Buzzard View

This literary soundwalk is an immersive audio experience of a walk that follows a stunning loop route around the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset. The path passes through woodland, moorland and coast, over a beacon with panoramic views extending right over to Wales, and past buildings ancient and new. Along the way, the narration tells a tale of how this landscape has been transformed over time by humans and non-humans, and new ecological changes that give cause for hope.

The work was commissioned by the National Trust to explore and spark new engagement with the tapestry of work they have been doing at Holnicote to make the landscape more environmentally resilient and biodiverse. This work has included creating new wildlife corridors, undertaking a pioneering river restoration project, introducing new species such as the beaver, and supporting tenant farmers to transform working farmland in ways that are more regenerative and nurture biodiversity while also producing food in sustainable ways.

The narrative interweaves evocative descriptions of the route with reflections on the National Trust’s work to make the landscape more biodiverse and resilient, accounts of my conversations with three innovative farmers working on the estate, and glimpses into the palimpsestic history of the landscape.

The research process involved in creating the work was extensive, and involved visits to Holnicote over twelve months to spend time in the landscape, exploring routes, observing nature and wildlife, speaking to locals and experts, listening, taking notes, and recording. The National Trust team at the estate were very supportive and allowed me to accompany them to observe their work on several programmes across the Estate.

I also spent time researching the history of the Estate, including its former periods of ownership by an aristocratic family, and the ways in which different generational philosophies shaped approaches to land management and transformed the character of the landscape, from the installation of monuments to the planting of woods.

This sound walk has been designed to be listened to anywhere as a virtual experience of moving through this landscape. It can be listened to on a walk in a different place, or in situ, to enhance the experience of Holnicote itself, at a sequence of listening points along the way.

Images of the scenery around the route, and a map with directions for the route and the listening points, are detailed below.

Credits: written, narrated and produced by Ellen Wiles. Sound recording by Ellie Williams. Sound editing and design by Nicholas Allan. Commissioned by The National Trust. Funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

With special thanks to Chris Gibbs, Holly Purdy, and Owen and Gina Dyer.