My proposed soundwalk on 18th July is going to hopefully coincide with The Warborough and Shillingford Festival; I am working this out with the organisers and would love some feedback from you folks. I am thinking about 10 people is the maximum number of people for a listening forray; if the numbers get a lot bigger than that we will become conspicuous and the walk will start to appear like some kind of weird performance which is not the idea at all.

My plan is to have a stall on Saturday 17th July at the festival, from which I can talk to anyone who is interested about the soundwalk, and sign people who are interested up to either the early bird walk (8.00am!) or the evening walk (07.30pm) planned for Sunday the 18th July (World Listening Day.) When we meet to walk, I can then hand out the stationery I am in the process of hand-printing, and arrange with soundwalkers to meet back at Warborough Green afterwards to have a drink, talk about the experience, and enjoy some of the festival goings-on – like the Steeplechase and the Dog Show.

There will be a lot of PA noise and tech-testing going on around noon – as well as (hopefully) the burning, midday sun. So I think an earlybird walk – leaving Warborough at 8.00am – would afford optimal listening opportunities plus an agreeable walking temperature, and it would also finish happily in time for the traditional Steeplechase programmed as part of the festival! Similarly, the later option begins after the live music, and finishes in time for a post-walk pint and chat.

In working out the detailed route instructions and the print design, I have consulted with many maps, and yesterday I noticed a curious thing about the history of the A4074 road. Take a look at these three maps.

Here is my map.

Here is a section of the OS Map on which I based my map.

…and here is a map from the 1970s, of the same area. Look carefully and you will see that the A4074 as it appears in the top two maps didn’t exist in the 1970s. From looking at these two maps, it seems the A423 in the 1970s map was extended and widened across what was once Meadside, (and it now travels around – and not through – Dorchester) to form what is now the A4074. I wonder what year these changes to the landscape took place, or who I could ask to find out more.

Any ideas? All feedback on A4074 road and proposed Soundwalk times/plan gratefully received…