Partridge Lane

This is one of thirty-nine recordings made on June 13th 2025 as I walked with my brother on a circular route through the parishes of Withleigh, Templeton and Cruwys Morchard. The walk is part of a research project, Ancient & Modern, investigating the soundscape of the Dart Valley. We moved to the area in 1975 and for five years from 1983 I regularly attended the churches in these parishes to play the organ for services each Sunday, sometimes visiting all three. So far we have walked this route on three occasions, May 13th, June 13th, October 17th 2025, in an attempt to understand the way that the parishes knit-together around the Dart Valley beneath the high ridge of Tombstone Lane as it runs West from Calverleigh Cross. When we lived here we travelled these lanes in the car many times but rarely walked them, rarely stopped to listen. During the walk on June 13th we stopped at places where roads and paths meet, spent time in the churches and churchyards, listened to the river, walked down ancient lanes and spent time with the sounding environment. These recordings document that walk. Listening notes: Listen without headphones on laptop speakers, bluetooth, on your phone. The sound could be lightly audible, a slight presence, insignificant, without note, do not adjust the volume; listen with headphones, lean in, pick out the detail, listen to the white noise of the wind moving leaves in the hedgerows, a tree creaking, birdsong, a distant circular saw, the clank of a trailer; listen on the bus, take the sound with you, travel; or take the recordings back to their locations play them on your phone, on a speaker, let them rub up against the sounding behaviour of the locations, now. Listen, don’t listen.