Begin the morning with a bounty of freshly baked bread toted across the loch by boat from Dutch Bakery on Lismore Island. Today we’ll begin to think about what—and, more importantly, how—we hear, and what we’re trying to capture in a good recording. We’ll play around with the concept of a sonic novel and begin using sound equipment and learning a few useful techniques, thinking about how we might approach recording in various contexts. After a home-cooked lunch of local comfort food, we’ll head out on foot to explore the soundscape of the area—listening carefully, thinking deeply, and recording as we go. At the end of our first workshop, you’ll have some time to enjoy dinner on your own at a local restaurant or pub. Many of the local eateries serve up the specialities of the area, be it seafood, venison, or even the beloved haggis. Then it’s back to St. Mary’s for a chance to meet local experts, including Dr. Ben Wilson from the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences, who will chat with us about his area of expertise: the marine acoustic ecology of the waters surrounding Appin. He’s taken countless captivating recordings depicting marine mammal and cetacean life, noises from human activity, and how they impact the marine ecosystem.

We’ll spend today out in the field alongside a local sound engineer, James Gray. James is a composer, filmmaker, sound artist, and seasoned raconteur who always has a tale or two up his sleeve. (Some of them are even true!) With his guidance, we’ll begin recording along the shoreline, exploring beaches, rockpools, and the Port Appin pier before heading into the woodlands and ducking into a cave or two—stopping to chat with local friends and shopkeepers along the way. After a homemade picnic lunch, we’ll move into the mountains, exploring the grassy valleys, open hillsides, and tumbling waterfalls. Keep an ear out for chirping birds, and spend some time simply soaking in the whimsical atmosphere of this sublime country. Today is about going at your own pace; take some time to pause and meditate on the acoustics of your surroundings if you’d like. You’ll have the late afternoon and early evening free to relax and make dinner plans on your own. Later tonight, we’ll regroup and meet up with whisky expert Elke Kastner for a private tasting and workshop, where she’ll take us on a gustatory tour through a roster of rare and wondrous whiskies not usually offered to the public. If whisky isn’t your thing, Elke will help you craft a customized cocktail of choice.

After three days of collecting sound from across the western Highlands, we’ll spend today composing, editing, and producing our final pieces. Allow the day to progress at your own pace, thoughtfully exploring all of the possibilities of what these sounds might become—a sonic narrative, an audio postcard, or perhaps, an aural haiku. After today’s workshop, you’ll have some time to relax back at the lodge before heading back to St. Mary’s for a farewell feast and Ceilidh—a celebratory Scottish gathering. Between hearty spoonfuls of stovies, sips of local whisky, and swigs of artisanal beer from a nearby microbrewery, we’ll break out into traditional Scottish dance involving lots of swinging, clapping, and general merriment.

After four days of collecting hums, chatter, and chirps along the soundscapes of the Scottish Highlands, it’s time to say our farewells. Although it’s time to head home, the sonic story that you take with you will allow you to return whenever you wish. Until the next adventure!