audio tours
our self-guided audio tours connect listeners to hidden sounds in the environment, bring historical soundscapes to life and explore our relationship with people, places and buildings.
Barrow Dock Tours
March 2023 to Sept 2024
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Working with Your Tour we developed two GPS located audio tours as part of an interactive Barrow Dock Museum app. The tours were created with members of the local community, drawing on local knowledge and expertise and using local studios to record the voiceovers. One tour playfully explored the channelside wildlife and local history while the other delved deeper into Barrow's rich industrial heritage. You can have a listen to examples below or use the links to download the explorer app for Mac or Android.
Mixenden Wild Walk and History Hike
April 2024
Working with the local community, we co-created a History Hike and Wild Walk around the Hebble Brook in Mixenden, Yorkshire, incorporating their feedback into the design of the audio trails. The production process included recording voiceovers with pupils from Ash Green Primary at the local Phoenix FM radio station, as well as combining forces with drama and music students at Calderdale College. Our sound designer Dan Rothberger then sensitvely supported the recorded scripts with sound design, including field recordings from the local area.
Holy Brook Nook
April 2023
Commissioned by Nature Nurture this audio trail encourages local people to visit Holy Brook Nook, a run-down area of Reading that had previously been avoided because of crime and persistent drug use. The tour works alongside murals (pictured) conservation work, a play & learning space, walking programmes, community events and a community garden. Voice acting talent for the audio tour was sourced from local Progress Theatre and the development of the tour was co-created with the community.
Reading Old Cemetery
December 2022
Explore Reading Old Cemetery, a fine specimen of a Victorian garden cemetery, and find out about some of its permanent residents.
Inspired by Horrible Histories with voice overs from local budding and established performers and community volunteers the audio guide takes you on a tour around this beautiful, peaceful site. From people in workhouses to mansions and everyone in between, including headteachers, suffragists, sauce makers, football club directors, record-breaking motorcyclists and many more who are dying to tell their stories and share glimpses of Reading's past with you.
Heritage Audio Trails
Each audio trail takes listeners on a journey of discovery. The walks bring hidden histories and stories to life, helping people to see their high street in a new light. Listeners can take a self-guided route, supported by an illustrated map created for each place. The walks will encourage people to slow down, pause and reflect, and experience their environment in a new way. Local artists have worked with communities to collect stories so that each walk is informed by and represents authentic local voices and experiences. These works connect listeners with the people, past and present, who have made their high street what it is today, transforming the everyday into something magical. Working with Sound UK to create two self-guided audio trails for Reading’s High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Harris Gardens Tour
May 2022
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Saunter around Reading University’s Harris Gardens in the company of Head Gardener Luke and his assistant Betsy. Accompanied by sounds from the garden recorded by local primary pupils at Redlands, Alfred Sutton and Newtown schools and music performed by the plants themselves, the tour brings to life some of the amazing flora found in this beautiful garden. A GPS triggered trail using the Your Tour app.
A Reading of London Street
September 2021
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An audio-guided soundwalk commissioned by Historic England that guides the listener through Reading's historic London Street. The sound walk combines music, audio drama and outdoor museum spaces. At its heart is London Street’s community, and its narrative is interwoven throughout the piece. Listeners will be taken on a dream-like journey through time.
audio blackspots
October 2019
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Audio Blackspots unveiled the disturbing soundscapes concealed amidst Reading’s network of waterways. Revealing sounds normally submerged, entombed within objects or existing beyond the reach of our senses, each stop on the tour draws attention to an audio blackspot, a site of disquieting sonic collisions.
Bourne Valley Trail
July 2021
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Working with Intelligent Health, Nature Nurture and YourTour to create a story-based tour for Bourne Valley in Colchester that aimed to connect local people with this beautiful green space. This GPS triggered audio tour features three local characters that entertain the listener with historical anecdotes and fascinating facts about the areas wildlife.
