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.

Millennium Bridge York

Muddy waters

Ouse overflow

Arrangement of bollards

Fence reflection

Hidden Footpath

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Millennium Bridge – monochrome

Muddy monochrome waters

Ouse overflow – monochrome

Arrangement of monochrome bollards

monochrome reflection

Carrick Shore – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 18/06/201725/05/2017 by Alastair

Reviewing my fifth of six walks from the past looks back to 2009 and photographs I took on my old Fuji compact camera and the sounds I recorded at the time. The sunset above is a classic of the place and is the view from the place we stay at different times each year. It is the most peaceful, quiet, environmentally friendly place you could want, but also one that, due to nature and the elements, can provide spectacular drama as well – it is “High Tide”.Continue reading→

Architecture and Art in Cardiff City – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 25/02/201719/02/2017 by Alastair

Looking through the entrance archway of Cardiff City Hall towards the end of my walk this week and the National Museum of Wales, I have completed my circuit of the rectangle of classical, brutalist and functional architecture that makes up this cultural and educational sector at the approach to the city centre.

Completing the walk in the museum itself and the Artes Mundi exhibition (already visited three times), I can only recommend a visit to the show before it ends on 26th February.

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Botanic Gardens – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 21/01/201714/01/2017 by Alastair

Looking down the perspective of this twisting trickle of water from the top of the footpath leading up from the entrance to the National Botanic Garden of Wales where I have been walking this week, I am reminded of how much our two daughters enjoyed this place when it opened and they were young children. This stream of water and other features along the way created endless fun for them to the point where one of them said it was her favourite place in Wales!

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A Sense of Place – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 23/10/201618/10/2016 by Alastair

One of the main things I try to do with “My Walk this Week” is to give a sense of the place I have been walking. Usually the inclusion of soundscapes helps to provide this (I hope), but I do not always do any field recoding. The advice given to me prior to our day out in Edinburgh was to simply try and get a sense of the place. This we did so far as we were able within the time available and it was much enjoyed.

The Helix, which we visited on the way home to see the Kelpies, was also worth the extra mileage. I think that this final image of their huge heads appearing as if from the ground begins to give a sense of a place where you are forced to reassess your surroundings due to the unfamiliar scale of a familiar creature.

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Horses in the Landscape – The Kelpies

Posted on 20/10/201618/10/2016 by Alastair

Returning from my walk this week as a day trip to Edinburgh, we took a slightly round about route and visited The Helix at Falkirk to see The Kelpies. I had known about this wonderful installation but wanted to see it for myself. I have done my best with the photos below but like all the other images available online, they cannot do justice to the real thing.

The Kelpies, The Helix Park, Falkirk

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Up and Down in Edinburgh

Posted on 19/10/201618/10/2016 by Alastair

Before my walk this week on a planned day out in Edinburgh, I asked my uncle what might be the best thing to go see and he answered “Just go and see the place itself – it is all on different levels and that is one of it’s main attractions as a city“.

Water of Leith

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My Walk this Week – Scottish Interlude

Posted on 17/10/201611/10/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week takes place in Scotland. While on holiday there in the south west, we took a day trip to Edinburgh and returned via The Helix Park at Falkirk to see The Kelpies for ourselves, but more on them later in the week.

It is about 35 years since I was last in Edinburgh despite having been born there. It was a 2.5 hour drive to get there and we didn’t want to spoil things by trying to do too much. So we decided on two venues close together and a short walk in the city centre. The venues were both the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art – Modern One and Modern Two.

Modern 2 – the main exhibition was of drawing by Joseph Beuys, a very interesting show but it was essential to read all the accompanying notes in order to have any understanding of the work itself and how it related to his performance art. The museum itself is what my photos below focus on and it, too, was a fascinating place though with low light levels and a warm day, it felt rather stuffy and claustrophobic.