Forest of Imagination, Bath 2025

Nocturne debuted at The Forest of Imagination in Bath on the opening night of the festival, aiming to bring people together to experience the peace and wonder of nature after dark.

As the sun went down at the stunning wooden outdoor pavilion on a quiet hillside on the edge of the city, we listened to music and poetry recordings, watching the twinkling city lights gradually shimmering brighter on the horizon.

Sitting quietly together in the dusk, surrounded by trees, we watched the sky as light gradually faded from blue to twilight to pitch black. And listened to Moonlight Sonata as birdsong quietened with the falling darkness and nocturnal wildlife shuffled in the shadows. High branches formed silhouettes against the darkening night air as we talked about whether we would choose to have this experience alone. Being out in the dark can feel scary in contrast to the locked doors, soft sofas and bright light of our homes at night.

But for ninety minutes, Nocturne brought a group of strangers together to remember what we were missing by staying indoors.

Talking quietly, we shared our favourite memories of night in low voices.  We began by listening, thinking and writing, slipping our scrawled papers into glass jars to make night memory lanterns. Then formed a slow procession from the candlelit pavilion through the black night to hang our jars on low hanging branches. Then there was time to read each others’ memories and ask about them, filling the quiet clearing with stories of moonlit chalk paths and holding hands, sleeping under stars in a roofless house with sisters or navigating still seas at night. We reflected that, for many of us, this treasured memory of night was decades old.

My hope is that Nocturne creates new night memories, and that it will inspire people to make more. To wake up, go out and seize the night.

I am grateful for this wonderful feedback from one of the guests:

“I have still been savoring how magic and alive and meaningful the Nocturne time was that you designed. I've shared how the evening felt and flowed with various friends and creative connections here, and to the person, people are so touched and moved. You've really touched something so deep and your beautiful weaving of so many kinds of nighttime reverence speak to something I hope to keep nourishing.”  

https://www.forestofimagination.org.uk/