Sunken Silence

This walk will allow you to experience soundworks composed by staff and students from Music and Audio Technology at the University of Kent

The geolocated soundwalk ‘Whispers of the Past’ explores and presents stories from archives from men and women who worked at the Chatham Dockyard before it became a museum. We hear personal accounts, moving stories, descriptions, memories and anecdotes that become vivid and alive again through the voices of those who experienced them. The soundwalk is presented at the Chatham Historic Dockyard, a maritime heritage site, through the free downloadable Echoes app. As visitors move across the site they trigger sounds and memories on their mobile devices creating new resonances with this iconic location. This collection of 10 short stories is commissioned by SparkedEcho as part of the Electric Medway Festival taking place between 21-30 August 2021.

Walk & listen between two realities - your feet in the here and now of Chatham High Street as your ears tune to a virtual mix of slowed and real time Skylark song + the high summer striations of dry grass and insects (original audio recorded at the riverside skylark nesting site squeezed between Rochester and the River). Loop into The Brook via Batchelor Street for an ear bath in the underwater flow of the River Medway (recorded with a hydrophone at Limehouse Reach). Drift left past the taxi rank into Military Road where your circular sound walk completes. This walk is all at street level and takes between 15-20mins. Take care crossing Solomons Road and the carpark/taxi access points to Pentagon Centre area along The Brook. Headphones or earbuds recommended. For ease of listening download the walk to your phone before starting & keep your data running.

In Hulkes Lane the pontoon only squeaks at high tide, Samuel Randhawa used field recordings of that sound plus others made by Jane Pitt as the starting point for this track. The spoken word was a collaborative response from Jane to Sam's music.

The Hulked sound walk at Lower Halstow is a creative exploration of the stories, songs and histories of the Thames Barges. Download the walk. Put on your headphones. Press START. Put the phone in your pocket. Be aware of your surroundings. As you walk, sounds will come. Some of the sounds are longer stories, some are musical elements which you 'play' as you walk through them. Be playful. Be inquisitive. Hulked is a creative heritage project inspired by the histories, stories and songs of the Thames Barges, many of which are now ‘hulked’ along the River Medway. The soundwalk weaves together stories, poems, songs, soundscapes and music as you follow the self-guided route through The Old Brickfields at Lower Halstow. Created by writer Jeremy Scott and sound artist, Anna Braithwaite, the soundwalk includes contributions from students of Lower Halstow Primary School, Hollywell Primary School, Upchurch, and members of the Oast House Community Choir and Thames Barge Community. Visit our website for more information about the walk and its creators: www.hulked.co.uk Choir recorded at the University of Kent with the assistance of Frank Walker and Peter Maher. Field recordings collected on site at Lower Halstow and aboard the SB Edith May.

This is a 'taster' sound walk, based on the project's existing presence across the water in Lower Halstow. This version should give you a sense of what we would like to create here on the Hoo peninsula. Come and visit us at the Whoop! Festival (17th May 2025) to find out more, or go to our project website: www.hulked.co.uk And be sure to visit the sound walk at Lower Halstow. See you there!

Hello and welcome to Hulked Sound Walk at Bedlam's Bottom. This is a creative exploration of the stories, songs and histories of the Thames Barges and the environment their hulks inhabit. Firstly please download the walk. Travel to the start of the walk. Put on your headphones. Press START. Put the phone in your pocket. Be aware of your surroundings. As you walk, sounds will come. Some of the sounds are longer stories, some are musical elements which you 'play' as you walk through them. We invite you to be inquisitive. Please take off your headphones when walking along the small sections of narrow road and be alert to vehicles. This sound walk weaves together stories, poems, songs, soundscapes and music as you follow the self-guided route from Iwade to Bedlam's Bottom and back. Created by writer Jeremy Scott and sound artist, Anna Braithwaite, the sound walk includes contributions from naturalist Carol Donaldson, song writer Jack Forbes and poets Maria C. McCarthy and Alice Backhurst. Visit our website for more information about Hulked sound walks and their creators: www.hulked.co.uk Field recordings collected on site at Bedlam's Bottom with microphones supplied by Screen South. Funding generously provided by the Queenborough Fisheries Trust. Supported by Tiller & Wheel CIC and University of Kent.