Access for All – Audio Trails Workshop

Earlier this year I attended a workshop at Langsett Barn to learn all about how audio recordings could be used to make the outdoors more accessible to people unable to get out for themselves through disability, age or anxiety.

It was organised by Peak District National Park Authority, presented by Tom Marsh from Open Country and was attended by representatives from Yorkshire Water, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the Peak District National Park Authority.

Tom explained how Open Country started producing Audio Trails during Lockdown to provide access to the countryside for people confined to their homes. They loaded the Trails onto their website and were so pleased with how popular they were, they continued producing them when restrictions were lifted.

In producing an audio trail, Tom explained that he’s looking to tell a story and not necessarily provide a technical step by step guide of a walk.  It should be an observation of a journey, stopping at various points along the way to paint a picture with words for the listener, by describing what you can see, what you can hear and what you can smell and feel.

He covered the preparation required before going out to record an audio trail and provided guidelines on how you should make the recording itself (such as set off on  the walk, pick up features/highlights along the way, stop and record short segments, describe what you see, hear, smell and feel, recording ambient sounds that can be used during the recording). He finished by explaining the steps involved in editing the material into a final audio trail, using free to use editing software from the internet.

Having covered the theory, Tom then took us out on a walk down to Langsett Quarry where he put the theory into practice with a very impressive demonstration.  You don’t realise what’s around you until you have to stand still and observe what’s around you, to identify the things you can include in your audio clip.

We returned to the Barn for a sandwich and to reflect on the morning’s learning before heading out to the banks of Langsett Reservoir to have a go at recording some material ourselves.  It was a scary prospect to begin with, recording a clip in front of other attendees but it was great fun as I relaxed into it and just observed and described what I saw around me.  And it really does improve your power of observation when you have to describe your surroundings for a recording that will be listened to by others.

We returned to the Barn for a final discussion and to say our goodbyes.

I immediately applied my learning to the podcasts I produce for the Trans Pennine Trail and we’ve also taken the idea and extended it into a Digital Trail format that includes an audio narrative at is core that will be detailed enough for the visually impaired but with the addition of photos and video clips to add to the experience for other users.

The digital format will allow us to feature some of the visual highlights along a walk but also to include footage of the Trail surface and access barriers that will be helpful for users with limited mobility who might want to assess the accessibility of the walk before venturing out.

So look out for our first TPT Audio Trail which will be launched over the Autumn and if you fancy producing a TPT Digital Trail yourself for your favourite section of the Trail, email us at info@transpenninetrail.org.uk and we’ll send you some guidelines to help you get started.  

Thanks to Tom, Open Country and the Peak District National Park Authority for a most useful workshop.

Date: 23rd August 2024