During the course of my work I get to interview some wonderful people and get an intimate but short-lived window into their lives. My beautifully chaotic interview with the ‘Yorkshire Shepherdess’, Amanda Owen, has to rank as one of my favourites.

Driving to the Yorkshire Dales on a crisp early autumn morning brought back lovely memories of my time working on a moorland restoration project in the early 2000s. The uplands have a unique smell – a mix of fresh air, vegetation and peat – and my destination today was in the heart of the Upper Swaledale.

Amanda Owen, watched by millions on ITV’s The Dales, met me at the door with babe on hip and two young smiling toddlers in tow. She and her young family live a life that has almost gone in today’s modern world, a life ruled by her … Read More »

Step back in time and listen to Richard Trevithick explain how his new engine will transform a Peak District lead mine.

In the 1970’s there was great excitement when the Wills Founder Engine was discovered in a lead mineshaft in the field at the back of what is now Winster’s Cemetery.

The story behind Richard Trevithick’s engine, which now takes pride of place in the Peak District Lead Mining Museum at Matlock Bath, has been brought to life.

Audio Trails were commissioned to produce a short piece of audio, set deep down in the mine, featuring an interview between Trevithick and a reporter. As you listen to the audio in the museum, different parts of the water pumping engine are lit up, helping visitors to understand the machine and how it worked.

Testimonial

Working with Audio Trails – Our contact with you was by phone and email.  On … Read More »

The Don Valley Way audio guide app will guide you around nine heritage walks, taking you on circular walks linking with the main Don Valley Way route.

Your audio guide will give you directions around the walk and interesting historical information about the area.

Individuals and local history groups were recruited to devise walks. The volunteers  researched and wrote scripts for the nine trails* before Audio Trails were brought in to test the routes and provide advice on walking directions to guide visitors from one stop to the next.

Audio Trails were also commissioned to record the volunteers reading using our mobile recording studio. Over two days the Servants Hall at St Catherine’s House in Balby Doncaster was our home.

Following the recording Audio Trails edited the audio, added sound effects and ambient background music. The nine audio trails are available from donvalleyway.org.uk and embedded within our ‘Listen’ GPS-enabled audio … Read More »

Did the Alcatraz Island cell house audio tour live up to expectations? Yes!

When it comes to audio guides of international significance the cellhouse tour at Alcatraz has to be one of the most talked about. For years it has been on my bucket list and last month I finally got to visit the island where Al Capone and many of the USA’s most hardened criminals were held between 1924 and 1963.

Alcatraz Island is a popular destination for tourists and I made sure I booked tickets well in advance; getting them on the day is nigh on impossible. We opted for the 09.10 trip on the 1.5 mile boat ride across the choppy waters, but still the crowds were big. However, with only the early bird seafarers ahead of us the island had not swelled significantly in population and we were … Read More »

An audio archive project to capture the views of local people

We were commissioned by TellTale to deliver an audio project on behalf of the Churnet Valley Living Landscape project – a partnership of twenty organisations, led by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. It works at a landscape scale, conserving and enhancing the wildlife and built heritage of the relatively unknown Churnet Valley.

Our remit was to interview staff and volunteers explaining how they had been involved in the 20+ programmes of work throughout the life of the project, and what the area meant to them and how they saw it changing in the future.

We undertook 15 one-to-one interviews and attended a number of events to capture the thoughts of many more people. The recordings form a valuable archive and legacy to the project that will prove invaluable for researchers in the coming years and decades.

We then edited … Read More »