My walk this week is from September last year. I had given my daughter a lift to Cardiff and while she did her thing I did mine, namely a walk round the lake in Roath Park.
It is a beautiful and popular park with many different birds, people and dogs all enjoying an opportunity to walk, jog, run, play, cycle, fly, feed, look, listen or just sit and take it all in.
Ducks and Dogs in Roath Park
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Having crossed the road on my walk this week I continued walking down the street and found myself enjoying the various sights and sounds much more than I would normally in an urban environment. This was because I was looking and listening to everything around me – I was focused on what could be seen and heard and not thinking about what had to be done that day or a forthcoming meeting, none of the things that are usually going through my head on a working day.
In the midst of a busy working day and what can seem like cacophonous activities or surroundings, we can take a rest just by changing our focus and paying attention to the intricacies of our local environment, outside or inside, urban or rural.
The urban aural environment is obviously different to the rural – this is confirmed visually for me when I look at the spectral display for a sound clip like the one below. I am used to seeing the patterns of bird song in a sound clip and depending on the bird, these sounds show up at a range of different frequencies – the cries of the gulls in this clip are at a relatively low frequency. The highlights shown scattered across this spectral display create a quite different pattern and seemingly quite random – they are the squeaks and squeals of vehicle brakes. Some of these, the highest pitched, are out of my hearing range these days, but it’s good to be able to see that they are there.
Walking Down the Street
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At the foot of the hill on my walk this week, I parted ways with the other walkers on our geology walk up Cefn Drum. They had arrived for the walk by car whereas I had walked. The route by car is beautiful but the walking route is better still if only for the simple peace on a quiet day.
I only had the sheep and the river, the Afon Dulais, for company and looking at these images and listening to the sound clip takes me back to that peace.
I sometimes use my StillWalks videos as a means of relaxation at the end of the day but if I find myself unable to sleep through the night the most effective means of calming my mind is to relive one of my walks in my imagination. Photos such as those below describe a simple everyday aspect of the landscape but they still work as an effective trigger for my memory and when accompanied by the field recording, the sense of being there (at least in mind) is greatly strengthened.
Lliw Reservoir is a popular place with people of all ages these days. There is evidence below of the fact that it is as popular with children as it is with adults. And the fact that there is a nice cafe there is no doubt an added attraction but many go there for walks and never get a cuppa.
Whether people are there for a walk or a cup of tea is not really important – I simply like the fact that people get out there and enjoy the sights and sounds of the place. It is certainly a change of environment from the city or even to village.
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.
Some alternative iPhone shots of Lliw Lower Reservoir. Having finished the new video collection, “StillWalks at Lliw Reservoir“, I recently had a walk there and did some iPhonography at the same time.
The photos were taken using the ProCamera app and edited in the PhotoshopExpress app on the phone and have also been posted on Instagram and EyeEm.
“StillWalks at Lliw Reservoirs” – This new collection of StillWalks videos looks at Lliw Lower Reservoir through all four seasons as well as a Spring walk to the upper reservoir. It also includes a short introduction.
Below is the introduction and a sample from the collection which is available here or can be bought at the reservoir cafe on disc.
As with all StillWalks videos, the sounds are unique to the time and place of the walk. In the case of this collection, the location is the same in each video, albeit with a slightly different route taken each time. The sounds recorded, however, vary with the conditions and the acoustics of the surrounding landscape are affected by changing weather conditions to give different effects to permanent features such as flowing water or background ambience.
