Sounds Natural - Free Nature Ambiences

Journeys Without Travel!

Welcome! I'm Louise Hartgen. Thank you for dropping by and I hope you will find something here to interest you. Below you will find information about some ambiences which I have made. They all include sounds of nature and may be used to help with relaxation, meditation, the aleviation of Tinitus or simply to give background to a silent room if you do not want to hear music or speech. Please understand I make no claims about these ambiences, they are merely soundscapes which I have found useful and hope you may enjoy too.

Escaping to Magical Places

There are a myriad applications available which can play nature sounds but I have found it fun to make my own. I imagine a place I would love to be, it does not need to be a real place, gather the best royalty free sounds I can find and let my imagination run riot. This means that I can taylor make my ideal place and customise it more than anything I could get on an app. For example, on my paradise island I don't want to be too near the sea, when it's loud it sounds threatening to me. I like seagulls, but not all the time. Some gentle windchimes blowing in the breeze occasionally would be nice, and on a hot day you need something to cool you down, don't you?

Here are the places I've travelled so far. Each file runs for roughly an hour, is in MP3 format and is made to be looped so can be seamlessly played on your player of choice for as long as you like. Enjoy. If you have any comments or suggestions for ambiences you'd like to see here there will be contact details at the bottom of this page.

The Fountain of Peace

Deep in the woods there is a cool mossy glade. Trees sway in the soft wind that is blowing, there is cool grass and pine needles underfoot. In the middle of the glade is a deep pool where lilies grow, their perfume fills the air. From the centre of the pool rises a fountain. The sound of its gentle playing is the essence of peace.

Download the Fountain of Peace

Paradise Island

It's a beautiful morning on Paradise Island. From the sun terrace where you are there is a great view of the beautiful gardens that slope gently down to where the trees and shrub stops and the beach begins. The sea is blue as the sky, the waves as soft as akitten's paw. As you swing gently in your shady hammock you think life couldnt' get much better. The warm sun, the singing of the birds, the soft breeze which sets chimes softly tinkling, now if you only had a long, cool drink ... Or maybe even an ice cream ...

Download Paradise Island

Deep In the Meadow

Up here, high in the hills, the air is fresh and sweet, it smells of new mown hay and wild flowers. After a hard climb you find yourself stumbling down a slope into a deep valley which opens into a wide, green meadow. Spread a blanket under that shady tree, flop down and drink in the peace. You're sharing the meadow with a few friendly creatures but they're far away and won't hurt you. Only the skylark notices you and she won't tell where you are.

Download Deep in the Meadow

A Hidden Stream

This old orchard is very overgrown. It has high walls all around it, a big, gnarled apricot tree is growing up the sunny south wall but the honey suckle is all tangled up with the fruit. It's a hot day in late summer and the air is full of the smell of ripe apples, plums and pears. Down here, right at the bottom, the flowering shrubs have grown up so high that they make a secret dell, and here's a tiny little stream babbling over white stones. Listen to the sparrows chirping and the doves cooing! Let's grab some fruit and dangle our toes in the cool water!

Download A Hidden Stream

It Must Have Been moonglow

It's a perfect night to be camped deep in the forest beside a crystal clear lake. The midsummer sky is full of stars and the full moon bathes everything in opalescent light. Around us the forest goes quietly about its business undisturbed by the glowing embers of our campfire, but the owls, crickets and jumping fish aren't the only ones busy tonight. The little people are out in force! You may catch a sudden glimmer or shimmer, hear the sound of a spell, catch a sparkle of moon diamonds or a dropped golden coin and if we keep really still there could be more. They say sometimes you can see fairy babies fluttering by, hear wild music and happy voices as a dancing procession passes, marvel as beautiful voices suddenly fill the air before echoing away into silence, perhaps even see the children's carousel of magic unicorns flying through the sky. We'll have to wait and see.

Download It Must Have Been Moonglow

Riding Free

Far away there is a land of woods and waters, high mountains and hidden valleys, deep blue oceans fringed by sandy beaches and many wide green places where all manner of creatures can run free. Most wild, beautiful and elusive of these are the unicorns. They are hard to see, impossible to catch and only a very few can call them friends. Now and then, as a great favour, they will let a friend ride bareback among them and share one of their journeys.

