Listen to the Voices of the Fen

Published:: 09 April 2025

A group of visitors stood in a line listening with a microphone — Deep Listening Walk at Wicken Fen | © National Trust/ Mike Selby

A project by Kathy Hinde in partnership between Wicken Fen and Babylon Arts. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Listen to the Voices of the Fen invites you to actively listen to the voices of many different species at Wicken Fen. Activities and installations will reveal hidden soundworlds we may not usually notice, from underwater, underground and inside trees. Listen from a new perspective by joining us for a listening walk, or wander at your own pace to explore sounds installations, all focussed on the intriguing and captivating soundworlds at Wicken Fen.

Following the successful SoundPools installation over summer 2024, the project is now focused on community group workshops and activities plus public workshops and continued listening walks on site. In summer 2025, there will be a larger scale on-site installation and a launch performance piece co-created by our workshop participants.

Stay up to date

Check the project website for news on what’s happening and other resources including a Wicken Fen sound map.

Live hydrophone stream

In the visitor centre, you can listen live to an underwater microphone submerged in a watery location close by. This underwater soundscape is being live-streamed as part of ‘locus-sonus’ soundmap, streaming soundscapes from all over the world to explore the ever-evolving relationship between sound and place. Listen to the live stream here

There are also headphones in the visitor centre and the Roger Clarke hide for visitors to enjoy underwater sounds.

Events

You can get involved with Voices by signing up to an instrument-making workshop, led here at the Fen by Kathy and Jan Hendrickse. Why not make your own overtone flute (with willow cut from the Fen) and then duet with the wind and birds.

Make a flute from natural materials, 28th and 29th June:

Make your own overtone flute - with willow from Wicken Fen - and learn to play it in preparation for a special performance on the Fen (on 20th July). No experience needed. Versions of overtone flutes exist in many parts of the world from East Africa to Scandinavia.

COMING SOON: A new sound art trail will be open between 19 July and 28 September - watch this space!

A man and two ladies stood together in front of a wooden windpump with a blue winter sky behind, they are wearing warm coats and bright colours — Sound artists at Wicken Fen | © National Trust Images/ Mike Selby

Collaborating Artists

Lead artist Kathy Hinde is joine by collaborating artists Amy Wyllie and Oliver Payne (the trio are pictured above). Amy is a multi-disciplinary creative with a focus on co-creating work with children. This spring she will be leading sessions at all three primary schools in Soham, and at a local secondary school too. Look out for her too with the Wicken Fen gazebo at Ely Eel Day, Reach Fair, Waterbeach Feast and Burwell Carnival as we get out and about in the communities near to us. She will have some Voices sound-based creative activities available. Oliver is an artist and sound designer whose practice spans a range of interests including sound-based mark-making, kinetic sculpture and working with communities. He has already started working with Camsight participants, and will be leading workshops at Burwell Day Centre, too.

Visitors at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire

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