Tranquillity (continued 2)

It is this blog's contention that everyone needs to have easy access to places which have genuine tranquillity. How this is achieved I just don't know because we are nowhere near giving people that access at the moment. Recent reports from CPRE give very bad news on this and I think my criteria for tranquillity probably go further than theirs. Many will probably say I'm dreaming and should make an effort to climb out of the 18th century. But I stand firm on this just as I believe children should have outdoor places to explore freely, and if we cannot organise ourselves to arrange this then we deserve all the ills that stem from twisted priorities.

Tranquillity is not about silence. It is about a natural ambience, the sort of experience in which there are no mechanical noises only natural ones. Typically you would get birdsong wild animal sounds, water moving in streams, the sound of wind in trees. There should be no road or aircraft noise and no machinery of the kind often found in otherwise attractive settings (such as power tools).

Once you experience this you know why it is valuable. It is a stronger influence on wellbeing than any drug, medicinal or recreational.

I think parts of Blacka are as close as you can get to this inside Sheffield's city boundaries, perhaps any British city. But much depends on things over which we have no control. The wind is one of these. A gentle South East breeze such as we've had quite often this month is one of the better quarters, taking away the sound of morning trucks on the A625 heading for the motorway, loaded with some of the last remaining fabric of the Peak District. A warm South wind, welcome though it is, can bring up noise from the A621 climbing towards Owler Bar.

Currently my favourite peaceful spot is one of the most difficult areas to access overlooking the Lee Stream. It's best approached by following deer tracks through the trees, ducking and weaving amid low branches and taking care of moss covered boulders underfoot. The last week it's been easy to find dry dead bracken to sit on while scoring the birdsong out of ten for quality., tone etc, like one of those judging panels in TV programmes. But mainly you just listen and empty your mind.

The blank 'video' soundfile below is as good as we got this morning. It gives a small indication of the atmosphere.

Unfortunately there was a continuous drone of aircraft overhead but it did subside from time to time and we were not always free from distant road noise.