Immerse yourself in the life, work and inspiration of Samuel Palmer on an audio-visual guided journey through Shoreham and surrounding areas.

British artist Samuel Palmer immortalised the beautiful landscape of the Darent Valley and its precious river nearly 200 years ago. Follow in his footsteps and find your connection with the land that inspired Palmer so many years ago.

This self-paced activity is the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors, appreciate the landscape, and learn about some of the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the Darent Valley. With the climate and natural world changing rapidly because of human activity, reconnecting with landscapes has never been more important; art can be an excellent way to explore and connect with the places you love. The Samuel Palmer Trail has been devised by artists Victoria Bathurst and Sarah Newman.

Audio-only files are available below as well as the images that are referred to in the audio files. However if you have a smart device, we recommend downloading the full audio-visual guide on the Darent Valley Trails app. Further information about the Samuel Palmer Trail, accessibility and how to download the app are available on the Samuel Palmer Trail page.

 

Samuel Palmer Trail audio files

To play an audio file, click on a title below. Each file corresponds with the stop point on the app and the 12 stop points shown on the Samuel Palmer Trail leaflet.

Introduction to the Samuel Palmer Trail

1. The Church

2. Ivy Cottage

3. The Bridge

4. Water House

5. Darent River Green

6. Mill House

7. The Cornfield

8. The Hop Field

9. Top of the Meadow

10. Woods

11. On the Hill

12. Shoreham Cross

 

 