So come into the deep forest and ride the wild unicorns. hear the golden bells jingling softly in the silver manes of the lead stallions as they move through the landscape, encountering all kinds of creatures, some friendly and some otherwise! Then follow as they thunder down the beach to the sea to feel the spray foaming about their hooves. Lastly walk with them through a gentle rain shower in a wide green wilderness. Experience this immersive soundscape with headphones for best results.

Download Riding Free

Rainproof

Oh the weather outside is frightful! The rain is driving against the window in sheets and the thunder is booming. However, it's cosy and warm here in the cottage kitchen. Come and sit in front of this lovely roaring log fire while the old mantel clock peacefully marks the passing of time. We even have cute friends for company and something to keep the cold away, so it can storm all it wants, the weather can't hurt us!

Download Rainproof

Across the Lake

Here in the remote heart of rural India water is life. It irrigates the crops, turns the mill, gives birth to fish and of course all manner of wildlife gravitates toward it.

Today we can cross the lake in a sturdy canoe. Listen to the paddles and the slapping of the water against the bottom of our boat. There are so many different birds around, how many can you hear? Don't worry if there's a gentle rain shower, they never last for long. We shouldn't be disturbed, people are few and far between here, though we might here the bells of a mule train passing far away on the shore, or paddle near a place where a watermill turns. Further on there is a place where a stream falls over rocks and flows into the lake. The musical sound of water meeting water is just one of the many you can hear on this unforgettable journey.

Download Across the Lake

And a Star to Steer Her By

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
"And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

That poem, Sea Fever by John Masefield, has always been one of my favourites, and the idea of being alone with the blue sea and the sky cannot fail to fire the imagination.

So today the sea is kind, just playful enough to give us good speed, the wind is just brisk enough to fill our sales. We don't have a tall ship but something lighter and faster. We have the waves, the sky, the occasional flight of gulls, and who knows, we may even see some fish or dolphins. There are rocks around here but they're well marked by buoys so all we need to concentrate on is the wide open sea, the wind in our faces and the pleasure of the journey.

Download And a Star to Steer Her By

Savannah Song

It's time for another journey into a wild and beautiful place. Here on the High Savannah we can find a spectacular and untamed world. Let's sit here in a safe hide and listen to the animals and birds going about their day. Lions, Cheetahs, Warthogs, baboons, leopards, grazing wilderbeasts, even an elephant or too could pass quite close and never find us here. If we are still we can safely sit and listen, for as long as we like, to the sound of the Savannah, singing its wild, sweet song.

Download Savannah Song

An Evening Ride

A beautiful spring evening is falling in the heart of the English countryside. While some are thinking of wending their way homeward it's a great time for a gentle ride out to see what is happening. Let's walk our horse down this bridle path. We'll pass other horses being exercised, cows being driven home to milking, fields where livestock is grazing, we may hear distant bells from a neighbouring church but they're far away and won't get loud enough to disturb our peace. Who knows what else we might find, why, if we're lucky and it gets late enough, we may even hear a nightingale!

Download An Evening Ride

Beneath the Blue

Here beneath the ocean lies a hidden world. Beautiful, peaceful but dangerous if not treated with respect. Let us go fathoms deep beneath the blue, float along above a forest of waving weed and gleaming corals. We're surrounded by a multitude of multi-coloured fish but we cannot hear them, their fins make no sound beneath the water. All we can hear is the rumble of the water in our ears, the bubbles of the air we're breathing and ... what can that be? Whales? Dolphins? Come and find out.

Download Beneath the Blue

Winter Wonderland

It's perfect Christmas weather, cold, crisp and sparkling with frost. Snow is making a tinsel glitter on every hedge, stone and leafless tree but on the ground it isn't lying deep so it's easy going for the horses and our buggies can drive through it.

There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Grey you know, and a bunch of us are going but it's a bit of a drive along a country road. Wrap a warm rug around yourself and come with us, listen to the jingling bells and the sound of the horses' feet, the chatter and laughter of friends. We'll be passing through a village or two where churches are getting ready for Christmas, we're even passing places where fir trees grow and folks come to collect the tree which will grace their home for the holidays. It's sure to be a happy ride with a few surprises in store and a warm welcome at the end!

