Claerwen reservoir, Mid-Wales
High winds are about the worst conditions possible for a sound recordist, and we've had a lot of them lately. But there's one thing which wind is good for, and that's creating waves. I've been wanting to record crashing waves at Claerwen for a while, but much of the lake has steep sides, and the best waves form in the shallows along the southwestern edge. So today's brisk, but not gale force, Easterly wind was ideal for what I had in mind.
Claerwen is the largest and most remote of the reservoirs on the Elan Valley Estate and also the most recently constructed, being opened in 1952. As I drove up through the valley, I noticed a lot of other cars, and quite a few people wandering around on the paved areas. But, fortunately, once I stepped out onto the rough moorland, I left the other folk far behind and, after trudging over the hill, found myself at the desired remote spot between water and open moorland. I set up my microphones, well wrapped in their furry windshields, on the narrow shingle beach close to the water's edge, and this recording is the result.
Given the conditions, it's hardly surprising that the soundscape is almost completely devoid of signs of life. The water surface altitude is 370m, with the surrounding hillls rising to around 500m, offering only meagre shelter from the wind. A solitary Raven flew over at one point, its brief honking call just audible above the waves. I also saw a few skylarks fluttering close to the ground but, at only 5°C, I think it was just a bit too chilly for them to burst into song.
Recorded: 2022-03-07 @1520
Location: 52.2706, -3.6838
Download full length recording:
30 min, 68MB, .ogg format
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