The Other Folk of Chorlton Woods

Way Down to Pomona - an Augmented Reality Soundwalk An immersive re-imagining of Pomona Island’s history through field recordings, composed electroacoustic music, oral histories and archival material (with thanks to Greater Manchester County Record Office) that are unveiled as the site is explored by the listener based on their GPS data. Suspended between the Bridgewater Canal and the River Irwell, this concrete island bountiful with flora and fauna exists in a strange limbo between its industrial past and inevitable destruction and development. This area has an extremely rich history which will soon be forgotten as the land is gentrified. In the 1800s Pomona Island was a place of leisure, with the name Pomona originating from the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards; promoted to the locals as a way of enjoying the countryside without the need for a train ticket. The land was home to Pomona Palace, the biggest hall of its kind in the country, fit with a 100 ft clock tower, that could host 30,000 people for dances, concerts and political rallies. The Palace’s gardens included a variety of entertainment, including a hedge maze, flying swings, archery, zoological and botanical gardens, and hosted events such as dog racing, circus shows and other forms of public entertainment. On the 22nd June 1887, there was an explosion at a nearby chemical’s factory that damaged the Palace significantly, leading to its closure the following year. Pomona’s next lease of life was as a bustling dockland for the Manchester Ship Canal, up until its closure in the 1970s. For the past 40 years or so Pomona has been left to its own devices and has become an urban oasis of rare wildlife and flora. However, in recent years landowners PEEL development group have begun the destruction of the space so it doesn’t get listed as a place of ecological importance and to prepare it for its imminent development and gentrification.

Where have all the flowers gone? Young ones have picked them, every one. Where have all the forrest gone? Gone to logging, every one. Where have all the ice caps gone? Gone to oceans, every one. Where have all the islands gone? Underwater, every one. Why have all the people come? For survival every one. Where have all the food crops gone? Gone to deserts every one. Where have all the children gone? Gone to war zones, every one. Where have all the creatures gone? Gone extinct, every one. Where have all the humans gone? Gone to history everyone. Why must all the rebels come? For survival every one!

A city is made of memories, listen for their echoes… A history walk with a hint of ghosts, crime and the gritty underbelly of life in early Manchester. A walk by Skyliner for Bruntwood SciTech.

Example Soundwalk for MPM703 week 3

This sound walk through central Manchester aims to reveal and highlight the presence and activity of wild nature in the city, particularly in the form of plants, trees and waterways that exist in forgotten or in-between spaces, often in spite of the human activity that dominates or surrounds them. The walk takes around 50 minutes to complete. It is accessible to wheelchair users and a transcript is included below. If you have any other access needs or queries, please drop us a line at wildingthesmartcity@gmail.com. We'd be very happy to help. Please download the walk to your phone before you come to the starting point, which is St Peter’s Square in central Manchester and make sure you allow Echoes to use your location to trigger the sounds. It is designed to be experienced through headphones, so make sure you bring yours with you. These walks are part of a wider research project, so any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. Please respond through this online questionnaire (https://forms.office.com/r/i2jYQN3Ysy) and get in touch at wildingthesmartcity@gmail.com if you would like to book a follow up interview to discuss your experience. The walk begins at Manchester Central Library, at the edge of St Peter’s Square in the heart of the city. From the front of the library, turn right, following the curve of the building and sit on the second large wooden bench if you can, facing the entrance of the Midland Hotel. All instructions and guidance will be offered within the audio, so you should be able to put your phone away for the duration. If you get lost or lose the audio, you can always check the map, which shows your route through the city. A transcript of the text of the walk is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12BbWewlwxb4bZCuw6tE5Kwcq6Lapi10x/view?usp=sharing

This sound walk through central Manchester explores the networked digital processes that are happening all around us in new, smart cities, through technologies which are embedded in the urban environment, but which often remain invisible to us. The walk takes between 50 minutes and an hour to complete. It is accessible to wheelchair users and a transcript is included below. If you have any other access needs or queries, please drop us a line at wildingthesmartcity@gmail.com. We'd be very happy to help. Please download the walk to your phone before you come to the starting point, which is St Peter’s Square in central Manchester and make sure you allow Echoes to use your location to trigger the sounds. It is designed to be experienced through headphones, so make sure you bring yours with you. These walks are part of a wider research project, so any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. Please respond through this online questionnaire (https://forms.office.com/r/i2jYQN3Ysy) and get in touch at wildingthesmartcity@gmail.com if you would like to book a follow up interview to discuss your experience. The walk begins at Manchester Central Library, at the edge of St Peter’s Square in the heart of the city. From the front of the library, bear left and take a seat at the first wide bench you see in front of St Peter’s Square tram stop. All instructions and guidance will be offered within the audio, so you should be able to put your phone away for the duration. If you get lost or lose the audio, you can always check the map, which shows your route through the city. A transcript of the text of the walk is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ygxo9gFZgB4rl-tacpPa1qpRGEl-hcEI/view?usp=sharing PLEASE NOTE: due to a technical issue in the application, the final echo (Echo 8) is not playing on some devices. If you have any problems with this, please stop the walk and start it again, disabling Auto-Play, so Echo 8 can be played manually.

Now Open! Manchester Intergalactic Spaceport. Start next to the Cenotaph and proceed clockwise around the library, pausing to check out the music of Echo Sapiens by the front entrance columns. Once you've travelled around the library, enter the side entrance portal and be transported. Download the app to discover. To find out more about Echo Sapiens visit https://echosapiens.com/communications

This walk takes you on an audio journey through the lives of strong women in Victorian Manchester. Written and produced by Ellie Andrews.