The Sea Cure - Sarah Lowndes

The Sea Cure is a 45 minute long audio walk presented by Sarah Lowndes, set in the English seaside town of Cromer which illuminates the town’s long history as a holiday destination, with archival music, field recordings and reflections on sea bathing for wellbeing through recent centuries.

The Sea Cure will guide listeners through the winding lanes and stunning promenades of Cromer, in a one mile loop route which traces a vivid re-imagining of the 1887 visit to the town by Empress Elisabeth of Austria.  Elisabeth was revered as the most beautiful woman in Europe and adhered to rigorous diets, remedies and procedures to maintain her constitution and her looks.

In Cromer, the Empress tried to come to term with her loss of her infant daughter, a grief that had haunted her all her adult life, walking for miles along the clifftops, reading poetry and hunting for fossils on the beach and bathing in the sea. The Sea Cure invites listeners to follow in Elizabeth’s footsteps in a remarkable town where visitors still flock for restorative holidays, seeking peace, fresh air and the health-giving waters of the North Sea.

Important Information

Age guidance: 12 +, all those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Content warning: Discussion of death and mention of eating disorders

Length of walk: 1 mile, 45 minutes

Accessibility: The route follows a mostly pedestrian-only route which is smoothly paved apart from one small section of about 3 metres when crossing the foot of The Gangway, which is cobbled. You can engage with just the audio, or follow the transcript of the audio in the pack.

Postage/Collection: You will receive an email letting you know when the pack has been posted. If you have not received your pack within 2 weeks of purchase please get in touch at boxoffice@nnfestival.org.uk.
If you do not want to pay for postage you can collect from our office at Norwich Guildhall between 10am-5pm, Monday- Thursday.

Sarah Lowndes is a writer, curator and lecturer. A Research Fellow at NUA and Director of Kunsthalle Cromer, her publications include Contemporary Artists Working Outside the City: Creative Retreat (2018) amongst others, with Crowds, Community and Contagion in Contemporary Britain forthcoming with Routledge in 2022. Her curatorial credits include The Glasgow Weekend: Art, Design and Music from Glasgow (Volksbuehne Theatre and BQ, Berlin, 2013), and projects under the auspices of Kunsthalle in Cromer include Field Work (2020).