Sound in the Land 2025 – Reports

Reports from 4th May 2025 - Sound in the Land

Alderley Edge SK10 4SD

Vivienne and Mike Newton

We hadn’t visited Alderley Edge since our Gatekeeper Trust day with Gary Biltcliffe and Caroline Hoare in September 2022 exploring the Spine of Albion and the Ellen and Belinus lines. With large numbers of people to the north of the road which passes through the woods we opted to head for the quieter area to the south. The kindly luminous beings guided us eventually to a secluded spot under a beautiful oak tree with ferns and bluebells on the ground in the middle of the wood near to where the Ellen line enters the wood. We laid out our mandala at the foot of the oak using hawthorn blossom and knapweed we had brought from our garden.

As we sounded the bowl and the tingsha bells at mid day we were joined by some curious blue tits coming to see what was going on. As we sent the sound out we remembered all the places we had visited over the past few years along the Spine and throughout the landscape zodiac. We gave thanks that we had been able to do this, and asked for the continued support of the luminous beings.

Calvados in Normandy, France.

Jane Knight

At 12 noon on 4 May 2025 I was at the mouth of the River Dives overlooking the English Channel where William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant) set sail in 1066, just a few decades away from a millennium ago. This is in the region of Calvados in Normandy, France.

I chose this location for my Sound in the Land meditation because by any standards this location witnessed a hugely significant historical and cultural event which changed Britain, France and Europe. Apparently the fleet consisted of single-masted open boats with a sail, many attached to smaller boats, unlike the larger Viking warships. Estimates put the fleet number from 696 to 3,000 (though the larger number probably included the smaller boats). Whatever the number it would certainly have been a spectacle.

It is recorded that William had intended to set sail in August but the winds were against them so the invasion was delayed over a month to the end of September.

On this occasion in 2025 I was the only observer, along with my two greyhounds (who might well have fitted in well in those days). The spectacle was a fabulous display of Kiteboarding. Many enthusiasts had taken advantage of the weather conditions to take to the water. It was very exciting and colourful to watch. Although the video only picked up the sound of the wind, there were in fact flocks of gulls who were flying excitedly around the kites and competing with the acrobatics.

However the fleet would not have been setting sail that day in 2025 either as the winds were blowing from the North East. The blue skies don’t reflect how chilly the wind was in exposed places. Even if I had been singing or humming at the top of my voice it would have been hard for anyone to hear. The wind was deafening.

This felt like the perfect Sound in the Land place for the communication of humans with nature and the elements.

I attach a photo of the kitesurfers and a video of the dogs watching the sails and then back to the estuary from whence the boats would have come. (I have other photos but I’m just sending this. Let me know if you need any more. Sorry it’s all in the distance. If I zoomed in the photo was too blurred as the wind was strong!)

Sharptor, Dartmoor

Klaas Overzee

My sounding was from Sharptor, on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, my steps lead me to a gate that had a white feather left in one of the gateposts that lead me through the dwarf oak forest 🌳 to the rock from which I sounded the conch and aligned it with Haytor in the distance.

Place: CV35 0PG Mary Magdalen Pillerton Priors

CV35 0QH St Mary the Virgin Church Pillerton Hersey

Sarah Dawkins

These two places mark the crossing point of the two Swans in Cygnus – the crossing point comes in the throat chakra of the N-S Swan, Pillerton Hersey, and the heart of the NW -SE swan Pillerton Priors.

Pillerton Priors

This is the site of a chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene which was burnt down in 1672 – supposedly from a spark from the fire of London. It is now a churchyard with a beautiful, very abundant and vibrant oak tree overlooking the graves. A beautiful very large, orange bumble bee greeted us at the gateway, she was enjoying the spring flowers and early wild roses.

After greeting the Kindly Luminous Beings, we walked to the oak tree and offered a rose that had been in our Beltaine ceremony the day before. The birds were in full song and we responded with an Ave Maria chant and also sounded a singing bowl.

Donna felt that the sounding was like sound bombs or packages of sound, like photons of light going out into the world.

I felt the Milky Way of the landscape zodiac resonating with the singing bowl – then the line joining the Dream on the cusp of Taurus and Gemini and the Tower of London near the cusp of Sagittarius and Scorpio seemed to light up. Although we were a little early with our attunements, it did feel as if we were one with many people honouring and loving the land.

Pillerton Hersey – St Mary the Virgin Church

This time were greeted by black bumble bee at the gateway, as we asked permission from the Kindly Luminous Beings to enter. He/she proceeded to lead us around the church towards the Yew trees in the East of the church. Preparations were underway for the Sunday VE service in the church, and we spoke to a very friendly Verger who said they go to Pillerton Priors once a year as near as possible to Mary Magdalene’s day on 22nd July. I liked that sense of weaving the energy between the two sacred places with the oak tree at Pillerton Priors and then the yew trees at Pillerton Hersey.

We went to the yew trees offered a rose and rose petals. There were lots of crows cawing to one another. No sounding from us as the crows were so loud!