Fellfoot Sounds – a uniquely audible gathering

Fellfoot voices blog by Samantha Tranter, Community Engagement Officer

It was likely that many of the people attending Into the Woods for our Fellfoot Sounds gathering were intrigued, and possibly a little alarmed by the wild winds which blew on the opening morning. We (the North Pennines AONB Partnership and creative contractors team) promised a relaxed daytime and one night campout with live performance, making, workshops, food and music.

Tickets had sold out quickly and, despite storm Betty rolling in the night before with torrential rain, the wonderful camping space with outdoor kitchen and communal clubhouse came to life. Field recording and folk music workshops were attended by adults and children alike, and a general atmosphere of congeniality, creativity and anticipation flowed amongst the tents and trees.

The pews filled at St Michael’s and All Angels Church for indoor performances with Jorge Boheringer on his viola and Jayne Dent sampling audio collected by participants from across the afternoon. As dusk began to fall, everyone set off in procession, following the magnetic Noize Choir, bedecked in gold foil, to Long Meg and Her Daughters Stone Circle for a sunset performance. Unique is the only word to sum up the sight, but mesmerising, electric, and entranced are other words that come to mind when reliving the experience.

Sunday dawned with another special church performance with Jorge, followed by experimental sound recording with Tim Shaw, a bird call visualisation walk with Alex Jakob-Whitworth, and a Journey Back in Time, with archaeologist Paul Frodsham back at Long Meg,  topped off the weekend.

Fellfoot Sounds was part of the Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same art project through which we hope that people can connect to the landscape, past, present or future, through sound. It seems that through this event, people truly did. I am still reverberating with the sounds and memories of it myself.