Earth & Sky at Penistone Hill Country Park

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

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Earth & Sky

Until 12 October 2025

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

A woman wearing a long green jacket and a speckled dress stood infront of a wall.
Courtesy of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Image credit: Tom Arber
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Bradford 2025 is a total transformation of the wider area as well as the cultural cornucopia of the city itself. Two of the inventive ways in which the surrounding landscape is being embraced into the artistic happenings is through four large-scale art commissions, Wild Uplands, which you can explore whilst listening to a bespoke soundwalk, Earth & Sky, created by Opera North.

Three composers, Caterina Barbieri, Nyokabi Kariũki and Gwen Siôn have been invited by Opera North to create new music and sound art inspired by the untamed upland site which sits one thousand feet above Haworth. Their new work will be interwoven with the music of Bradford-born composer Frederick Delius. Through the use of state-of-the-art geolocation technology, these musical landscapes will be combined with the natural space of the uplands for you to listen to as you walk through. You can expect to hear moments of deft electronica, alongside African influences and moments of natural sound produced in the field recordings of Sarah Keirle.

Opera North have previously created soundwalks through Leeds in collaboration with cellist Abel Selacoe, which were met with an overwhelmingly positive reception. They also created a walk across the Humber Bridge as part of Hull’s UK City of Culture in 2017. With such a strong track record of curating these stunningly rich, orchestral-textured journeys through specific spaces, we can’t wait to experience their contribution to Bradford’s landscape. 

Earth & Sky is located amongst the expansive moorland views of Penistone Hill Country Park. The landscape is a sea of earthy colour with heather and rock punctuating its surface, as well as being well laced with walking paths. Both the musical journey through the landscape and the paths that lead you have intricate twists, moments of wonder and intricate detail to appreciate simultaneously. 

This is just a snapshot of the wider cultural happenings in Bradford throughout this year. Be sure to check out our full listings for Bradford 2025 – UK City of Culture.

Part of Get Outside with Bradford 2025

Get Outside with Bradford 2025: An image of a large man made pool with fountains in front of a historic building with a clock tower
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Get Outside with Bradford 2025

Explore art in the moorlands, soundscapes through the glen and appreciate how the city has become totally transformed when you get outside with Bradford 2025.

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Bradford on Foot
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Bradford on Foot

Bradford on Foot is a rich collection of 25 themed walks and tours around 2025’s UK City of Culture and the surrounding wild.

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BD Walls
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BD Walls in Bradford

Street art takes centre stage in BD Walls, with vibrant murals transforming the city into an open-air cultural gallery.

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Where to go near Earth & Sky at Penistone Hill Country Park

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