My Walk this Week 170 – Wind on The Mawr

Posted on 02/08/201901/08/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week is back up on top of The Mawr again – this time as a visit to the Awel Aman Tawe Community Wind Farm above Cwmgors. It was a beautiful day and the wind was blowing well, with the result that the turbine blades were turning fast and producing the electricity they were designed for.

This moorland is on the eastern edge The Mawr – in fact I am not even sure if it is considered part of that upland landscape! Whether it is or not, the scenery is beautiful with views over to Pen-y-Fan, the Brecon Beacons highest peak and a peacefulness most of the time that I have spoken of before.Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 158 – Uphill from The Waterside

Posted on 10/05/201922/05/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week is a welcome return to my friends Sue and Steve at The Waterside in a nearby Welsh valley where they have a beautiful lake and a fascinating herd of alpacas. I wanted to climb uphill from the lakeside to get more of an overview of the valley and the landscape around it. On this particular morning I had spent my time doing admin and taking a break in such a relaxing location was just what I needed.

Hillside by The Waterside

So after an enjoyable lunch on the First Friday open day in May I took myself off to look at the bluebells and blossom of the hill on the far side of the lake. The sun shone intermittently and Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 154 – Golden Grove, Gelli Aur

Posted on 12/04/201909/04/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week was at Golden Grove or Gelli Aur as we call it in Wales. It was particularly enjoyable because the park has been closed for the last five years or so and it was wonderful to be able to wander round it again.

Although the arboretum is only accessible if you pay, the rest of the park, even without being able to walk the circuit through the arboretum and the deer enclosure, it is still a beautiful place to visit. The cafe has opened again too and is serving some very nice home made food.Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 150 – Weathering at the Botanic Gardens

Posted on 15/03/201913/03/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week is at the National Botanic Garden of Wales where there was some weathering they could not control. Outside the Great Glasshouse the sun and rain, heat and cold have taken their toll on this metal plant label and the paint has cracked and peeled into a most interesting, map-like pattern.

Inside the Great Glasshouse they can and do control the weather conditions for the different parts of the world represented there. So while there are times of year when everything in there seems so busy with growth, there are always fantastic colours, patterns and textures to enjoy whatever the time of year.Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 146 – Looking Back at the Mountains

Posted on 15/02/201921/02/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week is one from the past and came to mind because the Welsh mountains it illustrates came up in a recent conversation. I hope to visit Pen-y Fan in the Brecon Beacons again later this year – or if not that mountain, perhaps a less busy location nearby. The images and sound clip were originally posted in May 2016.

The sounds in the clip below are classic for this mountain area, and that includes the voices of other people. Pen-y Fan, being the highest of the Brecon Beacons and fairly accessible, attracts a lot of visitors, both local and from further afield. Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 143 – Up Hill and Down Valley

Posted on 25/01/201924/01/2019 by Alastair

My walk this week is another early morning one – the moon was setting as I left the house and as I climbed up hill, the sun was just beginning to show its colours reflected on the clouds. I was on this hill, Cefn Drum, last week but on this occasion I was walking in the opposite direction and returned along its opposite side, looking down on Cwm Dulais.

The day promised to be brighter than last week but the clouds kept intervening and the light kept changing accordingly. It was still a beautiful walk and I had not covered part of the route before. Having always looked at the rocky ridge of Twyn Tyle from the far side of the valley,Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 137 – Quiet Quarry Walk

Posted on 14/12/201818/12/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week takes place at first light in an old, quiet quarry and its surrounding landscape. The rocks were black with the wet weather and to begin with the atmosphere felt quite oppressive. However, things lightened and brightened as I ascended to the upper edge of the quarry and into a very mossy woodland.[spacer height=”10px”]

The soundscape down in the dark confines of the quarry was still and my footsteps echoed in the amphitheatre of hewn rock, the small birds chirped and the crows cawed. Once I arrived at the top edge of the steep, dark slabs and could look over the Welsh landscape,Continue reading→

My Walk this Week 134 – Surprised By Goats

Posted on 23/11/201819/11/2018 by Alastair

Click the play button and then the first image to listen and look through the features of my walk this week. It’s another local forest and while it may be true that all forests and woodland consist largely of trees, they are also all quite different. One thing was certainly unexpected on this walk and that was the goats! Looking at the sharpness of their horns I decided it would be best not to confront them but to negotiate a more diplomatic route through the trees.

Forest Walk Soundscape

Starting from the lower reaches of the woods on the edge of Continue reading→

Tag Archives: wales