Singing with Nightingales
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Come to the forest, be enchanted by the sweet song of the nightingale and discover the story these exceptionally rare birds tell about our ancient and wondrous relationship with nature.
Your GUEST MUSICIAN, Host & Nightingale
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SWN?
Each springtime, several thousand Nightingales make the long migration from Sub-Saharan Africa to reside in southern England. It is during this all-night virtuosic mating ritual, celebrated for millennia within prose, poetry, folksong and myth, that folksinger, naturalist and writer Sam Lee welcomes you to experience their sublime and much-decorated song and witness their ability to improvise with human musicians.
Singing with Nightingales is a one-of-a-kind experience. An act of immersive theatre and ritual, both otherworldly and yet something we might collectively have done since the dawn of humans. This communion with the more than human world reminds us that we are nature and nature is in us all.
What’s Included
Each SWN night is unique and the end time can extend later. Your ticket includes an early evening ecological and birdsong tour of the woods, a two-course vegan dinner and hot and cold drinks (including wine/beer/cider) around the campfire, post-dinner tales, songs and folklore, silent walk into the woods after dark without torches to hear our signature human-avian musical collaboration.
Would you like to let your community know about this event and artist? Help spread the word on your social media (or however you share your goings-on) by sharing images and info about this Singing with Nightingales gathering with your friends and admirers. Or you might want to keep this all a complete secret…
Key Information
Location: RSPB Highnam Woods, Gloucestershire
We are so happy you are keen to come and experience SWN, however we would love those purchasing a place to be fully aware of what's involved. Please make sure you have versed yourself in the key information so you and your guests' visit is prepared for, safe and comfortable.
6:45 pm - All guests check-in at car park
7:00 pm -SWN fireside opens & welcome with drinks
7:30 pm -Introduction and briefing
7:45 pm - Evening chorus and nature walk
8:20 pm - Dinner and drinks served
9:15 pm - Fireside songs and stories
10:45 pm - Nightingale walk begins
00:30 pm - Return to car park
You can find a more detailed schedule here.
CAMPING & Where to stay
Camping isn’t available at our Gloucestershire site as it is a wildlife and nature reserve. However, next to the land is the charming Pinetum Lodge which has many types of accommodation and may permit camping in their garden. See our Camping & Where to Stay page for complete details.
Transport & Parking
Please see our sections on travel to and from our SWN sites by reading the Travel page. Parking is available and free at our Gloucestershire site.
Aftercare
After your trip to SWN, we want to support our guests to continue their nature connection & nature protection journey. SWN provides a space and forum for our community after your visit with special online wellbeing check-ins, events and media from the season. We also organise in-person conservation days helping to conserve and restore Nightingale habitats.
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SWN, although seemingly a gentle experience, is outdoors and at the mercy of the British weather. Although only an evening long (longer if you are staying overnight) it requires full preparation and arriving ready for what the elements deal us. And every night can be different - balmy and dry one evening, muddy and windy the next. We recommend that you pay close attention to your group's level of ability to meet the likely demands of the outdoors before committing.
We get asked many questions about what people are concerned about, and the FAQ page answers many of these questions. Please feel free to get in touch and ask us questions but do check the detailed info we have laid out on this website for our most complete answers to your questions.
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All the events take place in natural, outdoor locations and involve a substantial amount of walking through uneven terrain at night without the use of artificial light. This may not be suitable for people with limited mobility or special access needs. Each night we can do up to an hour of walking and the routes change nightly depending on which bird is singing. Climbing fence styles are also a common occurrence. Depending on the weather the ground may also be muddy or slippery. SWN team members are there to assist and we give a full briefing on safe night walking every night before we leave but please be the judge on the capability of everyone in your group before purchasing tickets. Please do get in touch with us if you have accessibility requirements and we will do our best to advise and assist.
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We have come to agree that it is very much up to you and your children if this is an event suitable for the young. Under-18s need to be accompanied by an adult, remembering it is a late-night journey so if they don’t mind staying up then they are very welcome. We believe firmly that this is an experience that should be accessible to all ages but we accept that many kids are not accustomed to the demands of patient listening and the experience can be demanding in its expectation of your commitment to the periods of quiet reflective listening. Each group depends on its members for that commitment to enter into a realm of guided silence and deep listening as any nature watcher would. If you feel your children may struggle with this it may be something to discuss with them before booking. Be aware that children cannot be left at the campfire or campsite alone so if they choose to not come on the night walk an adult must remain back at base with them. Sadly we can’t offer discounted prices for children. For information on concessionary pricing please see the FAQ ticketing section.
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RSPB Highnam Woods, GL2 8AA. Highnam Woods is a nature reserve in Gloucestershire, established by the RSPB to protect bird species in the region.
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All our sites are places of extreme beauty and biodiversity and we have a great responsibility while living there and entertaining our guests to look after our home. Making sure we are not taking from the land as much as the land offers and paying attention to the impact of our presence is always on our minds. We hope to impart this same reciprocal attitude to our guests by demonstrating through our actions how we live and behave while at camp. This tending to the land’s needs has a massively positive feedback effect and leaves all of us, those living and working there and we like to think our guests too, feeling so extremely well nourished and fortified. This is the power of being on the land and part of why the experience has such profound effects on our guests.
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We take the welfare of the Nightingales and the land they depend on immensely seriously. The project is at its heart a conservation exercise and operates as an experiential means to create and invite renewed appreciation of an ecological niche under great threat. Please see the Nightingale Conservation page for more info.
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Various items, including The Nightingale book will be available to purchase on-site. More information coming soon…