Tag Archives: walking

One Man and His Dog

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On my walk this week with the Taste of Gower walkers there were quite a sizeable group of people. This made one man and his dog out walking on the marshes all the more noticable.

I have commented before on my interest in texture (it comes from my original training in tapestry weaving – see my other website here) and it is perhaps this interest that makes me notice and photograph the patterns of grass or wood as I have in the images below.

One man and his dog

One man and his dog

I also enjoy the aural textures and patterns that surround us in any environment but I was amused by the rhythm of walking that can be heard in the sound clip below.

Squeaky Shoes

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Taste of Gower walkers
Welsh Poppy
One man and his dog
salt marsh grasses
stile post
salt marsh fence

Stepping Out and Susurrus at Three Cliffs Bay

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As we were stepping out across the stepping stones at Three Cliffs Bay on this Taste of Gower circular walk fro the Gower Heritage Centre, I noted the different ambient sound.

It may be expected that the sound of the sea will be different to that of a woodland but the susurration of the wind in trees is not so very different to that of a gentle sea as it washes distantly over a sandy beach. It is different though – the open space seems to me to be one of the greatest influencing factors and with eyes closed or not knowing where you are, these different ambient sounds would give you a pretty good clue as to your surroundings.

The next Taste of Gower walk will be tomorrow 26/08/17 – details here.

Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones

If you ignore the sound of footsteps in the sound clips below, perhaps you will agree that the word susurrus could be used to describe the background ambience of both soundscapes. According to the dictionary I could also have used the word to describe what I called the murmur of voices as the walking group disappeared off into the distance in previous posts on my walk this week, but personally I prefer the onomatopoeia of “murmur” for voices and “susurrus” for the wind or sea. What do you think?

Sound of the Sea

Walking in the Woods

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Three Cliffs Bay, Gower
Stepping Stones
Water and weed
Just weed
Monochrome Stepping Stones
Three Cliffs

Sand and Grass at the Top of the Beach

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Crymlyn Burrows are a very small example of a landscape feature made up of sand dunes and vegetation, yet they are burrows all the same. The beach here in Swansea Bay may be expansive but arriving at the topmost reaches of the tide line as I headed back to the car gave me a classic view of dune grasses against a changing sky. The photos may be obvious shots to take but that does not make the scene any less enjoyable when you are there. The soft dry sand feels great underfoot but of course is much more difficult to walk on.

Crymlyn Burrows

Crymlyn Burrows

Crymlyn Burrows
Crymlyn Burrows
Crymlyn Burrows
Crymlyn Burrows

Dark Sea and Weathered Fence

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With the wild wind and dark sea on my walk along the beach at Colwyn Bay this week, it was with some relief that I finally passed alongside the safety fence around the dilapidated pier and up off the beach. In fact the weather was exhilarating, all the more so because it didn’t rain and wasn’t so rough as to make it too difficult to contend with.

Dark Sea and Weathered Fence

Dark Sea and Weathered Fence

Colwyn Bay Wind Clatter

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Dark Sea and Weathered Fence
Triple Columns
Pier Structure
Fence Structure
Beach Exit

 

Looking Over Corris – Reviewing the Walk

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Back to my car again and looking over Corris where I have been walking this week, I was hopeful that the rain that was still falling at 5.30 AM had finished for the day and that I would be able to climb the mountain for my StillWalks production walk.

As it happens, it did not rain again but the route I ended up taking up the mountain was not my original planned path and was fairly arduous. On top of that (or the mountain), the mist came down and so the video I produce from it will be a “Misty Mountain Walk”.

Overlooking Corris

Overlooking Corris

Sorry again that there is no soundscape this week. I hope you can still enjoy the images below without it.

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Hostel
Corris street
Afon Deri
Railings pattern
Morris railway station
cemetery in the mountains
railing decoration
Stiwdio Maelor – Liz Doyle
Tafarn – Tŷ Bwyta
Overlooking Corris

Sounds Down the Street

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Having crossed the road on my walk this week I continued walking down the street and found myself enjoying the various sights and sounds much more than I would normally in an urban environment. This was because I was looking and listening to everything around me – I was focused on what could be seen and heard and not thinking about what had to be done that day or a forthcoming meeting, none of the things that are usually going through my head on a working day.

In the midst of a busy working day and what can seem like cacophonous activities or surroundings, we can take a rest just by changing our focus and paying attention to the intricacies of our local environment, outside or inside, urban or rural.

Walking down the street

The urban aural environment is obviously different to the rural – this is confirmed visually for me when I look at the spectral display for a sound clip like the one below. I am used to seeing the patterns of bird song in a sound clip and depending on the bird, these sounds show up at a range of different frequencies – the cries of the gulls in this clip are at a relatively low frequency. The highlights shown scattered across this spectral display create a quite different pattern and seemingly quite random – they are  the squeaks and squeals of vehicle brakes. Some of these, the highest pitched, are out of my hearing range these days, but it’s good to be able to see that they are there.

Walking Down the Street

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Post box
wildflowers and wall
urban wildflowers
wildflowers and railings
Walking down the street
Sound clip spectral display

Sound clip spectral display – click to enlarge

My Walk this Week – Street Recce

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My walk this week is along a short street near the centre of town. It could be any street with mostly businesses lining each side in what were once houses. There is plenty of traffic but as I have claimed with StillWalks, there is as much to listen to and hear in an urban setting as there is in a rural one.

The sounds may be different, and it could be argued less attractive, but focusing my attention on different aspects of the soundscape allowed me to hear and see things that I would often pass over unnoticed – colours, patterns, textures to be both seen and heard.

So my walk this week is an exploration of an everyday urban location with the intention of familiarising my self to some of the visual and aural details in preparation for a full StillWalks production walk in the future.

Street Walk-1

The sound clip below is a bit longer than those I normally post through the week but on this occasion it seemed appropriate. There are many layers of of activities, starting  with the sound of me closing the car boot and progressing from the car park onto the street. The sound of a drill as I round a corner is also associated with a smell for me – as I returned to the carpark later on, passing this same spot the pungent smell of sealant was powerful and made me pass by quickly.

Street Walk – Clip 1

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Roof Reflections
Rubbish Collection Day
Shop Fronts
Street Steps
Growing Wall
Wildflower Frontage

 

Simple Peace

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At the foot of the hill on my walk this week, I parted ways with the other walkers on our geology walk up Cefn Drum. They had arrived for the walk by car whereas I had walked. The route by car is beautiful but the walking route is better still if only for the simple peace on a quiet day.

I only had the sheep and the river, the Afon Dulais, for company and looking at these images and listening to the sound clip takes me back to that peace.

I sometimes use my StillWalks videos as a means of relaxation at the end of the day but if I find myself unable to sleep through the night the most effective means of calming my mind is to relive one of my walks in my imagination. Photos such as those below describe a simple everyday aspect of the landscape but they still work as an effective trigger for my memory and when accompanied by the field recording, the sense of being there (at least in mind) is greatly strengthened.

Walking Home

sheep in the way

sheep in the way

Afon Dulais

Afon Dulais

Buttercups

Buttercups