Sophie Austin

F for Farnham is a self-guided audio story walk which takes you on a ghostly journey around Surrey’s most haunted town.
Do Not Walk Alone.

F for Farnham is best enjoyed at quieter times of the day or night and will take you on an immersive walk around Farnham Town.
Dare you walk alone?

How to listen to F for Farnham:
Visit: Spotify
Or listen on Soundcloud
Or download the Farnham Town Trail app android or Apple and follow the instructions for the F for Farnham trail.

Start by listening to Track 1 – Do Not Walk Alone – you can listen to this story anywhere.

And then look at the map, choose the location and story which resonates with you most and press play on your smartphone.

Take a deep breath
And listen
Let the voices from the past meet you in your present. Here in Farnham, you do not walk alone.

Based on historical events and real experiences, these stories give voice to those who have died here, but who can still be heard whispering within the walls of Farnham’s buildings.

You can choose your own journey and visit locations within the town centre or hear from the ghosts still haunting Farnham Castle.

This latest series of stories will invite you to walk around the Keep and hear from those trapped within the castle stonework. A Civil War soldier will share the reasons for his hanging in Farnham Market place, Hilda the Maiden will tell of the tragedy in the tower. Sophy Sumner shares why she still haunts the Bishops Palace and hear from Bishop Morley himself under the murder hole as he offers his dire warning about what is to come.

Or why not walk into town and hear about an ancient ritual outside the Hop Blossom pub, let Farnham’s oldest actor send a shiver down your spine, or hear about the deathly creaking in one of the rooms at the Bush Hotel.
Do not walk alone.

F for Farnham explores the need for the living to be in contact with the dead. It is a riff on time and sense of place. It delves into local history, but is not constrained only by truth. It invites the listener to hear the voices of the dispossessed, the hidden, the marginalised and forgotten and invites them to share their reasons for staying so long in the fabric of this town.

This walk considers the layers of a place, the physical geological layers of decay along with the psychological layers of meaning we gift to spaces. The main narrator is the Voice of Farnham, a cumulation of the energy drawn from the land who is able to be present within human and wild time and allow the two to meet.

F for Farnham is for locals and tourists who are seeking an unusual journey into the extra-ordinary history of this place. It’s an ideal walk to do in a small group or on your own at quieter times of the day or night to really get a sense of the architecture and the energy which shaped the people who died and the people still living here.
Here in Farnham, you do not walk alone.

F for Farnham
written and directed by Sophie Austin.

Produced by Simon Aeppli and Roz Mortimer

A collaboration between University for the Creative Arts, Farnham Town Council and Farnham Castle Trust, inspired by Peter Underwood’s Haunted Farnham and Jean Parratt’s Ghostly Glossary with additional research by Emma Groslin and Alan Murdie.

Sound design: James Wright
Additional Sound: Sam Cook, Atlas Davis, Ellie Holliday and Gabriel Nejah
Production co-ordination: Mary Novoselova.
Story Consultant: Bernadette Russell
Illustration and Design: Melanie Smith
Cast: Fraser Adams, Mark Alcock, Sophie Austin, Tommy Bassom, William Browne, Calum Campbell, Deirdre Gannon, Matt Gibbons, Felicity Hayles, Elle Hudson, Natasha Magigi, James Taylor-Mémé, Jimmy Pallagrosi, Katie Paul, Tommy Ross-Williams, Ian Wilson-Soppit, Sara Wilson-Soppit, Adam Thomas & Violet Tobin.