Tag Archives: water

Crossing the Bridge

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There are many different aspects to the valley in which The Waterside – Felindre is situated. My walk this week is only around the lake and today’s post takes us across the footbridge at the northern end. Listening to the sound clip below, I like the layering of the sound of my footsteps on the wooden bridge with the different aspects of sound from the water as I approach, cross and then walk away from the bridge.

The woodland on one of the steep sides to this valley and more open fields on the other give the place an intimate, peaceful feel – a perfect place to relax and enjoy the facilities and hospitality of Sue and Steve Heatherington who run both The Waterside and Welsh Valley Alpacas.

My photos today are looking at one or two of the details of the lakeside.

On Friday this week (5th Feb) StillWalks will be at The Waterside running presentations  about the StillWalks package for businesses and organisations. If anyone is interested in coming along to this regular open day at The Waterside, please check out the website above and contact us in advance.

The Waterside footbridge

Crossing the Footbridge

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

 

Colour and a Ghostly Light

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The colour in these night lights and their reflections in the water of Hemlington lake is clear, but whatever colour may be in the branch below as it stretches into the night under a desaturating street lamp, is lost almost entirely – I find it quite ghostly.

urban light reflections

branches in night light

Light and Dark

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The view of and colours in the night sky over Middlesbrough changed as I walked around the other, unlit side of Hemlington Lake. The shapes and silhouettes of trees enhanced the reflected colour on the clouds and proved there was light to be seen. However, the footpath on this side of the lake was very dark and it was only because I know the path well that I had no problems seeing where I should walk.

As I came round this side of the lake I disturbed some of the birds roosting in the vegetation at the lake side. So at this point in my night walk, there was a little more sound than perhaps there should have been.

Night Birds

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

trees at night

trees and night sky

night sky and lake

Reflections and Colour in the Sky

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Such as it is, the colour in the sky on this night walk round Hemlington Lake is a reflection of the urban lights in Middlesbrough. Despite travelling north east for the new year, the weather didn’t improve much for us and so the street lamps had plenty of cloud cover to reflect their yellow-orange glow.

It didn’t actually rain much on me during this walk and I really enjoyed the subdued colours, the silhouettes of trees and the night sounds of coots on the water.

lake at night

footpath and lake at night

trees at night

Suburban Lakeside Soundscape and Reviewing the Week 52

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While my walk this week has not appeared very wintry, the photos were taken and the sound recorded in January and though there is no ice or snow to be seen, it seems that mild winters are now a feature of the seasons in many parts of Britain.

I hope you have enjoyed the first of my walks in 2016 and I look forward to posting many more this year.

Hemlington Lake

Try listening to the soundscape of the walk while viewing the images in sequence – click the play button and then the first thumbnail below.

Suburban Lakeside Soundscape Sample

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

Pattern, Light and the State of Stanchions

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Liquid patterns in water can be mesmerising but I also love the patterns created by these platform stanchions in their different states at the edge of Hemlington Lake. I guess those twisting in a double row along the lakeside are from previous fishing platforms, although their arrangement suggests the platform was a continuous structure, perhaps a boardwalk.

The light in these scenes suggests the normal changeable weather conditions of Britain but it is also reflective of the time of day and season. The first shot is from an early stage of this wintertime production walk. The other photos are from later on in the walk and the light in the last two reveals the cloud cover overhead and potentially impending rain.

Hemlington Lake stanchions

Hemlington Lake

old stanchion pattern

station abstract

 

Abstract Islands

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Looking at this suburban lake as I walk around its periphery, I find myself thinking about the interventions that man has made in the interests of maintaining a dialogue between human and natural environment.

The fishing platforms that jut out into the water at the lakeside have a straightforward function, but the mid lake platform on which the gulls are resting is more abstract. I don’t know what it has been constructed from but with little or no vegetation forming a part of it, there is no disguising the man made materials. It seems to be a welcome haven for the birds at any rate.

My third photo today shows the patterns of construction materials of an outlet in the lake that I guess must be required as the streams feeding the lake doesn’t appear to have any other natural continuation point.

Hemlington Lake

Gulls at rest

Hemlington Lake outlet

Feathered Friends – Lakeside Residents

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Walking round this suburban lake during the winter months can be very entertaining for many reasons. The main performers providing the entertainment are of course our feathered friends, the local avian residents. The variety of birds here may be common but are of no less interest for that.

Judging by the shot below it seems that size is relevant, with the small gulls waiting patiently and hopefully for a share of the fare on offer.

Swans

The entertainment is not only in the shape, colour and behaviour of the birds – it also comes in the form of sound. Listen to the sound clip below for a taste of the calls and conversations in the bird community at the lakeside.

Suburban Lakeside Birds

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.