Today we heard about a fascinating new project from the National Trust. This iconic British organisation is asking for the public to record the sounds of the seaside so it can collate them for the “Sounds of our Shores” project.

image by mschearf

The National Trust is calling for sounds of the seaside so that it can forever preserve the constantly changing sound of the seaside. It wants to create a digital map, which will be collected and curated by the British Library. The National Trust believe that the sounds of our British coastline are always evolving, with different birds and animal noises, the rise and fall of industry, and the changing use of some buildings like lighthouses and watch stations. The National Trust want to capture some of the sounds of the seaside today so that they can be saved and played for future generations.

Of course, there are the sounds that are traditionally associated with the seaside, like seagulls, waves crashing against the shore and kids playing, but what about the other noises that aren’t often captured, like the tinkle of an ice-cream van, the rustle of fish and chip wrappers, the sound of digging sand and even industrial noises are important too like the sound of a busy shipyard, the deep boom of a foghorn or the heavy clang of metal as shipping containers are unloaded.

by johnnyberg

The landscape of the coastline is constantly evolving, as are the industries that make use of it, so the National Trust calls for seaside sounds is a bid to record them. The changing sounds of the coast might be a familiar soundtrack to a future generation as the seaside around us changes and evolves.

Anyone with a recording device (such as on a mobile phone or tablet) can record some seaside sounds and send them to the National Trust. We think this is a fantastic project to get involved with, so why not head out to the beach today and find some noise!

If you’re coming to the Oakeley Arms for your holidays soon then ask our staff about the closest beach – it’s just a five minute drive, and you too can get involved with this brilliant project!

Sounds of the seaside to listen out for include……

• seagulls and other coastal birds
• children playing and laughing
• sipping cold drinks
• picnics being eaten
• waves crashing on the shore
• sand crunching underfoot
• kids jumping over waves
• ice cream vans
• towel shaking out
• dogs barking
• ice cream wrappers rustling
• boats passing
• foghorns
• fish and chip wrappers rustling
• rubbing in suncream
• wind whistling over the rocks and sand
• sound of feet splashing in the water
• sounds of busy harbour – boats mooring, people shouting, cargo unloading, ship-building

Any more to add? How many will you hear at the beach? Better head down to the seaside soon to be part of this exciting project…..

Find out more about the project and how to submit your sound recordings here.

Image by chokingxl on freeimages.com