Countrystride
A celebration of the landscapes, culture, heritage and people of Cumbria and the Lake District.
Episodes
...in which we return to 19th-century Maryport in the company of author Simon Francis Brown to explore the world of regional shipbuilding through the exquisite illustrated journals of master shipbuilder Kelsick Wood.
Starting our walk at the Shipping Brow Gallery overlooking the River Ellen, we set the historic context...
...in which we climb Walla Crag in the company of academic and Back o’ Skidda’ resident Dr Liz Woodham for a deep dive into the history of guidebooks dedicated to fell-walking in Lakeland.
Striding out from Surprise View, we set the historic context for the emergence of the walking guidebook – the earliest travellers seeking low-level views from Thomas West’s formative Guide to the Lakes (1778), and the use of paid mountain guides,...
...in which we visit springtime Allan Bank to explore the forgotten phenomena of the Grasmere dialect plays – celebrations of Westmorland dialect and life that put Lakeland on the national cultural map for nearly 40 years – and the woman behind them, Eleanor Rawnsley (née Simpson), second wife of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley.
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...in which we return to the golden age of speed records in the company of Dr Keith Mitchell, who was a teen when Bluebird K7 made its tragic final record attempt on Coniston in January 1967, and who has researched all things Campbell ever since.
Setting out from the heart of Coniston, we introduce risk-taking Sir Malcolm...
...in which we pull up a pew at St Oswald’s Church, Grasmere, for a wide-ranging chat about faith in the hills, fell-running and the day-to-day life of the rural vicar.
Opening the podcast, we reflect on the personal and faith journeys that have led Lawrence Basham (rector of the Parish of Grasmere and Rydal), Charlie Day (curate of the Binsey Mission Community) and Sam Bentham (intern at Grasmere a...
...in which we head south over a snowy Dunmail Raise to immerse ourselves in the world of Arts and Crafts at Blackwell.
In the company of Niall Hodson, Keeper of Collections at Lakeland Arts, we start our conversation taking a long view over wintry Windermere and the context in which the Arts & Crafts movement emerged –...
...in which we embark on a memorial walk to Innominate Tarn on Haystacks to ask the question: How did fell-walker Alfred Wainwright impact on so many lives?
Closing a year of AW anniversaries – including the 70th anniversary of the publication of his first Pictorial Guide – we set out from Honister in the company of a string...
...in which we select the best bits from our second Cumbrian Christmas Cracker, a celebration of all things festive in the historic counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire north-of-the-Sands.
In the company of historian and author Alan Cleaver; broadcaster and food historian John Crouch; journalist and historian Sue...
...in which dazzling autumn light illuminates a breezy walk between Ambleside and Elterwater in the company of art historian Dr Lizzie Fisher, where we discuss the remarkable life of the groundbreaking 20th-century German artist Kurt Schwitters, who died in exile in the Lake District.
Born in 1887 in Hanover, Liz...
...in which we spend a perfect autumn day 'gone fishing' on Derwent Water with angler-author Eric Hope.
Setting out from Lodore, we cast our minds – and line – back to Eric's Lancashire childhood, and the day trips he made to Windermere, where he fell in love with angling and the Lakes.
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...in which we are joined by broadcaster, author, long-distance walker and former MP for Penrith and the Border, Rory Stewart, to discuss his new book, Middleland – Dispatches from the Borders.
In a wide-ranging discussion about the 'lost kingdom of Middleland', Dave chats with Rory about long walks through the Lake Distr...
...in which we congregate in autumnal Upper Borrowdale to explore the history of Seatoller.
In the company of Steve Uglow – author of Seatoller: History of a Hamlet – we ascend the flanks of High Doat and return to the last Ice Age, when two glaciers carved out a cloistered valley.
Reflecting on the likely in-roads made by Norse incomers (did they settle in the valley? maybe), we move into the age of the Monasteries, when lay both...
...in which we're joined by Jack Cornish, author, long-distance walker and Head of Paths at The Ramblers to talk about his book The Lost Paths, and the deep history of England and Wales' extensive path network.
Recorded live at June's Countrystride Live, we step back in time to learn about Britain's first paths – forged b...
...in which we open Series 2 of Countrystride by exploring Eycott Hill in the northeast corner of the Lake District National Park – a landscape in recovery. In the company of Kevin Scott, Northern Reserves Manager at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, we learn about the reserve's extraordinary transformation – from near-monocultural sheep pasture to a thriving upland patchwork of wildflower meadows, species-ric...
...in which we take a stroll – just Mark and Dave – from Seatoller to Sty Head Tarn to announce the end of Countrystride (for now) and reflect on 149 episodes and 6.5 years of the podcast.
Under perfect Spring skies, we catch the bus from Keswick to Seatoller, where we cast our minds back to our tech- and expertise-lackin...
...in which we gather at YHA Borrowdale for a wide-ranging chat about hostelling in the Lake District: the people. the places and the passion.
In the company of Aaron Jones, manager at YHA Borrowdale; Christine Thomas, co-owner of Elterwater Hostel; and Elterwater team member Charlie Spiller, we begin by asking what fanned t...
...in which we head south to Pendle Hill to explore the extraordinary lives of two campaigning outdoorsmen, who helped establish National Parks, Youth Hostels, the Ramblers and The Pennine Way – 60 years young this year.
In the company of Nick Burton and Bob Sproule from the Pendle Radicals project, we set out from the Lanc...
...in which we venture west to the Eskdale village of Boot to visit the last remaining water cornmill in the Lake District.
Guided by Mill manager Kate Hughes, we explore the old gardens – a scene of watery activity, with Willan Beck tumbling over boulders and leats threading through channels to feed three wheels. Here we le...
...in which we visit the far northeast of Cumbria to explore the remarkable history and remains of the Nenthead lead mines.
In the company of geologist and Nenthead Mines trustee Pete Jackson, we learn about the earliest mineral prospecting in the area, where 'the old men' sought out lead in becks, waterfalls and, latterly...
...in which we delve into a remarkable oral history archive to paint a long-view picture of the ever-changing farmed landscape of the Westmorland Dales.
In the company of local-born John Hastwell and project officer Amanda Walters, we listen to farmers past and present as they discuss the hard-graft reality of farming ...
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