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Constable Country by Ear
by Tom Crowley

Image above: We walk under the A12 underpass near the near the Talbooth Restaurant, photo by Amelie Deblauwe

We brought a handheld twin microphone audio recorder with us on Walk B. I’d never used one before and when I put the attached headphones on, I felt like I’d suddenly been gifted the hearing of a cat.

I could hear the grass crunching and rustling at my feet as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I pointed the mic at two colleagues deep in conversation about twenty metres away, it sounded like I was standing right by them.

For the rest of the walk I turned the mic on for every new sound, be it the creaking of a gate we were passing through or the call of a buzzard circling above us.

Image: A gate and footbridge next to the River Stour, photo by Johanna Ward

A gate and footbridge next to the River Stour, photo by Johanna Ward

This five-minute audio track documents the walk, taking in an underpass with the A12 roaring above, the sound of the wind in willow and poplar trees, church bells, birdsong, water raging through a weir, the sedate progress of a paddle boarder and a mild disagreement in a rowing boat.

It finishes, like all good walks, in the pub.

Unwind and Listen