Soundscapes, Episodes

Join us tonight, in the golden glow of a late spring twilight at our favourite mooring spot under the Forest of Arden’s mysterious gaze. As twilight begins to fall settle back, relax and enjoy the majestic splendour of the ancient evensong of the wild; a symphony in which every voice has a part. Journal entry: 1st May, Friday, Beltane “The dip and swell Of these gently folding fields Home to shadows and sheep And trees who have become Old friends...

oin us tonight aboard the Erica’s warm and cosy cabin as storm Claudia rages outside. Let us experience together the intimate feeling of being snug and safe in a tiny home afloat on the storm lashed canals. Journal entry: 14th November, Friday “Sky of smudged greys, Chalky, sooty, dirty laundry water, And a light of such silvery metallics Lead and steel, iron and zinc, That makes the canal surface shine And adds richness to berry and leaves....

Have you ever wondered what it was like to visit a ‘moorings’ along one of Britain’s waterways and to stand and wath and listen as this small world flows to its own daily rhythms? Although every 'mooring' is different, we explore the common thread that unites them. Why not join us for a sunny autumnal Sunday and listen to the day unfold. Journal entry: 6th October, Monday “Wind buffets and rocks the boat The mooring lines tighten and then slack. Fenders creak...

Tonight, for a little while, let’s leave the sleeping canal in peace as it slowly recovers and heals after the summer long drought. Instead, let's go down to the river where the water is alive with light and chuckles and laps under rowing boats and let us see what we can see. Journal entry: 4th September, Thursday “Clouds pillow and pile Black skies behind us A fleeting sun catches the scarlet of bryony berries That wrap themselves around Spiky vin...

Join us on a quiet night of summer rain as we listen to rooks and explore the beauty and ambiguities of two liminal places with a lot in common. We learn about the web-footed fenmen and are guided by Luke Sherlock to a ruined church under haunting skies. Journal entry: 6th June, Friday “We walk through the sheep field As the rain pours down. My boot socks still wet from last night. The rooks muster noisily at the One Oak. Even the magpies’ cackles...

Sometimes episodes have a mind of their own and take you to unplanned places they think you need to go. This is one of those episodes. One ‘soft’ Sunday morning in May in John Clare country. Journal entry: 31st May, Friday “Standing looking south-west Across the vale. Four ducks circle above the water. Then swoop down and land in unison. The fields and hills in the distance Fade into soft light.” Episode Information: Grand and unapologetic: Giant Hogweed standing tall. This is t...

A warm dry week has ended with chasing shadows and showers. It looks like a dampish Bank Holiday! Therefore, this might be a good time to consider more deeply on the quality that rain has to touch us both physically and emotionally. Thomas Merton and Tristan Gooley are two very different people, but they both offer insights into the language of rain and what we can learn through listening to it. Journal entry: 24th August, Thursday "We drop down the hill To field-edge and thistledown sm...

Tonight, we celebrate and enjoy a special August evening at the moorings, filled with golden light, gentle chatter, a rolling wind, duck call and church bells. A rare ‘August-coloured’ evening. Journal entry: 15th August, Tuesday “Chasing clouds and sunshine. The ground still wet from yesterday's rain We walk the loop, Maggie reacquainting herself With familiar places. Me too. It seems a while. It's good to be out again. The air smells green and fresh." Episode Information: Snatching...

These are the days when the nights are short and the days are long. On the cusp of the summer solstice, the year's turning reaches its zenith, join me tonight in celebrating the unique joys (and challenges) of the long days with a special visit to Windmill Hill (Grid reference SP 33 42). Journal entry: 14th June, Wednesday “Sun down. A lone swan swims up the canal. Serene strokes from strong feet. Each ripple she makes catches fire. The goldcrests’ chatter falls silent And the bank-side...

We are back! Spring sunshine and showers are transforming the fields and the canal and it is wonderful to be behind the microphone once again! The roof of a narrowboat can acts as a special extra room offering you panoramic views of a world of thee worlds. Why not climb up here and join us up on the roof of the Erica to enjoy rook play and the approach of a thunderstorm. This episode is dedicated especially to Stu and Vania. Journal entry: 10th May, Wednesday “A game of Pooh-sticks a...

All along the canal side, the wintery tees and hedgerows are filling with spring song and life. Subtle shifts and changes, the play of light through the trees, the shimmering reflection of an old oak, auger new seasons awaiting us. It might still be winter and cold weather is on the way, but why not join me tonight in a ‘secret’ spot, canal-side, where we can listen together to February dawning? Journal entry: 1st February, Wednesday. "The conclave of oaks at the top of the hill Bask in...

Join us around the warmth of a glowing stove tonight as ice once more grips the boat and freezing fog thickly mantles the winter-naked trees. On nights like these, it is good to remember summer days and so, tonight’s episode takes us back to one particular day late last summer. Journal entry: 16th January, Monday “A westering sun paints the opposite bank in amber, Soil and bark glow warm with gold. A tangle of twisted roots, bramble brush and rabbit holes. Eight ducks emerge from the...

