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In October Creative County West Sussex, the Chichester Festival Theatre and Chichester Boys Club came together to offer a weeklong outdoor activity on Iping Common, just outside Midhurst.



The project was aimed at connecting young people with outdoor spaces and introducing them to the history and beauty of our local area through storytelling, music and play.

South Downs National Park rangers explored the heathland with them at the beginning of the week, Chichester Festival Theatre then shared some old heathland myths and legends with storyteller Dawn Nelson, who also helped them to create some of their own. Finally they spent time exploring storytelling with Phoebe Hyder and instruments and the process of creating a soundscape with Cathy Burton, and the week culminated in a sharing of the heathland folktale, The Highwayman, retold by Janet Goring on Iping Common. 

This initiative was co-funded through Creative County West Sussex and the South Downs National Park.