Mynydd Gelli winter view

My Walk this Week – A Sprinkling of Winter

We rarely get any snow in the small town where I live and so when I awoke to find a thin Winter sprinkling in the garden, I assumed that there would be more of it all around us on higher ground and I prepared to take a walk later in the morning.

Mynydd Gelli tree

So I was surprised to find naked trees and moorland when I set off up one of the hills in the lower reaches of the Mawr, the upland area just north of Swansea. No white blankets to be seen,Continue reading

Late afternoon

Witch Hazel in a Late Afternoon Landscape

The light was diminishing on my walk this week at the NBGW but the late afternoon still revealed some good views and wonderful details. One of my particular favourites in this respect was the Witch Hazel. The Botanic Garden of Wales has many of these and at this time of year they are blossoming with their beautifully coloured and wacky flowers – the colours make me think of the cocktail, Tequila Sunrise!

Witch Hazel

There was also a crooked oak tree that looked as though it was using one of its own fallen branches as a crooked walking stick to hold itself up. It reminded me of this old rhyme:Continue reading

fence perspective

My Walk this Week – An Angle on Nature and Construction

My walk this week was slightly unexpected. I had gone to explore the docks area in Swansea Bay but found no access due to gates and security fencing. However, as I moved on I found a footpath edging a part of Swansea University Bay Campus still under construction. On one side of the path I enjoyed the effect of perspective on the site fence, while on the other the textures I found in the bare nature of the season.

Winter nature

So while I had expected an industrial walk in the docks, instead I got a mixture of nature and man made construction. The nature was partly in the form of a bitterly cold wind for whichContinue reading

Valley mist

Valley Frost Revealed – Reviewing the Walk

When I arrived at this viewpoint near the start of my walk this week, the valley was filled with a thick fog. Now, having had a peaceful walk through the forest, the valley is revealed, and it is cold with frost.

Valley frost

In a couple of my posts about this walk I have described the woodland as peaceful, and indeed it was. The background sound of traffic on the motorway is almost always there but there are a few pockets of peacefulness that allow virtually complete escape from that sound.Continue reading

woodland interior moss

Woodland Frost and Interior Moss

We’re past the Winter Solstice now and almost at the end of the year. The days are getting longer (not that you would notice it much yet) but the frost is still here and the ground underfoot is crisp. The warming blanket of moss is also still there and green in the sheltered interior of the forest at least.

frosty footpath

Earlier this year I explored an old disused and overgrown path through the middle of the woods – it connects two other paths with which I am already familiar. After battling my way through the bramblesContinue reading

Seasons in the Sunshine

view south from Llyn Llech Owain

Continuing my walk this week at Llyn Llech Owain in Carmarthenshire, the sun’s shining bright and the haze looking south from the lake suggested heat. However, coats were still needed and although the seasons may be getting a bit mixed up with each other as weather conditions are disrupted by global warming, this was still the end days (hopefully) of Winter and the early days of Spring.Continue reading

Castell Ddu – Reviewing the Walk

Returning to my starting point in my local park on my walk this week, I had a last glimpse of the marshes on the Loughor Estuary. The light was still strong as there was not a cloud to be seen and the air was clear.

Reviewing the walk, I am reminded that although I have called it the Castell Ddu Walk, the castle, or what remains of it does not feature in the images other than the related nearby motte situated at the side of the motorway. The link and quoted text below gives some information on the place.

looking across the marshes

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My Walk this Week – Winter Frost and Sunshine

My walk this week is one with winter frost and sunshine in abundance – it was very enjoyable. I did not have the inclination to climb on this particular morning and so took to the local park and from there headed down to the river. The tide was not high and there was little or no wind so the river Loughor and its marshy estuary were still and bright.

River Loughor and swan

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