It was the shadow of the stamens on the petals that I really like about these shots of another beautiful flower from Swansea’s roadside verges. I like the contrast in the first image and the subtlety of the same shadow in more muted sunlight in the second.
The heat and dazzling brightness of the sun kept me in the shade of the woods on my walk along the cycle/foot path of Swansea Bay. This section of the path from Swansea to Mumbles allowed me to look out from the comfortable temperatures under the trees. The blurred focus in the distance of these photos is not just the result of my use of the camera – it was also pretty hazy with the heat.
For all the years I have lived near Swansea, I have never walked the full length of the cycle/footpath from Swansea to Mumbles, just different parts of it at different times.
The path runs along the top of the beach from Swansea’s maritime quarter right round to Mumbles Lifeboat Station. On the other side is Oystermouth Road, a busy road along which tourists must drive as well as locals to reach the Gower Peninsula, one of Wales’ most popular areas and was designated as the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956.
Despite the proximity of Oystermouth Road, the sound clips I recorded recently might suggest that the road is much further away than it is. There was plenty of traffic on it at the time but the light breeze was blowing away from the cycle/footpath and so even for my iPhone, this was not the predominant sound.
The Bluebells are still in the shade here but they were out all over the place while we were in Scotland and they were ready and waiting for us when we got back to Wales too.
On my walk through the woods at Cwm Green on the Gower in South Wales, I felt like I was walking through ancient woodland. I cannot say how long the trees have been there but I know, from the evidence, that they are managed – there was even a footpath, thought not very well defined in places.
The woods are on hilly ground and so there were times when I was deep in the shadowy depths, and others when the effect of the sunlight making its way between the trunks or shining on autumn leaves in the canopy was . . . (searching for a word here) . . . emotional!
The first image I have posted today is one of those few occasions when I felt that a black and white panoramic crop was the best representation of the scene. The last photo is looking out of the woods and across the fields to Parc-Le-Breos House, a fantastic bed and breakfast hotel in whose grounds the woods are situated.
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 – “Woodland Walk” which is from Penllergaer Woods near Swansea, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.
On a sunny day the patterns are easy to find, particularly around mid morning when the sun is at its most creative angle in this respect.
I was taking photos of fences last Sunday morning . . . not these ones though. These are from the end of my walk along the River Morlais. I had been thinking ahead and wondering how I was going to get good photos to finish with, knowing that the short section of footpath that returns to the road is not the most attractive feature in the area.
However, the sun was shining, it was mid morning in July (I started at 5.00 AM), and the patterns created left me in no doubt as to how the video for this walk would end!
You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks, pay what you want and receive a download of the completed StillWalks video from this area – “Troserch Woodland Walk“, this week’s featured walk.
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!
