FAQ

There will be wooden benches and stools to sit on around the fire. Feel free to bring a small cushion if you would like some creature comforts. If you would like to bring your own portable stool to sit on please do so but please no large camping chairs as they take up a lot of room around the fire and will need to be placed in the outside ring (the coldest place). We also need to carry all our personal belongings to the birds so a large chair will prove exceptionally cumbersome.

We listened to your feedback and have lovingly created stools for the fireside (with small seat pads provided) designed to be both comfortable and also fit as many of you as close to the fire as possible. These stools do not have backs to them but are high enough for good posture and easy access. We set the circle up each night in such a way as to make sure everyone has good sight, warmth and acoustic reach to the music and storytelling.

We provide some little light and portable tripod seats to take to the birds for those who prefer not to stand or can’t sit on the floor. As every night's bird location and weather conditions are different it's hard to predict what is best. Some nights we are out on open grass and sometimes we are packing tightly into a narrow footpath. So what space and substrate we are on can vary widely.

Having a sturdy picnic-style blanket that is sonically quiet (not like a rustling bin bag) is great for lying down on if space allows or having a cushion that doesn't mind being on wet grass or a muddy spot for giving some support should you prefer being upright. A fold-up camping-style chair is generally far too cumbersome to walk with and, unless necessary, not very appropriate. If you want to come prepared our recommended devices for portability, quietness and lightness that are economical are these fold-up step stools.

If you are camping you should bring a torch for your personal use. However, around the fire, we only work with natural flame light to allow us to make the best use of our night vision. We will have lanterns to help guide you if you need to leave the fireside during the dinner and story period. The walk to the birds is done in natural darkness and torches are not used except at difficult moments (such as stiles and tricky sections of the walk). Here our team will support you with night-vision-protecting red-beam light.

Experiencing true night-time darkness is a vital and special part of the experience (many people share it to be their favourite part of the event). The walk is taken slowly and guided and includes a full health and safety briefing. A fellow guest’s torch beam glancing in your eyes can ruin the up to 40 minutes it takes some people to adjust to the dark, rendering them and yourself virtually blind for a short while thereafter. Please abstain from torch use unless completely necessary.

If you are uncomfortable with darkness and are unsteady on your feet, we will be there to help support you and offer you an arm. If some supportive light is absolutely needed, we encourage the use of torches with a red beam and recommend purchasing torches with that setting in advance.

Nightingales will sing regardless of weather conditions (see our FAQ on Nightingales’ reliability below) so we see SWN as an all-weather experience. Our venues are outdoors, but we have shelter for the fireside section. We always run the event unless the weather is particularly inclement and local weather warnings make it unsafe to take place - this is mostly in cases of high winds. In these situations, we will contact you as soon as possible if we feel it is not possible to go ahead. Please remember to check local weather forecasts in advance and to bring appropriate wet weather gear just in case, even if the outlook is not bad.

Our venues are all outdoors but around the fireside for dinner and during the sit-down period, we have shelter provided in case it rains. The worst consequence of rain is the speed at which mud develops and how long after it has rained that mud persists. So despite it seeming to be dry on your night the legacy of a wet period might still be experienced. Hence we strongly recommend sturdy footwear (as noted on the What, Wear & Why page).

If it is a wet night we highly encourage you to bring waterproofs and make sure you balance out your dry comfort against the request for quiet attire. We would rather our group sounded a bit swishy as we walked and moved than for us to all be soaking wet in the upholding of the ‘embodied silent conduct’ we do rather like to go on about. We do advise against umbrellas due to the nature of, come darkness, umbrella spokes becoming hazardous to other participants' eyes.

Our events proceed in all weather conditions unless safety is compromised. If we need to cancel, or if we abandon the event before half the performance is complete, you'll receive a full refund.

This is not a problem. Let us know as soon as you can via the contact info in your email and we will hold some food back for you. You can find the number at the top on the secret webpage sent in our email with theWelcome Pack download and vital info. When you arrive please find the site staff to let them know you have arrived.

Please do your best to not to arrive too late, as every part of the evening is a part of the process of dropping into a state of calm, magic and wonder. If you are late the most important thing is to not stress about it and arrive flustered – we will welcome you whenever you make it and do our best to fill you in on what has happened. It is the inevitability of life’s demands that we can't always be on time. It is also the Nightingales’ fault who choose hard-to-find, remote locations!

Mobile reception is not great at our locations. At our Sussex site, on arrival at the car park when you come down into the farmyard, the signal is non-existent so please do whatever communications you need from the hill as you enter into the land before driving down into the farmyard.

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. Original and Special events run from 7:00 pm to approximately 12:30 am, and Extended events run from 3:00 pm to 12:00 pm the following day. 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.

