most immediate remedies.
Tinnitus – The tinnitus comes second in the list even though it is a constant in my left ear. It is when it becomes a textured and vibrating whine that it gets more difficult to accept and it does this at times of greater stress . . . and then, of course, I get more stressed as a result.
Muscles – It’s the same situation with the muscles – the pain in the muscles (often my neck, currently my shoulders) may be the cause of stress or something else but the result is the tensing of those and other muscles which only makes things worse.
Headaches – These come last on the list for me because I do not generally get headaches. When I do, it is usually the result of stress. I have only ever had a couple of migraines but that is two too many. A good description for them was put up here at the A Word in Your Ear blog last week.
It’s Amazing – I’ve just watched a StillWalk and it’s amazing how well can work! The Garden Park Walk is a full length example – you’ll find it on the Spring Walks page of StillWalks and it is recommended that you watch it full screen.
Here are a few images from this short 6 minute video.
Magnolia, Clyne Gardens, Swansea
Clyne Gardens, Swansea
Clyne Gardens, Swansea
Rhododendron, Clyne Gardens, Swansea
Time to Pause
Time to Pause – This is largely what StillWalks is about – taking the time necessary to keep calm and not get too stressed. Whether it be relaxing at the end of the day or taking 5 minutes out in the middle of the working day, StillWalks can be both enjoyable and a useful alternative to actually getting out there for a real walk.
The queue of things to do – There never seems to be enough time to do all that I want or is necessary. So, considering what I have just said about StillWalks, I have decided to make a priority completing the four or five StillWalks that are half way through the post production stage by the end of September. The production days for these walks date back to the middle of March and completing them should be a priority because this is work I enjoy doing and, like taking a real walk or watching a StillWalk, has it’s therapeutic value.
Current explorations – In the meantime I have been enjoying finding a new place to produce a StillWalk – Singleton Park in Swansea and its botanic garden. I joined Martin Humphreys and others last Wednesday for a Bees and Butterflies walk through the botanic garden – it was very enjoyable and relaxing. The walk will take place again next Wednesday at 10 AM – anyone interested should meet at the botanic garden entrance in the park. Enjoy the photos from my phone below.
Singleton Park, Swansea
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden
Singleton Park Botanic Garden – Twisted tree