May is Walking Month

Suffolk Libraries Journey into Sound.

May is National Walking Month, so we were delighted to learn about Suffolk Libraries project ‘Seconds in Sound’.

They have been joined for six months by the artist Martin Scaiff with funding from the Arts Council England.

Martin works as a teacher and field recordist and has developed the Seconds in Sound project which invites the people of Suffolk to take part in weekly sound walks. The walks connect all 45 of the counties libraries and aims to encourage people to mindfully listen to the world and sounds around them whilst they walk.

Each walk is recorded and posted on the HomeSounds website. 

There are 4 walks already recorded and ready to listen to. If you would like to participate in the remaining walks you can get all the details on the Suffolk Libraries website.

The summary of walks:

Monday 13 May – Felixstowe to Hollesley Bay
Monday 20 May – Hollesley Bay/Warren Hill to Woodbridge
Tuesday 28 – Woodbridge to Wickham Market
Monday 3 June Wickham Market to Aldeburgh
Monday 10 June – Aldeburgh to Leiston to Saxmundham
Monday 17 June – Saxmundham to Southwold
Monday 24 June – Southwold to Kessingland
Monday 1 July – Kessingland to Lowestoft to Oulton Broad
Monday 8 July – Oulton Broad to Beccles to Bungay
Monday 15 July – Bungay to Halesworth
Monday 29 July – Halesworth to Framlingham
Tuesday 6 August – Framlingham to Stradbroke
Monday 12 August – Stradbroke to Eye
Monday 19 August –  Eye to Needham Market
Monday 2 September – Needham Market to Stowmarket to Elmswell to Thurston
Monday 9 September -Thurston to Ixworth to Moreton Hall to Bury St Edmunds
Monday 16 September – Bury St Edmunds to Brandon
Monday 23 September – Brandon to Lakenheath to Mildenhall
Monday 30 September – Mildenhall to Newmarket
Monday 7 October – Newmarket to Haverhill
Monday 14 October – Haverhill to Kedington to Clare to Glemsford
Monday 21 October – Glemsford to Long Melford to Sudbury to Lavenham

The Home Sounds website is a powerful catalogue of Martin’s work and shows his passion for active listening. The testimonials give voice to the powerful impact that his work has.

“I felt like my ears had been opened… in a good way”.

“It was completely absorbing, and apart from anything else, gave ma a welcome break from my thoughts”.

The fact that you can calm your mind at the same time as getting out and moving for us is what makes these walks so powerful and why we wanted to raise awareness and applaud the project.

It takes a look at health and wellbeing as a whole and mirrors one of our key messages. Do something you love to do. Moving more can be daunting and difficult to start. But by engaging your whole self in an activity and enjoying it for the action rather than the outcome, it is more likely that you will be able to make it part of your routine.

It may seem like a small point but it’s an important one.
If you can’t get to any of the walks, don’t forget the back catalogue. Listen along and pick up some tips on how to get out and take your own ‘Seconds of Sound’.

There are also apps you can download to help with identifying bird calls, to help you feel more connected to the sounds of nature around you.

If you have any thoughts on this or any of our blogs we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please email us at Julie.Chapman@suffolk.gov.uk.