The top 10 sounds of the great British outdoors revealed

Rain on canvas in the Scottish Highlands, waves crashing on Gwithian Beach in Cornwall and the rustling of the wind through pine trees in Kielder Forest in Northumberland have all been included in a list of The Top 10 Sounds of the Great British Outdoors, which has been revealed today.

The top 10 was compiled by experts from Cotswold Outdoor in partnership with award-winning wildlife field recordist and sound designer Pete Smith, whose extensive credits include the BBC and Channel 4, and Helen Glover MBE, member of the Great Britain Rowing Team, double-Olympic Gold medallist and self-confessed outdoor enthusiast.

Together the team identified The Top 10 Sounds of the Great British Outdoors, as part of a campaign to encourage people to spend time in nature local to them and reap all the benefits it brings.

The crunching of autumn leaves underfoot in woodland in the Chilterns topped the list of the best sounds of the natural world. The wind blowing through the grass of the sand dunes at Tyninghame Beach near Edinburgh also features along with the rush of falling water at a hidden-gem of a waterfall in South Dartmoor.

Best of British wildlife

The best of British wildlife also made the list. The distinctive call of a cuckoo, heard through the spring months throughout the UK; the melodic song of a skylark, found all year round in decreasing numbers across UK countryside; and the increasingly rare cry of the curlew, seen across the coastline, were all quoted as being among the most iconic and much-loved sounds of the Great British outdoors.

Jose Finch, Managing Director at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, parent company of Cotswold Outdoor, said: “There can be no doubt that it’s been a difficult year for many and, as times have become increasingly worrying and uncertain, so many of us have made the most of having more opportunities to spend time outside – whether it was during our one hour of allotted exercise per day back in the first lockdown, while taking a break from the pressures of working from home and home schooling, when enjoying our vacations in the UK or now with national lockdowns.