My Walk this Week 138 – Another Quarry Walk Through Time

Posted on 21/12/201818/12/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week is to another quarry but one that is quite different from that which I explored last week. The rock is not black this time but the sides are steep and I cannot imagine how the writer of the graffiti, still to be faintly seen near the top of the quarry face, got up there. Nor can I make out what is written as time and weather has done its work and taken most of it away.

It is 35 years since I first explored this place in my local countryside and I guess the plants and trees have grown up since then. I certainly remember it being more open back then, whereas now the small footpath leading through to the pool at the foot of the rock face is kept open only by a few dog walkers and young people playing on bikes, sitting round a bonfire or perhaps writing some more graffiti.

Dantwyn Quarry Soundscape

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My Walk this Week 133 – Autumn Woodland

Posted on 16/11/201810/11/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week is through a section of the forest in Penllergaer Valley Woods near Swansea in South Wales. I was keen to find a moment in our currently wet weather to see the colours that I know exist here at this time of year. Being a valley means you get to see the and hear the woodland from different vantage points with overviews of the slopes of yellowing trees as well as the closer details around the footpaths.

The soundscape is different in the depths of the valley to that on its upper edges – this is partly because, down below, you are sheltered from the background sound of traffic on the motorway. But the sound of birds is still masked somewhat by the waterfall at this time of year when it is raging and thundering down from the lake.

I hope that you will click the play button below and listen to the soundscape while viewing the images in sequence – perhaps the sound will help to bring the images to life and bring you closer to my own experience of the walk.

Autumn Woodland Soundscape

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My Walk this Week 130 – Soundscape for an Autumn Valley

Posted on 26/10/201819/10/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week in a damp, misty Welsh valley Autumn landscape provided me with a fantastic and varied soundscape. The walk took me up one side of the valley and back down the middle where the river was further engorged by rushing tributaries.

Having enjoyed the Autumn colours of a Staghorn Sumac, I descended the twisting path towards the river and recorded its approaching sound as I went. I have kept most of this clip included in the soundscape below (making it longer than usual) because the changes in its timbre as I twist and turn are, to me, fascinating and beautiful. Also included Continue reading→

Dumfries 2 – River Nith

Posted on 29/08/201824/08/2018 by Alastair

The River Nith in Dumfries, Scotland, is a fabulous river to watch in the sunshine as the excited water tumbles and tangles over the weir.

The river is tidal and before the weir was built a greater length of it was affected by both high and low tides, meaning any business that relied on its flow was beholden to the actions of sun and moon twice every 24 hours.

The weir may not be needed nowadays for trade purposes but it stillContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – A Countryside Hike

Posted on 18/06/201814/06/2018 by Alastair

Hike is an exaggeration for my walk this week but I was wearing my hiking boots which, with the hot weather we have been getting recently, was unusual. Though boots may make my feet hot, they are still much more comfortable to wear when climbing hills and crossing a multitude of terrains, than open sandals are.

So on my “hike” I crossed the river, climbed the countryside lane and entered the holloway (or hollow way as it is sometimes written), to climb higher – Continue reading→

The Moon and A Mirror

Posted on 04/05/201801/05/2018 by Alastair

I think the shot below is probably my favourite from my walk this week down on our local marshes during the sunset and moon rise. The flat water of the high tide filling the river and reflecting the fading light and lunar crescent like a mirror was so peaceful and calming.

The soundscape for the walk also reflected the evening peace, even with the backdrop of motorway traffic. The birds sang and along with the bubbling of a small stream flowing into the river, they allowed me to ignore the trundle of tyres on tarmac. The soundscape is in three sections – Continue reading→

My Walk this Week – Sunset On the Water

Posted on 30/04/201829/04/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week is from my local marshes with a beautiful evening stroll in the sunset reflected on the high tide water in the river.

I don’t think I need say any more – enjoy! 🙂

: Marsh Evening

: Marsh Evening-2

: Marsh Evening silhouette

: Evening Waterscape

: Sunset Silhouette

My Walk this Week – Colour or Monochrome Flood

Posted on 16/04/201815/04/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week follows a flood – not so much follows in fact, more dictated. The River Ouse in York regularly floods if there is a lot of rainfall in the area or up river and when I was there at the start of April the rain was teeming down across the country. I took the earliest opportunity when the rain stopped to check out the watery scene.

I was at least able to cross the Millennium Footbridge whereas on a previous occasion I had not even been able to approach the bridge! What caught my eye in particular was the arrangement of objects such as semi submerged bollards, fence reflections and the ghost image of the footpath as it curved round under the water.

In looking back at the photos I couldn’t decide whether I preferred them in colour or monochrome, so they are both included below – all except the curved footpath shot because in monochrome the path was completely hidden.