My walk this week is another from Scotland where I took a stroll through woodland on the edge of Gatehouse of Fleet. Starting from the banks of the river Fleet, I enjoyed the familiar footpath as I twisted and turned in a loop, looking at my surroundings with a strong green cast to the light.
It is a peaceful part of the country and while there is an inevitable background of man-made sound, the ambience of the forest was more noticeable with its birds and flowing water, a gentle breeze in the trees and just the occasional sound of other people in the area.Continue reading→
My walk this week is a local circular walk and anyone living in the area should recognise just from the glimpse of the road sign in the first image, exactly where it is. The walk is a very enjoyable one that provides both exertion on the climb uphill and peace and tranquility in the valley return.
As with my StillWalks videos I have not identified where the walk is to anyone who doesn’t already know it because the location is not relevant. It is the sights and sounds and the signs of the season that I enjoy on my walks and in that respect this first post for my walk this week are the walls alongside the footpath that were of particular interest to me.
Having started my walk this week in the forest at the foot of Mynydd Rugog, I clambered out of the woods and onto the side of the mountain to find mist slowly descending from the summit. I followed and old fence and wall directly up to the track that zig zags up from a farm down by the road and though as long as I can clearly see the path I’ll carry on.
Mist descended
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As I descend from my hill walk this week, this tunnel of light and shade is full of pattern and texture. The light and shade itself creates some great patterns and shapes, but they are also very obviously present in the structure of a mossy wall and the peeling bark of a birch tree.
More images from this walk can be seen on Instagram and/or the StillWalks Facebook page and Twitter.
Approaching the steep descent to Rhosilli from up on Rhosilli Down and towards the end of my walk this week on the Gower Peninsula, my knees had just about had enough for the day.
The views had been and still were spectacular but the height I had to climb down from can be seen in the footpath photo below. That is not the path that I would follow as that one descends right down to the beach and Rhosilli itself is at the top of the cliffs from which that path clings. However, the way for me would still be steep and my knees had decided to complain.
I postponed the inevitable and took some more shots of the wall and fence near the start of the downhill track and the distant threatening weather (see tomorrow). Finally, though, I plucked up the courage and began literally inching my way painfully down the slope. My only other option would have been to call for a helicopter and things weren’t so bad to tempt me to suffer that embarrassment.
I reached the bottom eventually and after returning home, spent the next couple of days with my feet up! This is not something that often happens to me but for whatever reason, occasionally my knees protest. Certainly I have always preferred ascent to descent.
The wind was quite calm at this point on my walk and so the sound clip below is mostly the continuous motion of the sea. The sound is not rhythmical as you might expect of waves, but it is quite distinct from the sound of the wind.
Sound of the Sea
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The ruined building by the phone mast near the top of my hollow way walk is a fascinating piece of old local architecture but I guess it is the state that it is in that interests me rather than what it was. The big hole in its side wall may have been a window at one time but now the ragged edge of the naked wall provides an interesting frame for views of the surrounding hills.
I find the structures of the hole in the wall, the electricity pylon and the interior of the building juxtaposed with the hillside and tree growth against the chimney brickwork patterns of endless interest. Every time I take this walk I stop at this point for a look around at these and other features of the place.
I thought the pylon shot might also work well in b&w and so the monochrome image can be seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog Monochrome Madness post.
