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

Worm's Head, Gower

My Walk this Week 129 – Rhossili from the Archives

My walk this week shows images from my archive and a walk along Rhossili Down at the end of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales.

looking down on the bay

For all the changes in environmental circumstances from day to day or even hour to hour, these photos from 2014 cannot show any potential differences in the underlying structure and general appearance of the place. The pace of change on a geological time scale is not the same as our lives and although it is true that we sometimes see rocks fall from a cliff or even cliffs collapse as a result of erosion from the sea, the overall changes can be almost imperceptible.Continue reading

Rowntree Park, York

My Walk this Week 128 – Rowntree Park Soundscape

The soundscape for my walk this week in Rowntree Park in York, is formed by buggies and bicycles, footsteps and wheelchairs, skateboards and birds, children and adults – all enjoying the mid afternoon sunshine and warmth.

tall grasses

The sound file below describes and refers to the images in this and the two previous posts for this walk but does not say anything about the strange object amongst the trees that I noticed in the shadows from a distance. I couldn’t figure out what it was until I reached its other side – I assume it refers to an aspect of York’s history but as there was no information on it I cannot say for sure.

I did not explore the whole park on my walk but enjoyed every minute of it from the pergola to the ponds, the gates to the grasses, and all the activities of calm relaxation surrounding me. I like the gates to the park’s southern entrance, and their shadows, but have only just realised how closely they match the pattern of growth in my photo of tall grasses below!

Rowntree Park Soundscape

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beech nut opening

My Walk this Week 127 – A Seed in Time

The seed in question on my walk this week is a beech nut – perhaps I should say hundreds of beech nuts as the forest floor was covered in them.

spiky Autumn detail

Whoops! I have been rightly corrected about them being beech nuts – in fact they are sweet chestnuts . . . but there were lots of beechnuts in the woods as well so maybe I can be forgiven 😉

There are seemingly many more squirrels this year as well, so how many beech nuts go on, or grow on, to become new trees may be in part a result of the the number consumed by the local wildlife.

South Wales morning landscape

My Walk this Week 127 – Autumn Morning

My walk this week is on a beautiful Autumn morning in a place well known to me but always new as well. The fact that I have seen the scenes and details of this Welsh valley and woodland many times make them no less enjoyable.

woodland detail

There are changes of course since I was last here – strong winds have brought down more trees and branches but the ground underfoot, in spite of the return of notable rainfall, is still dry and firm.

I love to see the little heads of peristomes standing upContinue reading

stepping down

My Walk this Week 126 – Step Up To the Lake

I step up from one lake to another in this second stage of my walk this week  – and there is a third lake in Gnoll Park, plus a reservoir! This lake is the largest and features a wonderful cascade which, even when it is not flowing with water, makes an attractive feature.

stepping up

We are at the start of Autumn now and the colours are beginning to change. There are only hints of the season to be seen in my photos but they are there all the same, plus the temperature has dropped.

I restricted my walk to this larger lake becauseContinue reading

lower lake

My Walk this Week 126 – Gnoll Park

My walk this week is to a park I have not visited for a few years. Gnoll Country Park in Neath is a beautiful place with lakes, woodland, cascades, wildlife, wildflowers, history and a great community building.

shadow gate

Entering the park from the lower southern entrance was new for me and I got to see a part of the park I had not been round previously but no less enjoyable for that. I was taking the opportunity to walk here because I was in Neath anyway as I have lately been working on the website for a new gallery in the town – Queen Street Gallery. Continue reading