Can you hear something?

[Mick F]

If it's mainly in the living room then I'd suggest there are some local geographic features which assist hearing in that location... And the sounds get trapped. It's basically white noise, so even minor internal reverberation will generally boost the volume

I think you are spot on with that.

I could hear it during the night whilst in bed as well.

Sounds like a distant roar from a busy motorway. Many years ago, I was on a week's course at Heckfield Place, Hants learning about a new command system for the new Type23 frigates. In those days Racal were conducting courses there.
Looks like it's been restored and is now a luxury hotel. Not a bit like it was when I was there in the early 1990s.
https://www.heckfieldplace.com

Lovely old grange of a place with beautiful gardens and woodlands. In the evening or two, I took a stroll around, but the whole effect was spoiled by the roar of M3. No doubt it's still the same, or even worse.

[francovendee]

All I can often hear outside is the M5. The sound reflects off the house wall facing towards the motorway amplifying it. If the wind is blowing from the house towards the motorway the noise a distant hum.

More water means more noise, greater fall means more noise. Something is amplifying the noise in your house. Have you checked the parrot?

Al

We have friends living in a very beautiful part of Hampshire. Houses nearby are very old and beautiful, guessing, but worth millions. Go for a walk there and you can hear the thrum of the M4.
Very hard to find true quietness anywhere in the south.

[al_yrpal]

All I can often hear outside is the M5. The sound reflects off the house wall facing towards the motorway amplifying it. If the wind is blowing from the house towards the motorway the noise a distant hum.

More water means more noise, greater fall means more noise. Something is amplifying the noise in your house. Have you checked the parrot?

Al

We have friends living in a very beautiful part of Hampshire. Houses nearby are very old and beautiful, guessing, but worth millions. Go for a walk there and you can hear the thrum of the M4.
Very hard to find true quietness anywhere in the south.

Where I lived in the Chilterns only 5 mile North of Reading you could normally hear a pin drop. The intermittent problem there was aircraft noise. At certain times and at weekends planes stacked for Heathrow and light aircraft doing stunts right overhead. But...when the Rock Festival was on you could hear that and see the lights in that part of the sky.
Sometimes the M5 down here in the South West is more audible. Its about 600m East and the Great Western main line runs parallel. The wind, mainly from the west or southwest and the fact that its a continuous noise makes it just fade into the background. In the summer we spend a lot of time in the garden. The only annoyances are the manic bellringers (2 hours on Monday Evening and about an hour on Sundays) and seagulls roosting on the church tower. There is no aircraft noise whatsoever.

At our friends place near Fleurance there is no noise that I can recall or streetlights and its a favourite place with stargazers. Rural France is very quiet but can be rather dull with no chance to enjoy any familiar culture which is why they eventually left for Blighty.

Al

[pwa]

At night, and if wind levels are low, it can get very quiet here. Just the occasional vehicle on the main road through the village, which is a couple of hundred metres away with buildings in between. The loudest thing we get is the occasional passing of the air/sea rescue helicopter which seems to have a regular route overhead, but we know what it is so don't mind.

[rjb]

Thanks for that link to Friary station Mick. It brought back lots of memory's but the area has changed out of recognition since I left 50 years ago. The Power Stations where I started work have disappeared completely. The only recognisable feature is the road name where they were - appropriately Faraday Road.
Next time you are down tothill road cut across to Bulmer Road and ride through under the railway. I had a bad off there as a 6 year old. Came down the hill on a scooter and lost it as I went under the railway. The road was cobbled then. Some kind person had to go and get my dad to carry me home.

[ambodach]

Cyril Haearn the smell did not penetrate as far as my bedroom. However yes the smell does vary according to what is going on. Silent distilleries have a very distinctive smell which cannot really be described to a layman. Generally the smell is a lingering odour of feints which contain more odds and sods of alcohols,esters,phenols etc than silent spirit which is to me anyway not unpleasant. Before it is mature whisky is, or was Plain British Spirits.

