Author Topic: Silence!  (Read 2916 times)

gunwharfman

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barewirewalker

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #1 on: 12:47:50, 08/10/17 »
A rare thing to experience a total absence of noise in a place. I remember the first time the total absence of sound hit me as a physical force. Having climbed a route on Idwal slabs, we then climbed another route on the upper cliff of Glyder Fawr and some how, forget exactly how after so many years, we traversed off into the Nameless Cwm. There was a point as we entered this rather remote place, because back then in the early 1960's there was little sign that anyone had ever walked there, the total absence of any sound hit us. My climbing partner looked at me almost exactly at the same time that it was registering in my mind that I was hearing absolutely nothing. There are no sources of running water there, no vegetation the stir in the wind. It is totally isolated from the rising noise of the A5 in the Nant Francon valley. We both described the silence as deafening, was this an isolated experience or does that place have this unusual phenomenon all the time, I don't suppose many would have spent very long periods of time there as there is little keep anyone in that place, Having got in there by an unusual approach, leaving it was also difficult, the back of the cwm was an increasing slope of edge on shale, eroded by frost, which formed small circular discs of thin slate, like razor blades, by the time we realised that we were in a very exposed situation, due to still increasing severity of the incline, we did not actually have stable rock to climb.


I doubt many had descended into the Nameless Cwm from above, perhaps the reason for its isolation.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

gunwharfman

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #2 on: 13:36:38, 08/10/17 »
My most vivid experience of day time silence was on a couple of sections along the GR10 in France two years ago, perfect still days, no wind, no bird sounds, no sounds from amongst the vegetation, no leaf movements etc, in fact it I remember as eerily quite. On a couple of occasions I found this type of silence to be rather intimidating and in that small walking 'world' that I was in at the time, little me, big mountains and big landscape, it made me feel somewhat paranoid. There was a day I remember well, I kept looking back, was anybody there, was I being followed? In such silences my imagination can easily go into over drive. Silence at night for me is different, if the air is still then I know what to expect, but day time silence which in my experience happens very infrequently, that is much more interesting.

fernman

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #3 on: 14:56:17, 08/10/17 »
I was waiting for BWW to say, "And then the fighter jets screamed past" in his account of his experience in the Nameless Cwm.
The days when I could climb into the Welsh mountains and be struck by the absolute silence, save perhaps for the trickle of water, little twitterings from pipits and maybe the sound of the wind, seem to have been a thing of my distant youth. Nowadays the practicing jets can be heard roaring around daily, sometimes close, sometimes distant, while passing helicopters are all-too frequent.
Similar can be said of my day walks in the Chilterns where the peace is spoiled by  little one- and two-seater planes buzzing around the sky all day, and more helicopters.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #4 on: 15:21:51, 08/10/17 »
Dyffryn, after eight in the evening, is one of the quietest places i have experienced, especially when your home is away from the main road.
The area has such a small population, and now that the holiday traffic has gone, there is virtually no road noise after 7-8pm in the evening, about four to five cars an hour if your lucky, and then my home is deathly quiet.


Recently, when the battery in my clock stopped the ticking noise, i instantly responded to its silence.
It took me a while to get used to the silence of open countryside, and apart from the occasional Owl, and bleating sheep, in the field below, that's the only noise i hear.


Certainly a place to wind down, and enjoy a stress free existence.
I occasionally think of my relatives who live in Staines, who can hear just about every machine known to man, passing their house, including the aircraft approaching Heathrow.


Its also a weird experience staying with friends in South Wales recently, hearing noise at night time, coming back to Dyffryn, is nice.



« Last Edit: 15:36:32, 08/10/17 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

lostme1

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #5 on: 16:28:23, 08/10/17 »
I have experienced total silence on the South Downs way. It was strange to hear nothing.
These boots are made for walking.... so long as the rest of my body agrees

phil1960

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #6 on: 18:15:14, 08/10/17 »
I live in South Wales and hear nothing at night, absolutely nothing, silence is bliss at times.
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

Mel

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #7 on: 19:55:21, 08/10/17 »
I can't remember the last time I heard total silence as I seem to have developed a form of tinnitus which means when I'm sat in total silence, I can still hear a low-level hum but it's inside my head and matches my pulse  :'(

Jac

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #8 on: 00:50:03, 09/10/17 »
I can't remember the last time I heard total silence as I seem to have developed a form of tinnitus which means when I'm sat in total silence, I can still hear a low-level hum but it's inside my head and matches my pulse  :'(

My sympathies. I have similar but more like 'white noise' - a sort of pulsating schoosh. I find it helps to have other noise around such as radio/music but I do miss being able to enjoy quietness.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

barewirewalker

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #9 on: 10:19:41, 09/10/17 »
I was waiting for BWW to say, "And then the fighter jets screamed past" in his account of his experience in the Nameless Cwm.


 ;D


I think there is a big difference between a quiet place and total silence. That was in the early 1960's.


Back when Tony Blair was using the RAF as his private taxi service, a fighter jet shot passed Mrs BWW and I as we crested the top of a high waterfall close to Angler's Retreat, Powys, it seemed to rise from the ground right beside us. I got a look right into the canopy, and shouted to Mrs BWW,


 "Look there's Cherry B hitching a ride in the cockpit."
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

gunwharfman

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #10 on: 11:48:37, 09/10/17 »
A poke at Mr Blair? I'm reading 'The Blair Years' at the moment by Mr. Campbell whilst travelling and its proving to be a book that holds my attention.


I listened to a radio slot a few days ago,  Mrs. Blair was speaking about her dad who died recently.


She spoke very nicely about him and told a few tales of the antics he got up to.


She really made me laugh out loud, articulate and to the point. He was a drinking pal of the big drinkers of the day, O'Toole and the like and the antics that he and they got up to was not PC at all.


Worth listening to, very funny. Radio 4, Last Word.

Rather be walking

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #11 on: 12:00:31, 09/10/17 »
An anechoic chamber. I only lasted about 15 minutes.  :D
““The hardest part was coming to terms with the constant dispiriting discovery that there is always more hill.”
― Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

dinger

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #12 on: 21:19:04, 09/10/17 »
Anyone can tell me why my reply has been removed?

bricam2096

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #13 on: 21:43:33, 09/10/17 »
Anyone can tell me why my reply has been removed?
I don't recall seeing one...are you sure it wasn't the one that you posted in a similar thread?...

http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=35399.msg505314#msg505314
LDWs done - 32 in total including 16 National Trails and 3 C2C

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dinger

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Re: Silence!
« Reply #14 on: 09:05:54, 10/10/17 »
Apologies thought it was on this thread ::)

 

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