Small babies are welcome if carried in a papoose and the parent feels confident they will sleep through the experience. The parent should also be confident that they can walk the distances required carrying their child in the dark and over potentially slippy ground. Our time with the birds is often in inaccessible places meaning if a baby wakes and the parent needs to leave the situation it’s hard for them to leave the group without breaking the spell and requiring a team member to lead them away

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 not to 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.

With the late finish, it can prove tricky for those who have not come by car to get home again after these events, especially for the Bedfordshire events which have no on-site camping. Please see our transport section for more details but we have a private lift-sharing group on Facebook - details for this are sent to ticket holders when they purchase tickets. Camping on-site is available at our Sussex location. You can find camping options in ticketing add-ons for each event and read more on our On The Night page.

Since we first began doing these events in 2014, there has been a consistent visiting population every year, so we are certain they are there and confident that they will sing. However, these are wild creatures and we can never guarantee their behaviour, so there may be occasional quieter nights where the birds are not as active at the time we want them to be.

In all the years of running these events we have only had a handful of quiet nights. When the birds have been more muted than usual there has always been a plentiful number of other nature wonders to keep the sense of awe. Despite our events experiencing all sorts of weather and conditions including wind, rain, coldness, high humidity, bright moon, electric storms etc (you name it, we’ve had it!) these birds' resilience to the conditions and their determination to sing is remarkable.

We have two premium compost loos at our Sussex site, one near the fire site glade and one in the campsite. We also encourage wild weeing in the woods in designated areas away from where people frequent.

On-site, we ask that phones and all noise-making and bright light-emitting devices be powered down or turned to aeroplane mode. We ask that guests refrain from checking their phones unless essential, as we wish for this experience to be free from the clutter of the outside world.

If you do need to check or use your phone we ask you to do so away from the group to preserve everyone else's digitally-detoxed experience. Please check that low brightness is set at all times.

Please do not record any part of the Nightingale experience. Some of these walks may be recorded professionally and made available after the event (this will be advised in email communication). Professional recording equipment, drones or commercial filming/photography are not allowed at our events without prior written permission.

You are welcome to take photos and short videos around the fire, but please turn off your flash, and camera sounds, and shoot with subtle discretion. We are very happy for you to share images on social media and invite you to tag @singingwithnightingales and @samleesong using the hashtag #SingingWithNightingales so we can see your lovely posts!

Sussex

Our Sussex site is a very special place of ecological richness that we have been kindly permitted to use for this event. Please treat the land and wildlife with the utmost respect and keep your impact to a minimum. Stick to the forest paths, and be very conscientious of where you tread and what you are treading on. Please do not pick flowers and please avoid stepping on the floral carpet. Strictly no littering. The Farm sells firewood so do help yourself to their honesty box supply in the farmyard. Over its lifetime all the wood has been sung to by Nightingales - giving it an extra special flame. We ask that you keep the Sussex farm location private and do not publicly announce where the site is or spread word of its whereabouts.

Bedfordshire

The Wildlife Trust BCN has only recently acquired the incredible site of Strawberry Hill, so currently public access is limited. This is one of the reasons we are so grateful for being able to host SWN events in this very special place. If you are interested in visiting Strawberry Hill prior to our events, there are public footpaths across the Strawberry Hill site which are accessible from the villages of Knotting Green, Knotting and Riseley. The North Bedfordshire Heritage Trail runs alongside the site.

You are welcome to explore the site and its nature using the footpaths marked on OS Maps. Please help the Wildlife Trust BCN protect wildlife by keeping dogs on a lead and sticking to the paths. If you have arrived by car please park in the village responsibly and have respect for our neighbours.

Wildlife Trust BCN are currently developing an access plan for the site so that people can enjoy all this place has to offer without impacting the unique habitat and its abundant wildlife. If you are a member of a group and would like to arrange a visit please email strawberryhill@wildlifebcn.org and, if staff resources allow, they will arrange for you to park on site and get a guided tour. For more info visit; https://www.wildlifebcn.org/strawberryhill

Sussex

Yes indeed. The Sussex site is permissive woodland (privately owned with permission from the landowners to allow visitors to wander freely in the daylight hours without dogs). You are welcome to come and explore the woods earlier.

With the intensity of events and the number of people visiting, our team needs people-free space where we host the events in the woods. This is also where we live and rest between shows. The team would be grateful for uninterrupted time between shows to clear up from the previous night and prepare for the next show. If you are an early arrival before registration or late departing, please keep a respectful distance from the SWN fire site area on your wanderings.

Bedfordshire

Due to the current limited parking and public access at Strawberry Hill, we request that you do not arrive at the site before 6:30 pm.

Our Sussex site is a working farm, our Bedfordsire site is a nature reserve and our events are during the nesting season when many local birds (including Nightingales) nest at ground level. Therefore, we have imposed an on-site policy of absolutely no dogs at our events.

There are no options to camp at Strawberry Hill in 2025, but this may be something we explore for future years once the Wildlife Trust BCN have fully opened up the site to the public.