Download Winter Wonderland

Garden of the Singing Stream

Far away there lies a hidden magic garden, a garden of peace, serenity and positive energy just waiting for its secrets to be unlocked. Let's take the key and unlock the secret door, wander the winding pathways, feel the soft grass underfoot and the warm sun overhead, smell the fresh, flower-scented breeze. Not far away our atention is attracted by the sound of water. There must be a stream somewhere near, but what is that other sound? Is it the thrumming of the air, or is the stream gently singing to us, a haunting, sweet melody which tells us we are safe here in this special place.

Download Garden of the Singing Stream

Lapped in the singing stream

You have returned to the magic garden where peace, serenity and positive energy can always be found. After taking many winding ways you finally approach a shallow sparkling stream running between rushy banks over a bed of smooth stones. Look! Where the sun glances through the water and reflects from the stones they shine with all the colours of the rainbow, and listen! This is where that beautiful singing comes from! This place is the heart of the garden's magic. Why not slip gently into the stream, rest your head on that flat mossy stone and let the water surround you, relaxing and restoring you while it gently sings its song of deepest peace.

Download Lapped in the Singing Stream

Liquid Harmony

It is deep night beside the still, blue lake. The warm air is heavy with the scent of night blooming flowers and from the moonless sky a gentle rain is falling. Sit here at the lakeside, listen to the peace of the surrounding night, only broken by the occasional jump of a fish and the rain, falling musically into the water, creating soothing drops of liquid harmony.

Download Liquid Harmony

The Spa of Healing Waters

On a distant tropical island surrounded by sapphire seas is a select health spa which is famous for its healing waters. Each day you can walk from your comfortable cabin along palm-fringed paths and enjoy a variety of water treatments which promote relaxation and well-being. Between treatments you can relax with a cool drink on cushioned loungers in many gardens where exotic flowers delight the senses, colourful birds sing and gentle wind chimes tinkle in the soft breeze.

In this immersive soundscape, which is best enjoyed with headphones, you have journeyed to the spa of healing waters. You will enjoy three treatments with intervals for relaxing in three different gardens.

click here For a full description of treatments and gardens plus download link.

Download The Spa of Healing Waters

Sky Dance

Many of us may have dreamed of floating or flying in the air. This experimental dreamscape evokes the magic, relaxation and peace of that feeling using nature and fantasy sounds combined with beautiful ambient music to aid meditation.

click here For a full description of Sky Dance plus download link.

Download Sky Dance

Lullaby Land

Here is an experimental sleep soundscape. It may be useful for babies, or for anyone who has trouble falling asleep. It uses soothing natural sounds and a little white noise, paired with very soft, non-intrusive Tibetan crystal singing bowls, low chimes and glass wind bells.

Where is this beautiful land? I can only tell you that here, sweetest sleep is found in abundance, and bad dreams are not permitted to enter.

Here is warmth and ultimate safety, softest bubbles for a bed, springs of shining waters to soothe away worries and quieten chattering thoughts. What else could you find here? Magical flowers of comfort? Sweet fruit of relaxation? The sound of singing, or is it fairy bells, just on the edge of hearing? Whatever you find, journey to Lullaby land and find rest.

Download Lullaby Land

Benzolo Beach

Come to this beautiful spot in rural West Africa, a long stretch of beach, fringed by shady trees where birds and tree frogs call. Sit on this fine white sand, shining under a blazing sun. The sea is calm today, little blue wavelets lap quietly on the shore. It seems so peaceful, yet if we look away from the sea we can find bustling life here. Not too far away is a little street with people passing by and vendors selling their wares at the roadside. We can hear the sounds of the day's work and bustle, but we don't have to join in. For now, Benzolo Beach is ours. Benzolo means good, so let's relax and enjoy this good place.

Download Benzolo Beach

River of Life

Here is a river in rural India. It is only a small river, yet water is always precious here and wildlife and people alike gravitate towards it.

Come and sit here on the river bank. Here are children playing, some are even swimming in the cool water. Look, there are people washing clothes! Further away there is business going on, we can hear vendors. Do they have fresh fish? If we wait a while, what else might we see? passing mules, animals being brought to drink? More surprises? Let's stay and find out.

Download River of Life

What the People are Saying!

I am really loving Sounds Natural so far, just what I've been looking for for years.

Gee this track is so pretty, makes me wanna cry.

I love Paradise Island, it's the happiest place I know, perfect for when I'm writing.

Across the Lake is so cool! You really feel as if you're there.

Getting in Touch

To contact me with comments or suggestions please Email lulu@hartgen.org or tweet @lulu_bear.