[rjb]

Cyril Haearn the smell did not penetrate as far as my bedroom. However yes the smell does vary according to what is going on. Silent distilleries have a very distinctive smell which cannot really be described to a layman. Generally the smell is a lingering odour of feints which contain more odds and sods of alcohols,esters,phenols etc than silent spirit which is to me anyway not unpleasant. Before it is mature whisky is, or was Plain British Spirits.

Friend of mine lives in Elgin 100 yards from the Glen Moray distillery. His nice white house gets a black lichen deposit growing on it from the distillery operation. He threatens to scrape it off and bottle it for consumption later.

[Cyril Haearn]

One wonders how much material is lost through aromas
Dolgellau used to have an interesting sheep smell from the tannery
I live near a muesli factory (chocolate or malt or honey or sugar, not unpleasant)

Can you smell something? How does Sailor smell?

[Mick F]

Next time you are down tothill road cut across to Bulmer Road and ride through under the railway. I had a bad off there as a 6 year old. Came down the hill on a scooter and lost it as I went under the railway. The road was cobbled then. Some kind person had to go and get my dad to carry me home.

I'll check it out next time I'm in Plymouth on the bike,
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Bul ... -4.1206107

How does Sailor smell?

Doggy sometimes, but he seems to be teflon coated. Although he often gets wet and muddy, he always ends up clean and non-smelly. He's just turned 11months old, and never needed a bath.

Odd really, that he's like that.

[francovendee]

Al,
You're right about a different culture here but people are most welcoming for a Brit to join in.
The stumbling block is always the language. Whilst on a one to one level I get by, in a crowd it can be difficult to keep up.
When my son used to race here (VTT) we travelled widely with a group from the club and had some great times.

They have a different take on stately homes, often way over restored and bereft of original furnishings. This may be the result of the revolution.

In terms of quietness, it really is quiet here. In the village, at times there is no one about and you can cross the road without looking out for cars.

I still love the UK but life for me life is better here, especially the safe cycling.

I have 2 children and 1 grandchild here and a daughter and 2 grandchildren in the UK.
I travel to the UK fairly frequently and look forward to my visits but I'm always pleased to be back here, partly because it's quiet.

[Polisman]

One wonders how much material is lost through aromas
Dolgellau used to have an interesting sheep smell from the tannery
I live near a muesli factory (chocolate or malt or honey or sugar, not unpleasant)

Can you smell something? How does Sailor smell?

There are various estimates as to the 'angels share' of evaporation from whisky barrels, but mostly its reckoned to be about 4-5% per year.

My Scots friends live in Dumbarton right along the river from a whisky bond. In summer the scent of rich peated malts is incredible, and the local trees are covered in a thin black layer of it. I often though to have a munch at a branch as I was cycling by en route to Loch Lomond!

[ferrit worrier]

We're between two railway lines Stockport to Wilmslow and the Styal loop that now branches off to the airport. in the early hours I can hear trains but can't tell which line they'r on.

Mrs FW's sister lives up in Scotland near Inverurie about 400yds away is a wind turbine, stand underneath it and you can hear the swish of the blades as they come round, in the quiet of the night holding my breath you cant hear the blades but you can just make out the gears going round.

[al_yrpal]

If you live in any town or village the usual spawn of the devil is angle grinders. At any time of the day particularly in the week when tradesmen are busy someone is using one of these things. Lawnmowers can often be a nuisance too. In Germany I believe there are bylaws regarding use of such devices?

Al

[merseymouth]

Hi Guys, Always remember the alternative name for the "Angels Share" - the "Devi's Share" .
Not named in on honour of Old Nick, but that it is viewed by HMG as Tax Money they don't get their hands on! Makes you weep doesn't it . IGICB MM

[ambodach]

I find the references to black deposits or lichen a bit strange. I lived for a few years next to the Littlemill Distillery in a house built in 1772. The distillery buildings were whitewashed but I do not remember any black deposits except sometimes there was a boiler malfunction on starting up causing black sooty smoke. The office windows had a good view of the chimney and the staff there alerted the stillhouse immediately so while this was a rare occurrence it was stopped within minutes. The warehouses were also white and remained so although everything got an annual smarten up.