Highway of Dreams

Do you live near the A2 road in Chatham?

The Highway of Dreams will soon re-open for submissions. 

After a successful pilot in 2023, in which we gathered the dreams above, Ideas Test are rolling the project out across Medway and Swale over next three years 2026-2028.

Highway of Dreams will eventually be an ‘audio art gallery’ in a new app, to be experienced on a bus or car journey down the A2, mapping and geolocating the dreams of residents who live along it. 

Built by the Romans, and once known as Watling Street, at over 2,000 years old the A2 is one of the oldest roads in the world which is still in use. Some believe it is built along a ‘ley line’ of natural geomagnetic energy, which can cause particularly vivid dreams.

Anyone who lives near the A2 can call the Dreamline and leave a message about a memorable dream - good or bad - which they had while asleep in the area. 

The Dreamline’s messages will be received by the project team, and a selection invited to develop a polished script with the support of Fin Kennedy, a writer and sound artist, who will also support each contributor to record the dream in their own voice, then brought to life with music and sound effects.

Over the next three years, residents’ dreams will populate a ‘dream map’ for anyone to browse, like a snapshot of the collective unconscious of the Medway area. Various pop-up listening events will take place along the way, and a launch event once the free app is available.

Come and be one of the first to test drive the Highway of Dreams.

Highway of Dreams is an Applied Stories project commissioned by Ideas Test.