Burnham Beeches Sensory Trail

I am really pleased to have worked with Burnham Beeches to produce a series of public art works that will help to interpret the site to a more inclusive audience by feeding all of our senses.

The new Sensory Trail opened on 27 March 2009, and features physical artworks along the trail, as well as an audio guide and poetic sound art piece available for download from the Burnham Beeches website - follow the link below.

Burnham Beeches is a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), comprising 540 acres of open space in South Buckinghamshire.  The site has been predominantly wooded since the last ice age and incorporates three scheduled ancient monuments.  It is home to around 60 -70 endangered species of insect and fungus, and incorporates woodland, heath, mire, streams, ponds and grassland.  Burnham Beeches is known for its ancient pollarded trees that were managed over generations to provide sustainable firewood, creating magnificent, gnarly trees now several hundred years old.

Outdoor Culture was commissioned to produce a number of artistic interventions along an easy access trail, including new seating, an imaginative audio guide, sonic art and a series of sculptures in green oak that feed a number of senses.  Our aim is to highlight some of the hidden aspects of the wood's history, management and wildlife, and to welcome and communicate with a wider range of disabled and non-disabled visitors.

The artist Duncan McAfee produced the audio guide and sonic art in collaboration with Year 6 children from the local Farnham Common Junior School.  The physical art works have been made by Nick Garnett, Gina Martin and Dan Cordell (pictured).

Supported by City of London and Arts Council England.