Hazel Brow Farm Sound Walk

What to expect

Led by artists Tim Shaw and John Coburn, this sound walk will enable a group of up to 15 participants to sonically explore a working farm and the surrounding fields, river and wildlife.

A sound walk is a listening experience that uses a range of microphones to capture and mix the real time sounds of the immediate environment- from birdlife, to life under water, to otherwise imperceptible sounds like vibrations and electro magnetic sounds.

Participants will experience these sounds via provided wireless headphones while moving through the landscape.

The event aims to inspire a curiosity around Swaledale soundscapes that are familiar, unfamiliar and changing.

Duration

The sound walk will last approximately 30-45 minutes. Before and after the sound walk, participants will learn more about this project, discuss the sounds and their wider context. We will be joined by Cath Calvert, farmer at Hazel Brow Farm.

Recommendations

Please wear appropriate footwear and weatherproof clothing. While the walking speed will be slow to moderate, we will be walking on uneven, potentially muddy ground.

Also note that we will be in close proximity to livestock and other animals at the farm.

Children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.

Parking

Parking is available, though limited, at Hazel Brow Farm.

Hazel Brow Farm

Hazel Brow Farm is a forward facing traditional working farm based in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Their team actively work with public groups to help them learn about their approaches to farming, nature and conservation in a hands-on, interactive way.

About this Project:

This event forms part of a project led by artists Tim Shaw and John Coburn, as part of the Creatively Connected arts project.

Through 2025, John and Tim are collecting and sharing sounds of social and environmental identities of Swaledale. Through participatory sound and listening, we will consider the impact of human interventions and high nature value farming within this landscape.

Starting with the aesthetic experience of sonic abundance, paucity and loss – that connects us to everything from bird life, to soil, to social and planetary change– we will provoke discussions around the positive and negative impact of human interventions on relative abundancy vs loss.

All collected sounds at these activities- captured by artists, public participants, farmers, visiting public – will be added to our emerging artist-led sound archive of this place.

About Creatively Connected:

Creatively Connected is an arts project which aims to develop creative conversations about farming, nature and the landscape. The project is led by artists Azadeh Fatehrad, Laura Harrington, John Coburn & Tim Shaw and Matt Denham and produced by Northern Heartlands.

The project invites farmers, land managers, volunteers and local residents interested in farming and nature recovery to take part in a programme of group conversations, site visits and creative activities over summer 2025 in Teesdale and Swaledale.

Creatively Connected is part of the Tees-Swale: Naturally Connected programme led by the North Pennines National Landscape team and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which aims to put farming at the heart of nature and nature at the heart of land management.