long shadows

My Walk this Week 196 – Woodland Wander

My walk this week is a wander through woodland I have not visited for some time and it was good to see that whilst there had been developments and changes made, the character of the place remained as I remembered it.

Lake through trees

Penllergaer Valley Woods is wonderful place on the outskirts of Swansea that I have enjoyed immensely at different times of the year. One of my favourite visits was about 4:30 AM for an early morning StillWalks production walk in Spring, but I have made StillWalks videos there from all seasons.

My visit on this occasion was a short one but I still very much enjoyed the patterns, textures, colours and sounds to be found there. I think my favourites below are the various  tree stumps and the mass of bare birch branches on either side of the footpath as it descends to to the valley floor.

Woodland Soundscape

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The soundscape is a little shorter than usual this week as I was recording on my phone again but I hope no less enjoyable.

So click the play button to listen while viewing the images below – click the first one and then again to move forward through the carousel.

 

Loughor Estuary

My Walk this Week 193 – Estuary Atmosphere

My walk this week took me down to the Loughor Estuary which has its own unique atmosphere whatever the weather conditions.

Loughor Estuary

On this occasion it was dull and windy but no less enjoyable for that. If you like the wind, as I do, then this open, expansive land and waterscape is a good place to find it at a low elevation. The place can be spectacularly still and beautiful during a quiet sunset but I enjoy almost as much the cloud cover and wind here – a place that feels somewhat mystical in all conditions.

Lonely, harsh, wild, still, contemplative – all of these adjectives and more suit the place at different times.

Estuary Soundscape

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The soundscape follows me down a farm track, past early signs of Spring and a rushing stream to the open, wind blown estuary and salt marshes, under the railway bridge and out through the tall marsh grass by the river where I disturbed a pair of ducks but caught them fleeing on camera.

So click the play button to listen while viewing the images below – click the first one and then again to move forward through the carousel.

Swans at sunset

My Walk this week 189 – First of the Decade

My walk this week was taken on the first day of January, 2020, and therefore my first of a new year and decade. Being very familiar with the place and the featured suburban lake, I knew that towards the end of a clear day the sun would be low and creating a beautiful, if cold, atmosphere.

Suburban lake sunset

The walk was part of a shorter than usual visit to family and I had not brought any of my kit with me – not even my laptop! Both the photos and the sound recording were therefore made on my iPhone. Continue reading

bracken pattern

My Walk this Week 184 – Reviewing A Cold Walk

My walk this week is another one from the past – a cold walk taken in the first week of December a few years ago and now reviewed with the envy of being able to get out regularly.

sheep and frost

This is a walk route I have often posted about and one I never tire of, whatever the weather conditions. Cold, crisp and frosty, some of my favourite details of the walk are below along with the soundscape created at the time.Continue reading

oystercatchers

My Walk this Week 183 – Revisitation

My walk this week is a revisitation to Aberavon seafront at this current time of year but from 2016 – the weather is much the same today (as I write) as it was then! But that does not make it any less interesting to me and I remember the walk well, though I admit the images and soundscape are a good memory trigger for the atmosphere.

seafront walkers

It was a dark, wet day with a heavy sea fret coming off the bay, but it wasn’t actually raining and people were walking and running as they always are on this wonderful expansive seafront.Continue reading

Woodland pond reflections

My Walk this Week 181 – Natural Benefits

My walk this week is one of the most enjoyable I have had lately – the benefits of natural elements within an urban landscape are not to be underestimated.

Coedbach Woods

Currently I am having to work 4 days/40 hours+ with a well known online supplier (needs must and all that) which means going out before dawn and getting in after dark while spending the whole working day indoors. As a means of compensating for this, I have started using my StillWalks videos at the end of the working day, before going home, and they definitely help.

So when I found myself on a bright sunny Sunday morning walking through the local countryside and woods, it felt so goodContinue reading

Sunrise

My Walk this Week 179 – Sunrise Along the Estuary

An early morning walk at sunrise isn’t so very early at this time of year and my walk this week along the Loughor Estuary ended up taking more of the day than I expected. It also fuelled my mind and the day ahead.

marsh grass at sunrise

We have had so much rain lately that a bright sunny morning was most welcome (as it is anytime in Wales). The sun rose over the fields and across the marshes as I walked towards the open estuary where I could enjoy the wide open space with the tide out and the sky reflecting on the still water left by the sea.Continue reading