Close to the start of my wet recce walk in the Lledr Valley in North Wales, I met this curious pair. They were probably wondering what on earth I was doing out in the damp weather if I had a choice not to be.
They were very friendly and allowed me to take several photos, though there was clearly a sense of the bigger protecting the smaller.
From this viewpoint on my walk over Rhosilli Down at the end of the Gower Peninsula, I wouldn’t need to do much by way of camouflage to hide the houses of Llangennith, as they already appear to fit so well with the rocks in the landscape.
I recently attended a talk at our local library by Geraint Owen of the geography department at Swansea University. It was a fascinating illustrated talk about the geology of our local area and so I now understand the reasons behind the forms of the rocks in the outcrops in the last couple of photos below.
I am not going to go into the details of this geology but Geraint and his associate Siwan Davies have developed a series of 10 wonderful walking leaflets featuring details of walks and the local geology. Unfortunately a direct link to the website currently reveals it to be under construction, but at least it gives contact details.
There is a fair wind blowing in the sound clip below. The background sound of surf in the sea mingles with it but none of that stops the skylarks singing and there are not in my opinion, many sounds more uplifting than an lark.
Wind, Sea and Larks
If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.
I photographed these old fence posts towards the end of my production walk on Rhossili Down. I don’t know what their history is with regard to the pattern of holes but the second image shows an old WWII radar station facing out to sea at the end of the Gower Peninsula.
Also included in todays post is the collection of images from this past week along with a few that were not included in the individual posts – I hope you enjoy 🙂
I wasn’t able to ask the ponies and I didn’t ask the people, but I like to think that they were both enjoying the sense of freedom that can be felt in places like Rhossili Bay. Whether it be on top of the Down or down in the Bay, the sense of space and freedom is the greatest attraction for me and many others.
Rhossili Down is not that high but being next to the sea means that you are able to appreciate the full scale of this feature, particularly when you look down to those tiny people on the beach below.
I regularly walk down on the marshes by the River Loughor near my home but do not often meet others doing so. The path is well worn, so there must be more people using it than I meet there.
Earlier this year the route of the footpath had to be changed slightly to take it a little further back from the river bank. The evidence of erosion can be seen in the photos of fences in yesterday’s post. The new route runs through a field or two near the old St Teilo’s Churchyard and the fields are normally empty of animals. Sometimes there are sheep there but on this occasion there were two new occupants. They seemed friendly and pleased to see me.
I just have one question about the piebald one – could he be described as dappled on this occasion? 😉
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.
This was the view I had from Three Crosses Community Centre whilst waiting for the rest of the dragonfly hunting group I was with last week. It was very pleasant sitting in the sun with a light breeze to cool me.
Looking across the Gower Peninsula, it struck me that there were a lot of signposts. However, they did not spoil the view but rather created an interesting mix of patterns and structures through which I could see the natural beauty of the landscape.
We accept or learn to accept a lot of things in our need for order in society and the power we want to run our lives – like the millions of electricity pylons and increasing number of wind mills, sky scraper skylines and network of roads to name but a few of the interruptions to our views. We want what they bring and they do not necessarily spoil the view – it is more a matter of how you think about them.
Having said that, there should be balance in everything and we cannot afford to lose much more of our natural habitat – after all, the horses need their shade!
Last Sunday was the Clydach Riding Club Annual Show and StillWalks Photography was covering all the ridden and in hand activity in rings 1 – 4 (not the jumping in ring 5).
I may be responsible for all the photography done by StillWalks but on this occasion I was not the only photographer. Hannah Duncan and James Rees were invaluable helpers and did the photography for rings 2 and 3. All the images can be seen here on the StillWalks Photography website.
Below are the two Supreme Champions from the day which also included the awarding of the Angarad Rees Memorial Trophy for the best exhibit in the show.
Supreme Champion – Junior
Supreme Champions – Senior
Please visit the StillWalks website
Returning to the start of my recce for a StillWalks Sights and Sounds Tag Along Walk (see previous posts) brought me back to Parc-Le-Breos House via their pony trekking centre.
It sure is set in a beautiful part of the country!
Click on the photos to enlarge. More are available on the StillWalks Photography website at PhotoShelter.
Parc-Le-Breos Horses
Parc-Le-Breos House
Parc-Le-Breos Grounds
Parc-Le-Breos hanging basket and arch way