Last Chance (H2)To See, 5th May 2018:
Soundscape 1. ‘An Otter Splashes on the River Leam’
A rather spectacular start to this experiment – an otter in the first thirty seconds!
Banburyshire Rambles Photo-Journal
Paul Mobbs’ photographic record of his walks around ‘Banburyshire’ and ‘The Irondowns’, and occasionally, as part of his work around Britain, the areas beyond.
The landscape exists in more than images; its ‘soundscape’ is another critical dimension of how we perceive the world and its changing nature. In addition to the images along the HS2 route, I have recorded a few samples of the ‘wildtrack’ – the raw sound of the landscape – to add to the documentation of the HS2 route.
Walking the route of HS2 in Danesmoor and the Leam valley made me realize that recording the view is not enough.
When I walk I'm probably using my ears as much as my eyes, to ‘see’ that which cannot easily be seen. That needed to be recorded in the blog. In these pages, as the opportunity arises, I'll collect a sample of environmental sounds from along the route of HS2 – both on the route, and some distance away.
This is not ‘scientific’; I won't be using calibrated recording equipment. Instead I want to represent the diversity of the audio landscape along the route of HS2.
As with the images blog, these soundscapes are designed to capture an essence of the scene before HS2 arrives.
To listen to a soundscape click on one of the numbered red dots on the map. This will take you to the page for that soundscape. To return to this index just click 'back'. Otherwise browse the list below to view the full list of soundscapes.
Soundscapes List:
Last Chance (H2)To See, 18th May 2018:
Soundscape 2. ‘Birdsong in the woods on Frith Hill’
Birdsong and the buzzing of insects on the edge of the Chiltern Tunnel portal on Frith Hill
Last Chance (H2)To See, 11th April 2019:
Soundscape 3. ‘Edgcote Lodge and Danesmoor’
Looking down upon the broads flat valley and the ancient battlefield from Edgecote Hill
Last Chance (H2)To See, 11th April 2019:
On the edge of the HS2 trackway, the sounds from within Halse Copse propagate out across the field.
Last Chance (H2)To See, 11th April 2019:
Soundscape 5. ‘Halse Water Tower’
On top of the ridge, to capture the (near rush hour) sounds from across the surrounding landscape.