Lost Lions by Scholars of the Peak

This EP was the very first collection of music & loops the Scholars of the Peak put together. Inspired by the events on the 23rd May 1970 at the Britannia Bridge - a tubular bridge carrying the London to Holyhead railway over the Menai Strait between Bangor and the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales.

On this evening, the tubular bridge was heavily damaged when boys playing inside the structure dropped a burning torch, setting alight the tar-coated wooden roof of the tubes.

There are four lion sculptures which sit in pairs on either side of the bridge. Sculpted in limestone by John Thomas, each one weighs around 30 tonnes and is about 12 ft high. Before the devastating fire of 1970, they greeted everyone who crossed the bridge to and from Anglesey. Following the rebuilding of the bridge and the addition of a road deck above the railway line, the lions are sat too low to be seen from the road deck and can only be seen by train passengers who pass through on the bridge's lower deck.

Each time I visit Anglesey I pay the lions a visit - the coastal path walks are highly recommended!

This collection of tracks were recorded during February & March of 2024

Scholars of the Peak - an electronic rolling hill from the High Peak of the District. Primarily using software synthesis, guitars, church bells & field recordings.

If you blip, bleep or beep .... you're safe.