Last year I stayed at a charming riverfront cottage in a little town in Burgundy called Semur-en-Auxois. One peaceful afternoon I went into the sunny salon, opened the windows, and started recording the ambience. It’s mostly birds, with the occasional distant joyful sounds of kids playing, a dog saying hello, the cathedral clock chiming the hour from the centre of town, a neighbour downriver working on a project, the ducks nattering at each other. Maybe it will trigger ASMR for you, or maybe it’s just a relaxing way to study, sleep, or meditate. Either way, it’s just the sounds from a windowsill in a small French countryside town.
This isn’t a compilation of stock/synthetic sounds or a professional recording — it’s just my iPhone and a typical spring day from this lovely place. I didn’t do any noise cancellation and it’s only very lightly edited (to remove a sneeze or two, pollen is not my friend). I’ve listened to it many times since I recorded it, and now at the request of family and friends I’m sharing it here too. The video is a slideshow of photos taken of the cottage and the town.
The house is rented out as a holiday cottage (with all proper cleaning and safety precautions in these contagious times, of course) – if you’re interested, there’s more info on that at . Or just join me as I read and nap from the salon on this serene spring day.
0:00 Birdsong, me settling in. Photo: the house from across the river
1:04 The riverfront patio and the weeping willow (Photo change)
2:55 Church bells ring the hour
3:15 Birdsong
7:29 Looking across the river to the town ramparts (Photo change)
15:55 The cathedral garden, in the town centre (Photo change)
22:50 A duck at the river below the windows (Photo change)
30:00 From a walk: the house seen over (and under) a nearby bridge (Photo change)
39:20 The house seen from the old bridge (Photo change)
48:44 Local craftsmanship on display (Photo change)
56:45 Semur-en-Auxois’ pedestrian area (Photo change)
1:00:00 Still a lot of birds
1:02:55 The bells ring the hour
1:09:15 Taken from an evening walk: the ducks enjoy the river (Photo change)
1:19:35 Inside the salon, showing the recording spot (Photo change)
1:30:18 Another view downstream, from the patio (Photo change)
1:41:10 Our favourite café in town (Photo change)
1:52:27 The house and the medieval town wall and ramparts (Photo change)
2:00:00 Still plenty of birds
2:02:55 The clock chimes as the photo changes: the river, willow and patio
2:14:23 The ramparts, lit after sunset (view from the house – Photo change)
2:21:51 Some wine and cheese (Photo change)
2:28:00 The house seen from an early evening walk (Photo change)