the ash lagoons
,
Back in July, when I’d headed out for
this solo walk at the lagoons, I’d
intended to share it here straight away.
It was a ‘don’t overthink it, just share
it’ story. I wanted to share something of
our everyday lives this year. A regular
walk. Nothing fancy. No great sunsets or
striking vistas. No tall pine trees or
ancient woodland. No vast beach scenes.
Just a regular walk, but a walk that
fuelled us through the days of
lockdown. We discovered this walk on
March 29, at the very start of lockdown,
and asked ourselves how we’d never been
here before. It’s so close to home. And
we’ve walked here ever since.
,
,
,
,
But of course, I overthought it. There
are so many amazing places being
shared here on Steller. This place
isn’t ‘enough’, I thought.

But what it enough? Enough for me is
being out in nature. It’s walking
through the woods, listening to the
wind in the canopy of leaves overhead,
listening to the birds. It’s spotting
the details, the textures, the colours.
It’s paying attention to all of those
subtle shifts as the season unfolds
around you. And, for me, that quietens
my busy mind. Just walking, listening,
paying attention. Taking photos. That
can be enough.
,
,
,
,
These sections of woodland aren’t
big. There are areas where you
can see out through the woods on
MORE
,
,
I remember the ash lagoons from when I
was a child, but this area looked
nothing like it does today. The lagoons
at Levenhall Links, on the eastern
fringe of Musselburgh, were used to
dispose of the ash produced by the coal-
fired Cockenzie Power Station, and this
was still an industrial site during my
childhood. I remember walking round the
lagoons when they were filled with
water. I remember concrete paths and
giant ponds.
,
,
,
,
After the power station closed in
2013, work was carried out to convert
the lagoons, creating areas of
woodland and the pond, and forming a
habitat for wildlife. The entire
lagoons site is a Scottish Wildlife
Trust listed site, and is part of the
Firth of Forth Site of Special
Scientific Interest and an important
roosting site for wading birds.
,
When we first started walking
here, we wondered about these
shipping containers sited
MORE
,
,
,
,
I particularly love these white
poplar trees. When it’s windy and
bright, the light catches the white
MORE
,
,
I started a photo series called
#skywallskyscapes to record the
ever-changing views from the sea
MORE
,
,
Walking here over the last seven
months, one of the things I’ve
enjoyed most is spotting and
MORE
,
,
I find winters hard, not for the cold - I
love the cold - but for the dark. Dark
that can drag you down mentally. And
last winter, and the previous one, my
weekdays were generally spent indoors,
waiting for the weekends when we could
drive down the coast. That’s hard. It
isn’t good for the mind. We all benefit
from fresh air and a connection to
nature. So as we look forward to this
winter, I’m so glad to have this place
close to home. I’m looking forward to
walking here on bitterly cold days,
striding into the wind, listening to the
waves crashing into the sea wall. And
pausing here, taking in these big skies.
,
,
,
,
Monday 13 July 2020
CREATED BY

nature | coast | exploring ♡ Harris + Bracken interiors journalist 📍Scotland

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