Tag Archives: reeds

Salt Marshes-1

My Walk this Week 243 – Winter Salt Marsh

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My walk this week shows my local salt marsh in Winter. I know how much we enjoy and benefit from a bright sky and sunshine, but in Winter we have to, we must, try to see the beauty around us in different conditions. SAD is not a condition you want to fall prey to if it can be avoided.

This week I have video, sound and images to hopefully help you enjoy the relative gloom of overcast and wet conditions on my walk across the salt marsh to the old St Teilo’s churchyard and back to the fast thawing pond in the park.

You can only allow the weather to stop you going out for so long – then it becomes imperative that, regardless of rain or snow, you take the exercise and grab as much light as you can – if you are in a position to do so.

The video above obviously includes sound as well as the soundscape below but which one has the better pictures? That’s just a joke really, but it is certainly true that sound conjures up images for us and in the case of StillWalks® videos the soundscapes are the animator of the still images used – see the example on the website home page (Autumn Lakeside Walk). The home page has now been updated to show a short series of seasonal StillWalks videos.

Salt Marsh Soundscape
Salt Marshes-1
marsh grass and snow
reeds and river
Thaw pattern
church trace
salt marsh sheep
River Loughor
Winter sheep feed
frozen pond
broken ice
winter oak wood
almost monochrome
Red water grasses

Fluffy, Furry and Fuzzy – New Edgeland Growth

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The edgeland of Newport which I was exploring on my walk this week were partly coloured by industry, but Spring knows no bounds and prompts all plant life to new growth at this time of year.

Spring growth?

And so, looking away from some of the other aspects of this liminal industrial space, I took a closer look at some of the different wasteland plants that were coming to life around me. The buds and seed heads were fluffy, furry and fuzzy as they set out for the sun against the red earth and water of the ponds in this abandoned area of the Newport Levels.

I never did get to the official Newport Wetlands but was very happy to see this less cared for environment where there was plenty of evidence of man but no man to be seen.

patterns and light
Red water grasses
edgeland ripples
tall grasses
seed heads
Spring time
furry buds
fuzzy buds

water freeze

My Walk this Week – Icy Textures

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My walk this week is another cold one around the lake at The Waterside – Felindre. It was very icy and the range of textures within that ice was fascinating. We had been led to believe there would be snow but as you can see, the forecasts were wrong for this little pocket of the country and a light dusting was all we got.

The Waterside in Winter

This was another short walk as my hands felt as though they would fall off with the cold and it was only a new pair of gloves knitted by my daughter that allowed me take the photos. Taking a close look at the various ice formations revealedContinue reading→

Waterside footbridge

Lingering Around the Lake

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Lingering around the lake at The Waterside is a very easy thing to do. On my walk this week the weather was good – sunny and almost still with just the lightest of breezes from time to time.

reed island

A walk here is more about wellbeing than exercise and whatever the weather conditions, there is huge advantage to be gained from a quiet contemplation of the place and the space.Continue reading→

Fen grasses

Back at the Bramble Beginning – Reviewing the Walk

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Looking back from the bramble beginning by the road on my walk this week along the Tennant Canal near Swansea, South Wales, I can see and hear again some of the varied natural and industrial features of this environment that I enjoy so much.

return to the road

I first discovered the beauty of this place on a guided walk with a bird specialist who worked his magic at identifying and translating all the birds and, seemingly, their conversations. The ability the human brain has for focusing our senses in different ways is remarkable but there is no questionContinue reading→

Canal Crossings

Canal Crossings and A Reeding List

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The shapes and forms, colours and textures, light and shade of todays images from my walk this week along the Tennant Canal in Swansea, reflect both the weather conditions and the time of year. The various structures crossing the canal provided me with different views of the water and the reeds along the banks had thinned somewhat and reminded me of a list – a list of leaves or indeed, a reeding list!

Canal Containment

I love the “containment” of water reflections created by the shadows of the low railway bridge and the jigsaw of colourful stones mirrored by the canal’s still surface.Continue reading→

River Loughor

Down By the Riverside

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The salt marshes edge the River Loughor as it flows out to the estuary. The footpath down by the riverside is more open now than it was just two or three years ago.

Marsh fence

The tall marsh grasses and reeds are no longer there to the extent they used to be as a result of erosion and the trampling of cows. Continue reading→