Climbing into Forest Stillness in November

Posted on 30/12/201620/12/2016 by Alastair

It’s a steep path into the forest from the road but during a murky November when the days are getting very short the stillness that can be found there when the wind isn’t blowing is a real treat. Don’t get me wrong, I like the sound of the wind, but I also like the quiet peacefulness amongst the trees of this small forest when the sound of the motorway to the west is not carried over the hill. Even in the upper, thinner parts of this woodland, in amongst the spiky gorse, the air can be still and the sound of the conversing birds carries through the trees.

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Under an October Sky – Walking in the Forest

Posted on 29/12/201619/12/2016 by Alastair

October is often the wettest month for us here in Wales but whether the cloudscape below is evidence of this I could not say – I simply found it an interesting arrangement. In reality the weather conditions these days are seemingly so erratic, it is sometimes difficult to know which season we are in or what month it is. It is not easy to tell from these photos or the sound clip if the weather on my forest walks in October were wet or not.

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September Forest Footsteps

Posted on 28/12/201619/12/2016 by Alastair

The light in September was fantastic! Its a time of year when its not too difficult to get up and catch the sun rising and a mist lingering in the valley. But it is the sounds I recorded during this month that I really love. Below is a short clip from a soundscape I am reserving for the first day of the New Year. It features my footsteps on the forest floor with leaves underfoot and the passing of early morning traffic in the background.

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Ending the Year Part 2 – Walks in the Forest

Posted on 26/12/201619/12/2016 by Alastair

Moving into the second half of my year of forest walks in a local woodland the place is dark with dappled shade from canopy of foliage. This is a mixed woodland with both broad leaved trees and coniferous. The two types of tree tend to stay with their own and so the sound of the wind can be, if not distinctly different as it blows through either needles or leaves, certainly discernible, though perhaps not in the short sound clip below.

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Forest from January to June – Reviewing the Walks

Posted on 25/12/201625/12/2016 by Alastair

Having covered the first half of the year of my walks in a local forest month by month and keeping to the format of posts I have been using for a year now (I think that will change next year), today I am looking back over the past week’s posts and selecting two images from each month/post. To head them up I have chosen one from April with the sun peeking through the trees.

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Looking Back at February in the Forest

Posted on 20/12/201615/12/2016 by Alastair

Looking back at a year of walks through my local forest, today takes me to February when there was fog and frost and fungi to be seen on my early morning walks.

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Ending the Year – A Walk in the Forest

Posted on 19/12/201619/12/2016 by Alastair

Towards ending the year I am taking a walk through my records of approximately 150 walks through a local forest in the previous year (2015). Each day over the last two weeks of this year will represent the sights and sounds of one month during that time – on the two Sundays I will review the previous six months.

Today I am presenting a selection of images and a couple of sound clips from the forest in January 2015.

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Sepia Sunlight and Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 16/10/201608/10/2016 by Alastair

A final example of sepia sunlight for my walk this week through woodlands at Stainton in the north east of England. The pale sepia effect on this image seemed to enhance the sense of Summer. I hope you enjoy listening to the soundscape for the walk below while viewing selected images from my posts this week. All photos and field recording was done on my iPhone 6s.