Old man, Samuel Palmer, in black and white photo
© Copyright Image 1. 'Portrait of Samuel Palmer 1884,' Charles West Cope. A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, 2003, Metropolitan Museum of Art - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/362681
Sketch of a young boy
© Copyright Image 2. 'Self-portrait,' Samuel Palmer. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. - http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=744097&partId=1&searchText=portrait+of+samuel+palmer&page=1
Sketch of old buildings with tree on left
© Copyright Image 3. 'Study of Old Buildings,' Samuel Palmer. B1975.4.1353 Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection - http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1665989
Old black and white sketch with man writing horse in woods
© Copyright Image 4a. 'The Flight into Egypt,' Durer. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London - collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O88806/the-flight-into-egypt-print-durer-albrecht/
Old black and white sketch of old man and dog next to rocks
© Copyright Image 4b. 'St Jerome in Penitence,' Durer. Salting Bequest © Victoria and Albert Museum, London - collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O122100/st-jerome-in-penitence-print-durer-albrecht/
Pencil sketch of large rocks
© Copyright Image 4c. 'Rocks,' Samuel Palmer. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. - http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=741553&partId=1&searchText=samuel+palmer&page=1
Old colour painting of a man's head and shoulders
© Copyright Image 5. 'Self-portrait,' Samuel Palmer. WA1932.211 Samuel Palmer, 'Self-portrait' © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford - http://www.ashmoleanprints.com/image/385516/samuel-palmer-self-portrait>
Old black and white sketch in a book with a group of people praying underneath a tree
© Copyright Image 6. 'Illustrations of the Book of Job,' William Blake. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. - http://britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1438373&partId=1&searchText=william+blake+job+and+family&images=true&page=1
Very dark old black and white sketch painting with shepherdess and sheep and crescent moon
© Copyright Image 7. 'Colinet Rests by a Stream at Night,' William Blake c.1821 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-colinet-rests-by-a-stream-at-night-a00121
Yellowy painting of large tree with thin trees in front and a rabbit
© Copyright Image 8a. 'Early Morning,' Samuel Palmer. WA1941.107 Samuel Palmer, 'Early Morning' Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford - https://www.ashmoleanprints.com/image/399221/samuel-palmer-early-morning
Profile of old man in coloured painting
© Copyright Image 8b. 'William Blake,' John Linnell. © National Portrait Gallery, London - https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw00610/William-Blake?LinkID=mp00448&search=sas&sText=william+blake&role=sit&rNo=1
Portrait of old man
© Copyright Image 8c. 'John Linnell,' by John Linnell. © National Portrait Gallery, London - https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw03928/John-Linnell?LinkID=mp02750&search=sas&sText=john+linnel&role=sit&rNo=0
Coloured painting of a boy's head and shoulders
© Copyright Image 8d. 'Self portrait - George Richmond,' © National Portrait Gallery, London - https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw57438/George-Richmond?LinkID=mp03781&search=sas&sText=george+richmond&role=sit&rNo=0
Coloured sketch of old house, Ivy Cottage
© Copyright Image 9. 'Ivy Cottage, Shoreham,' Samuel Palmer. B1977.14.307 Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. - http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1666121
Colourful painting with large white house and people sat under a tree
© Copyright Image 10. 'Ivy Cottage, Shoreham,' Samuel Palmer WA1942.113 Samuel Palmer, 'Ivy Cottage, Shoreham' © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Old sketch of Shoreham bridge over the River Darent
© Copyright Image 11. 'The Bridge at Shoreham,' Samuel Palmer. Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971, Metropolitan Museum of Art - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/352237
Old coloured portrait of man sitting on chair wearing a large hat
© Copyright Image 12. 'Portrait of Samuel Palmer,' Henry Walter. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence - http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=743744&partId=1&searchText=PDB10509&page=1
Portrait of man, Samuel Palmer, in a red coat
© Copyright Image 13. 'Samuel Palmer,' George Richmond. © National Portrait Gallery, London. - https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw04844/Samuel-Palmer
Sketch of the back of a man with hat and holding an upside down umbrella in his right hand
© Copyright Image 14. 'Caricature portrait of Samuel Palmer,' George Richmond. Presented by Lady Kennedy © Victoria and Albert Museum, London - http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O126769/caricature-portrait-of-samuel-palmer-drawing-richmond-george/
Painting of blossom on tree in garden with lady underneath
© Copyright Image 15. 'In a Shoreham Garden,' Samuel Palmer. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London - http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17825/in-a-shoreham-garden-watercolour-samuel-palmer/
Painting of people walking from a church under a full moon
© Copyright Image 16. 'Coming from Evening Church,' Samuel Palmer, 1830 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-coming-from-evening-church-n03697 - http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-coming-from-evening-church-n03697
An old painting with hay stooks and a farmer and a crescent white moon
© Copyright Image 17. 'Moonlight, a Landscape with Sheep,' Samuel Palmer c.1831-3 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-moonlight-a-landscape-with-sheep-n03700 - www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-moonlight-a-landscape-with-sheep-n03700
Abstract painting with lady in foreground and large white circular moon
© Copyright Image 18. 'Shepherds Under a Full Moon,' Samuel Palmer. WA1934.287 Samuel Palmer, 'Shepherds under a Full Moon' © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford - https://www.ashmoleanprints.com/image/410943/samuel-palmer-shepherds-under-a-full-moon
Black and white old painting at night with sheep under a crescent moon
© Copyright Image 19. 'Moonlight, a Landscape with Sheep,' Samuel Palmer c.1831-3 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-moonlight-a-landscape-with-sheep-n03700 - www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-moonlight-a-landscape-with-sheep-n03700
Sketch of house in middle of trees and hills behind
© Copyright Image 20. 'The Primitive Cottage, Shoreham,' Samuel Palmer Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection - http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1667058
Grey sketch of hill with a house in the bottom of the valley
© Copyright Image 21. 'The Primitive Cottage,' Samuel Palmer. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London - collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O126298/the-primitive-cottage-drawing-samuel-palmer/
Black and white old painting with church spire in centre and trees surrounding it
© Copyright Image 22. 'A Church among Trees,' Samuel Palmer, c.1830 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-a-church-among-trees-n03698 - http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-a-church-among-trees-n03698
Old coloured painting with large cloud and farmers and farm animals below
© Copyright Image 23a. 'The Bright Cloud,' Samuel Palmer. © Manchester Art Gallery / Bridgeman Images. - https://manchesterartgallery.org/collections/title/?mag-object-7757
Old black and white sketch with two people lying on hill with large white cloud above
© Copyright Image 23b. 'The Bright Cloud,' Samuel Palmer. The Bright Cloud, Samuel Palmer c.1833-4 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-bright-cloud-n03312 - www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-bright-cloud-n03312
Yellowy painting with large tree on ground and large white clouds behind
© Copyright Image 23c. 'The Valley with a Bright Cloud,' Samuel Palmer. WA1941.105 Samuel Palmer, 'The Valley with a Bright Cloud' © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford - https://www.ashmoleanprints.com/image/1108053/samuel-palmer-the-valley-with-a-bright-cloud
Sketch of wide old trees
© Copyright Image 24a. 'Ancient Trees, Lullingstone Park,' Samuel Palmer. B1977.14.308 Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. - http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1666122
Large coloured sketch of very large oak tree
© Copyright Image 24b. Samuel Palmer, Oak Tree and Beech Lullingstone Park, ca. 1828, Thaw Collection, 2006.53, The Morgan Library and Museum - https://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/247415
Old colourful painting with people picking crops in a field under trees
© Copyright Image 25. 'The Gleaning Field,' Samuel Palmer c. 1833 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-gleaning-field-n04842 - http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-gleaning-field-n04842
Colourful painting of abstract apple tree with person and sheep underneath
© Copyright Image 26. Samuel Palmer, 'The Magic Apple Tree' © Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge - http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/collections/drawingsandwatercolours/12193
An old sketch of a valley with trees and fields
© Copyright Image 27. 'Shoreham, Kent,' Samuel Palmer. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection - https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1665935
Old grey sketch of valley with houses and trees in it
© Copyright Image 28. 'View of Shoreham,' Samuel Palmer. WA1977.223 Samuel Palmer, 'View of Shoreham' © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford - http://collections.ashmolean.org/collection/search/per_page/25/offset/0/sort_by/relevance/object/51473
Old detailed sketch of lots of people dressed smartly in top hats at a theatre
© Copyright Image 29. 'A shilling well laid out: Tom and Jerry at the exhibition of pictures at the Royal Academy,' Isaac Robert Cruikshank George Cruikshank A shilling well laid out: Tom and Jerry at the exhibition of pictures at the Royal Academy 1821. Plate 32 from Life in London by Pierce Egan, published by Sherwood, Neely & Jones, London, 1821. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased, 1956. - https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/43194/
Colourful abstract painting of trees, fields and sun
© Copyright Image 30. 'Landscape of the Vernal Equinox (III),' Paul Nash. National Galleries of Scotland. - https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/724/landscape-vernal-equinox-iii
Dark night sketch with tower on hill and farmer resting with sheep below
© Copyright Image 31. 'The Lonely Tower,' Samuel Palmer, 1879 © Tate, London 2020. CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported) https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-lonely-tower-t06518 - https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/palmer-the-lonely-tower-t06518

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Co-financed by the European Union and the European Regional Development Fund