Distant Down walkers

My Walk this Week 129 – Atop the Down

Looking at more pics from my archive of a walk on Rhossili Down four years ago takes me to the top of the Down where I met some Gower ponies as well as other people. The ponies are wild and there are many of them all over the Gower Peninsula moors and marshes. Strictly speaking, they must be (legally) owned by somebody these day but I’m not sure that makes any difference to anyone.

track in sunlight

I have left out many of the photographs I took that day only because the fifteen I have picked for my posts this week do a good job of feeding my memory and are sufficient to describe the place on a day like this one was – sun shining blindingly with a wind blowing up from the sea with the ridge of the Down providing an occasional and welcome respite from the bluster of it.Continue reading

Monochrome

River Ouse York – Reviewing the Walk

Back near the start of my walk this week in York, I came out of the trees towards the urban landscape. Having enjoyed my walk along the banks of the River Ouse, albeit a wet one, I felt that this and one or two other shots along my way deserved a monochrome treatment.

Monochrome Mast

I am not sure of my reasoning for producing them as black and white images, they just seemed to work better for me in this format. You can see them along with selected colour shots from my walk below as well as my soundscape for the walk and a video clip of the rowers I passed first on my way into town and then again on my way back.

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Walkers quietly returning

StillWalks Taster Sessions – Reviewing the Walk

In the latter part of August the West Wales Action for Mental Health organisation (WWAMH) ran a celebratory event about the benefits of gardening at Clynfyw Care Farm. I was asked to provide two StillWalks taster sessions for the day.

WWAMH at Clynfyw Care Farm

Not having been there before I set my sat nav and followed it as it led me down a complex network of tiny country lanes. I had given myself plenty of time and so was able to be relaxed about this unexpected route and enjoyed the run over there in the sunshine. Continue reading

old iron fence

Listening with Silent Walkers and Any Old Iron

“Any old iron” is not a cry you hear very often now in Britain and is certainly not one associated with silent walkers. I suspect that the people making that call for old metal in our streets would love to have been offered an abandoned iron spiral staircase or grass roller. They shout it nowadays from a van but I remember when it used to be from a horse and cart (and I’m not that old!).

Silent walkers

The silent walkers listening to the sounds around them either through a mic and headphones or with the naked ear, enjoyed what they heard on our StillWalks taster session for WWAMH at Clynfyw Care Farm. Continue reading

Soaring – Reviewing the Walk for the Old Mill Foundation

Rhossili hang gliding

While the day was calm for our memorial for walk leader Mike Aspland and to raise funds for the Old Mill Foundation cancer hospice, there was enough lift for the soaring of hang gliders to take place in this popular spot for the activity – Rhossili Down at the end of the Gower Peninsula. If you would like to donate to the Old Mill Foundation, please visit their website and click the “Donate” button.Continue reading

My Walk this Week – Memorial Walk in Aid of Old Mill Foundation Cancer Hospice

Walkers gather at Rhossili

My walk this week is a walk in memory of Mike Aspland, a walk leader who died of cancer at the end of last year and had benefitted from the services provided by the Old Mill Foundation cancer hospice in Penclawdd on North Gower. The walk took place Rhossili and aimed to raise funds for the hospice – if anyone would like to donate to the the Old Mill Foundation, please visit their website and click the “Donate” button.Continue reading