This post is intended to accompany an episode of ‘Sound from a Town’ I recorded on the 12th March 2023 (available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube). I wanted to give some context to the sounds you can hear and some background for the reasoning behind my route and the theme that began to crystallise the day before I recorded.
As we arrived in Bedford on the Saturday, I realised I had forgotten my SD card. Reasoning that I needed a spare anyway, we headed from our hotel to the retail park, on foot, for a Currys. Going south from the river along Kingsway, towards the roundabout, I noticed how hostile the route to the St John’s Retail Park was to pedestrians. Whichever way we elected to go once we got to the roundabout, we had to cross at least one road with no form of pedestrian crossing. Like many towns, Bedford seemed built for the car.
Later that day, me and my partner went to two exhibitions at The Higgins. The first, around the geology and history of Bedford, whose history goes as far back as 250,000 years ago, when early humans followed river valleys to a ford, or a slow-moving section of a river that could be crossed by foot. This exhibition also displayed a map showing the old King’s Ditch and location of St John’s Church (shown below).
A semi-religious slant to the walk was cemented given the second exhibition, where we were both transfixed by one painting in particular: The Crucifixion by Tristram Hillier. The person working at the gallery, Tom, gave us a good explanation of the painting. He drew our attention to the crowds of people on the right, who, having got their fill of the crucifixion, returned to the bustling city in the background. You can read a more in-depth write-up of this painting, and the exhibition, by Tom on Art UK. This article also has a licensed version of the painting so you can see it for yourself.
With all this in the back of my mind somewhere, I decided to start recording on Queens Walk, to the north of the River Great Ouse. Here, you’ll be able to hear some activity on the river; humans paddling in kayaks and waterbirds and seagulls cawing for food. There’s also the faint hint of traffic in the distance, coming from the River Ouse Country Bridge.
Heading along the river westward, I crossed the river on foot (well, on a bridge) and headed to the St John’s Retail Park along Kingsway. Along here, the previously backgrounded traffic comes to the foreground, and the only sound of water comes from the car wash, where there was a long queue.
From here, we end up at the retail park, amongst the sound of passing cars, trolleys, people packing their cars with shopping, and the rustle of a bin. I did manage to pass a part of the King’s Ditch on the way to St John’s Church (picture below), but didn’t want to stay next to the traffic for long.
Turning off the busy St John’s St, there was a definite transition to calmness as I got to the yard of St John’s Church. The traffic still hummed in the background, but now I could hear the sound of birds, and the rustle of leaves. I stayed here for longer than I planned to.
Having recorded the bustle of a retail park, and the relative stillness and calm of a church yard, both belonging to St John, I wanted to end the walk at 12pm at St Paul’s Church, hoping to catch the bells. I headed back along St John’s Street, over Bedford Town Bridge, and recorded the church give a display to passing, indifferent traffic to end the walk, and the recording.
George Powell 