The night is chill and crisp, a bright moon rides the racing clouds and stars shimmer on the surface of the canal. It’s a perfect night for a night walk. Snuggle down and wrap up warm as you join me on a canal walk washed by moon light. Journal entry: 29th November, Tuesday “Reluctant daylight. The sun's cold shoulder. Three ducks bob on ruffled water. I walk on uphill Grateful for thick socks.” Episode Information: Earlier the night of the walk as darkness fell. Looking out of the b...

Tonight, we enjoy the special beauties of a rainy town in central England as darkness begins to fall, listen to Thomas Merton on city rain, and spend awhile at a window seat in a small café and create for while our own version of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. Journal entry: 26th November, Saturday "Sometimes, all it takes To make a day full Is to have breakfast in a half-empty cafe filled with chandeliers And crescent moons With someone you love As a watery sun Climbs into the morning sky...

Tonight, as the evenings draw in and autumn takes a firmer hold of towpath and fields, let's gather close beside a woodland campfire for some unabashed romanticism. For life teaches us two things: 1. Romance does the heart good and brings a smile to the soul - and, on these darker and chillier evenings, who would deny us that? 2. Small boys will always be totally captivated by a wild heart and a gypsy smile ;) Journal entry: 18th October, Tuesday “Low cloud, like smoke, sweep down the w...

This week much of the country fell silent for a while and that stillness was the occasion for a chance encounter and finding within the silence the music of bells among crow song. Join us aboard the Erica tonight as we are touched by the enigmatic qualities of bells and stillness. Journal entry: 21st September, Wednesday Dew, the smell of sheep and wet grass. Rooks jostle the lightening sky. The company of ducks hunched at the water’s edge Shake themselves awake And drop into the pool o...

Although a little delayed, the long-awaited rain and thunder did eventually arrive. Join us tonight as we hunker down beside a young willow and enjoy, with a field full of crows, the wonder of a thunderstorm as it roars overhead and all the richness it brings. Journal entry: 19th August, Friday. “An impulse forage among the brambles on a Blustery day of tall clouds and sunshine. I pick the high berries, you the lower ones. I extricate you when a bramble thorns your sleeve. Thirty-seven ...

These are the long days. The days of heat and dust. The days of quiet skies and dulled colours. Days of eclipse and renewal. These are the dog days of summer. Journal entry: 23rd July, Saturday [should read 16th July - blame the heat!!] “Martins twist and flit around the large ash, Clustering in the branches like cockney parakeets. En masse they drop, forking down to the water surface, Swimming the air with dolphin-like grace. We slip the mooring ropes and leave.” Episode Informat...

Old stories can lift an unfamiliar mirror up to our lives so that we see ourselves anew and as we really are. Tonight, I will tell you an old story. It’s a story about a silvery day of sea fret (mist), rolling ocean waves, empty fishing nets, and a solitary herring. Journal entry: 6th July, Wednesday “I sit on the bank, one leg hanging down. A drake mallard in eclipse, treads water, with slow, lazy strokes of his feet. He watches me. I watch him. We are both waiting for something... ...

This week’s episode is filled with sunshine, the scent of resin, and the soporific call of pigeon and dove as we explore a little further afield. A visit to Dad on the north Norfolk coast means a change in landscape. Find out why, even though I love walking, I am often very reluctant to talk about it with other walkers! Journal entry: 14th March, Monday "Fog. Penny and I walk through a soft chilled landscape. The canal is dark and glassy. A small patch of mist boils and parts As Cyri...

Snuggle up comfortably as you join us on the NB Erica for a wild night and day as we ride the storms Dudley and Eunice. The poems of Ted Hughes, Louis MacNeice, A.A. Milne, William Blake, and John Betjeman keep us company as they take us through a day of roaring wind and rattling rain-squalls. Please note, the audio for this episode has been intentionally kept ‘dirty’ to capture the ambient sounds of a storm as experienced on a narrowboat and so any bangs, clicks, clunks, and other background...

As we begin to enter the depths of winter, this episode celebrates with a soundscape of winter at the moorings that tries to capture the life and energy of this season. Journal entry: “18h January, Tuesday. A rich winter moon hangs between the branches of the ash. Beneath a sky veiled in ice, sheep The colour of worn lead face the first glow of dawn. Penny picks up the scent of rabbits We walk together on crystals and silence." Episode Information Ducks on ice Winter on the can...

Join me tonight on a journey on the dark waters of Shrewley Tunnel. In this episode we travel not just through the tunnel but also through history and try to capture the life of those who worked the canals by physically 'legging' boats through. Journal entry: “12th September, Friday Having Brunch at the Gongoozler’s Rest Café. The smell of wet earth and fallen apples A frisson of rain among rowan leaves Scarlet berries decorating the ground. A sleepy wasp crawls over my hand. I can feel its ...

Under the poplars beside milepost 16 is a place of enchantment and quiet sanctuary, particularly in times of broiling heat. Join me in tonight’s episode as revel in its soundscape and its dappled beauty as we explore its very particular genius loci. You can also hear about the saga concerning our little swan family and what happened this week to their young cygnet (happy ending). Journal entry: “11th August, Wednesday Geese calls across the dawn skies Haunting echelons Black against grey. Ro...