Looking round a gnoll on the hill I have been walking up this week revealed this (bath)room with a view of the hills beyond.
Stone and brick construction is not the only element of ruin – the trees here are very exposed to the wind and quite a few of them have fallen under the pressure. Nature will have its way though and the ruins have been well colonised by the roots of plants and trees fighting against both natural and man-made elements.
More images from this walk can be seen on Instagram and/or the StillWalks Facebook page and Twitter.
The sheep and their lambs (and a goat) have a good view over the landscape from their vantage point near the top of the hill I’ve been climbing in my walk this week.
Whether looking north with the scene framed by ruins or south across the Loughor Estuary towards the Gower Peninsula, the animals here probably don’t care a jot for any view other than that of the grass on the other side of the fence.
Goppa Lamb and Sheep
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The photos for my walk this week span a few days. I took the same walk each morning for four days and was partly inspired by the first hint of Spring – i.e. sunshine!
It’s another short local hill walk. The hill is fairly small, but steep and rises to about 450 feet. At the bottom my route followed that of the local river with snow drops lining its banks. I was tempted to stop and take some (rare for me) slow exposure shots of the water falling over the weir.
I didn’t have my tripod with me and so most of the shots were discarded. However, there were a few I liked including the underexposed one taken with a faster shutter speed and which shows the patterns and textures in the falling water.
Looking back at my walk this week along Swansea Canal at Clydach, I hope you can enjoy both the images and the short soundscape. The work that Swansea Canal Society are doing to maintain and restore this beautiful waterway is well worth it and it is clear that many people enjoy and benefit from it.
Play the soundscape below and enjoy my selection of images from through the week as you listen.
Canal Soundscape
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As I arrived back at the starting point of my walk this week along Swansea Canal, the patterns of rippling water again attracted my attention. I took more shots of them than this but have managed to refrain from posting them.
More images from this walk can be seen on Instagram and/or the StillWalks Facebook page and Twitter.
Pattern is all around us but sometimes it is more noticeable than others. Earlier on my walk this week I focused on the textures around me. However, it was the patterns that were in my sights for these shots.
You may think that I have an unnatural interest in barbed wire – and you may be right! If you would like to see where this interest comes from, please visit the fibre page on my other website – alastair-duncan.com (There is something weird going on with the home page menu on this site which I will sort out asap).
More images from this walk can be seen on Instagram and/or the StillWalks Facebook page and Twitter.
The starting point for my walk this week alongside Swansea Canal, was where the River Tawe loops tightly round right next to the canal which is elevated above the river. The turning point for my walk on this section at Clydach, is where the Tawe loops back to the canal again. One of the points about any canal is that they provide a more direct route than a meandering river.
It was good to be able to look down on the river again before turning back and retracing my steps by the canal. I may have been returning the way I had come but walking any route in the opposite direction gives a different view, a new perspective on the surroundings.
In the last image on this Sunday morning, men from Swansea Canal Society can be seen at work on the lock I passed earlier. By the time I reached them the path was quite busy, not only with their activity, but with cyclists and walkers as well – an ever changing environment.
Working on the canal
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There are many people that use Swansea Canal – perhaps not on the canal itself, but alongside it on the towpath. Walkers, joggers and cyclists – adults and children alike enjoy many aspects of the canal. And then of course there are the birds, ducks, dogs and cats and no doubt a million insects too.
The Swansea Canal Society clearly do an excellent job of taking care of the canal as well as restoring it where possible.
At this point on my walk this week, I was passing Coed Gwilym Park. The canal has left the industrial area of Clydach with The Mond Nickel Works and is heading up the valley towards Pontardawe. The houses and gardens have changed, Spring is starting to show and the canal society is advertising itself and looking for new members.
Canal Sounds
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