Trevor Cox persuaded the Campaign to Protect Rural England to reveal the quietest location in the country, based on light pollution, and distance from roads and flight paths.
The Salford professor of acoustic engineering spent 20 minutes in the 500m2 location – exact details of which are secret to prevent it being spoiled by hoardes of visitors – for his book Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound.
He cycled 10 miles from Gilsland, then walked the final mile and a half to the hillock through peat bog. He used a hand-held sound meter but the only noise it picked up was the whirr of its own electronics.
Prof Cox said: “Zero decibels is your threshold for hearing and once you get below that there is nothing to be heard other than your own body sound.”
But he said being in the quiet spot was far from relaxing, adding: “I was exhausted, my feet were drenched, and I was unable to sit down in the wet peat bog.”
The US-based International Dark Skies Association (IDA) granted Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status to the combined areas of Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park, between Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish border.
The new zone – which will be called the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park (NDSP) – is one of the largest in the world, joining the likes of Death Valley.