Tag Archives: wildflowers

Bright Yellow Buttercups – Reviewing the Walk

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My walk this week started with the birth of an alpaca – a Spring / early Summertime event that was reflected in all that surrounded me on this walk, including these bright yellow buttercups on the banks of the lake at The Waterside. A place I will be visiting again next week so I guess I will get to see how the little ‘un is getting on and may even meet another newborn from what I have heard.

buttercups in the valley

buttercups in the valley

Listen to the soundscape and take a loo at the image sequence at the same time

The Waterside Walk Soundscape

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new born alpaca
new born alpaca
Tadpoles
Foxgloves
Thistle
Bullrushes by the lake
Stepping Up
Mother and Child
A Sparkle of Sunlight
Riverlight 1
Focusing minds, making connections
Lakeside reeds
stallion and mare
waterflow
buttercups in the valley

Wildflowers Down by The Waterside

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While the drama of a new alpaca being born was going on “back at the ranch” (see yesterday’s post), I was enjoying a very peaceful stroll around the lake at The Waterside. While there is so much growth during this time of year, the specific time cycle of development is slightly different for each plant and many wildflowers and this will vary further according to the conditions from year to year and location to location.

So we see here in this hidden South Wales valley the foxgloves in full bloom but the thistle flowers just coming through, the dandelions seeding and the bullrushes getting ready to disperse their seed. There seems to be so much going on – as I have said in previous posts, nature has pounced!

Bullrushes by the lake

Bullrushes by the lake

Lakeside Birds

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Foxgloves
Thistle
wildflowers
Dandelion clocks
waterside grasses
Bullrushes by the lake

Return Route – Reviewing the Walk

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Looking back on my walk this week with the Taste of Gower group at Llanmadoc, we were very lucky with the weather. We saw both sunshine and clouds over the beautiful open space of the beach at Whitford Point with the old Victorian lighthouse not quite clear of the tide. Having said that, one of the main reasons we have such a green and luscious land in Wales is the amount of rainfall we get. It is less predictable where it is going to fall these days and looking again at the dark clouds and sun bleached beach, that is why I say we were so lucky not to be rained on until the end of the walk.

Country lane

return route

My soundscape for this walk is about the same length as usual (around 4 mins) but I could easily have made it twice that length or more. I may decide to produce a StillWalks video from the photos and sounds I have collected on this walk but it will have to wait in line with the others I have not yet post produced.

Llanmadoc Walk Soundscape

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Cefyn enjoying the water
Walkers on the Beach
Cefyn enjoying the sea
calm before the storm
Oystercatchers
Bleached Beach
Beach Pebbles
Shoreline
Yellow Flag
Bare feet
Tree Bark
Walkers in the wet
return route

Underfoot

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Moving up from the beach at Whitford Point my walk this week with the Taste of Gower walkers meandered through the woods to continue this circular walk from Llanmadoc on the northern tip of the Gower Peninsula.

The ground underfoot was now mostly a soft carpet of pine needles and so for those walking barefoot (just one, not me), the transition from the sand of the beach would have been a relatively comfortable one. I was tempted to go barefoot myself, remembering the experience being described by Nan Shepherd and Robert MacFarlane in their books as one which puts you in contact with the ground (literally) in a way that walking in boots cannot, however sensitive and sympathetic you are to the land.

woodland path

Woodland Footpath

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Woodland Footpath
Taste of Gower walkers
Bare feet
Yellow Flag

 

 

Hidden in the Trees – Reviewing the Walk

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The endpoint of my walk this week at Penllergare Valley Woods was the cafe at the northern end of the valley. The cafe was only developed in the last few years by The Penllergare Trust who are restoring the gardens to something t like their original state in Victorian times. Much of the work is done by volunteers and if you are interested in helping or becoming a friend, visit their website for details.

Penllergare Valley Woods cafe

Below I have selected some of the photos from my posts this week which you can view in sequence while listening to the soundscape of the walk. Click the play button and then the first thumbnail image to review the walk.

Penllergare Valley Woods Soundscape

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Valley Viewpoints and Detail

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There are a number of “viewpoints” along the various upper footpath routes at Penllergare Valley Woods. Some reveal the amazing range of greens to be seen in so many trees. Others allow you to look down on lower path networks or reveal the contrast between trees and water.

Penllergare Valley Woods - lake

As I near the end of my walk this week, there are cultivated details to be seen as well. The yellow welsh poppy may grow naturally all over the place, but the old tree stump these wildflowers are springing from may have had a helping hand in the positioning of plants. If so, then it was very well done!

Welsh poppies

Penllergaer Woods-30

Broom Bloom

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Moving to higher ground from the woodland river on my walk this week in Penllergare Valley Woods, we came upon a familiar meadow where, a year or two ago, we picnicked in similar sunshine. A broom was in full bloom and my favourite ribwort provided a foreground to this peaceful scene on a beautiful day

broom bloom

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Enjoying the Waterfall

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There are people hidden in this first photo today from my walk this week at Penllergare Valley Woods – you can just see them near the centre of the image. They are enjoying the area on the river where the waterfall from the lake flows over the rock arrangement constructed by John Dillwyn Llewellyn back in the 19th century when he was developing the original valley gardens.

Penllergaer Woods-8

The colour of the rhododendrons in this image is accompanied by foxgloves below, and then there is the beautiful yellow of buttercups in a marshy looking meadow displaying the lushness of the environment at this time of year.

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