Third Field Trip to Alice Holt Forest

Group Photo: From left-right, Max Gravestock, Anna Xambó, Luigi Marino, Peter Batchelor, Goose, Danielle Grimsey, Jack Diprose, and Gimli.

On Wednesday 1 May we went for a third field trip to Alice Holt to prepare for the summer school and test early prototypes of Luigi’s streamer and Pete’s multichannel sound installation. I also wanted to see if it is doable to walk from Bentley train station to Alice Holt Forest so that I can convince Londoners to come by train from Waterloo train station for the opening of the exhibition on the 20th of June!

From Bentley Rail Station to Alice Holt Forest

The Shipwrights Way, which goes from Alice Holt Forest to Portsmouth, has been reported by the Hampshire County Council as a “long-distance route linking villages and towns in east Hampshire through some beautiful countryside on their doorstep”. As part of the Shipwrights Way, there is a leg of the way (section 1) that goes from the Bentley Rail Station to the Alice Holt Forest. Promising! The tarmac path found at the beginning of the route seems to belong to a Roman Road connecting Winchester to London.

As shown in the below map, it is a 2-mile-long path. The weather was clear and sunny, so I found the walk not only inspiring but doable. The path seems well-known in the area: there were also cyclists, runners and other walkers on the way. My impression is that once you know the path, it should take down to 30-35-minute walk! It is also important to wear layers because it is still a long walk.

You can download the route of Bentley Station to Alice Holt walk (PDF) from the Hampshire County Council website, which can be complemented with an interactive map from the Council website or Google Maps (see below).

Interactive Google map of the route of Bentley Station to Alice Holt Forest.

Kick-off meeting at the Alice Holt Café

Meeting in the Café around 10.00-10.30 was our first landmark. We had a clear plan of splitting into smaller groups with meeting points throughout the day. Pete started in the early morning to have enough time to set up and test his initial multichannel sound installation prototype. Nick, Danielle and I had an outdoor meeting over coffee and under the sun!

Testing Luigi’s Streamer I in the meadow

When Luigi arrived, we left Nick and Danielle and went to meet Max to test Luigi’s streamer prototype, in particular, Internet connectivity with an O2 SIM card. Jack, Goose and Gimli also joined us. We went to a meadow that has potential due to its sun exposure and biodiversity.

Even though we inspected the area as methodically as possible, the dongle was unsuccessful in getting any signal. However, we experienced the portability of the streamer, and how the beautiful Swiss-inspired design meticulously crafted by Luigi fits perfectly with the Alice Holt forest environment.

During the walk, Jack and Max pointed us to the seasonal changes in the flora and fauna, with special attention to the lively community of lizards. We also learned about recognising new vs old dead brackens and how to protect us from ticks with our socks!

Testing Pete’s multichannel sound installation in the Willows Green Trail

Around 12.30pm, we said bye to Jack and Gimli and headed to the Willows Green Trail, where Pete was testing his multichannel sound installation. Here, Nick and Danielle joined us. Pete scattered eight speakers with long cables, offering an immersive audio experience in the wild. The amps (D-class) did a great job!

Pete brought several questions to the Alice Holt team, such as a potential workflow for powering the off-grid system, housing the electronics with natural but solid materials, and other practicalities such as support and advice on hanging speakers from the trees.

Pete delighted our ears with different texture-based, granular sonic materials. It felt immersive and unique already! Luigi kept exploring the Internet connectivity of the area with Streamer I, to find that it was again weak or null in this spot with this set-up.

Meeting lunch at the Visitors Centre

We helped Pete pack his set and we all went for a meeting lunch at the Visitors Centre, where we discussed the practicalities of the summer school, such as the location of the events, catering service, and so on.

Exploration of the Willows Green Trail for the summer school art exhibition

After lunch, we split again into smaller groups. Luigi and Danielle went to a second meadow in search of a stronger internet connection. Pete and I went back to the Willows Green Trail to film a time-lapse video of the potential itinerary of the summer school art exhibition and look more closely into what will entail for Pete to hang the speakers in trees.

Time-lapse video of the Alice Holt Forest Willows Green Trail from Sensing the Forest.

Streaming from the second meadow

Pete and I went back to the Visitors Centre. At that moment, Luigi got a strong signal from O2 from the second meadow and started to successfully stream natural soundscapes! This was epic! We enjoyed the streaming for a few minutes and this was the ultimate test that it works if there is a good internet signal. The streamer was left alone for some time. However, the streaming stopped working after a few minutes. Luigi went back to collect it and prepare it for the next expedition.

Closing and final discussions

We are in the development phase, where typically there are more questions than answers and several challenges to solve. Still, we felt that this field trip was successful with several achievements and has shed light on our next steps.

Streamer - We reflected with the team that we should investigate different SIM cards (02, Vodafone, Three and EE) systematically, as well as try a different dongle with a longer and stronger antenna. Besides, we need to place a sign near the streamer so that we inform visitors about the scientific purpose of the device. Also, we should coordinate with the site management team on how to take it away once it dies out - at least for this first version that is not self-sustained.

Sound installation - After talking with the Alice Holt team, we had to discard the original idea of replacing the battery every week because it is unsustainable. We need to assess and find more sustainable solutions. We were happy that the Alice Holt team could support us by providing a big wooden box to hide and centralise all the electronics and a presumably a bulky battery, which should also have an informative sign for the passers-by. Apart from powering the off-grid system, it will be a challenge to hang the speakers in different canopy trees that are far away from each other. More formal measurements of the distance among the trees should be considered, perhaps using a laser or something alike. Reassuring the area of the Willows Green Trail for Pete’s multichannel sound installation and the summer school art exhibition was an important milestone.

We concluded the session while we were caught in the rain. With all the excitement of the day combined with listening to the rain drops under the umbrella (which is one of my favourite sounds!), while walking back to the Bentley train station and after crossing A325, I took the wrong path. This alternative path still brought me to the station, so it felt like ‘all roads lead to Bentley’!

Many thanks to Max, Danielle, Nick and Jack for their time, enthusiasm and help during this incredible day!