PODCAST

Countrystride

A celebration of the landscapes, culture, heritage and people of Cumbria and the Lake District.

society & culture places & travel

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62:03

#154: Rory Stewart: 'Middleland' – Letters from...

Countrystride ·

2025/10/31

...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 District and Borderlands, about the joys of post-walk pub stays (warm socks, a book by the fire), and the meditative pace of multi-day rambles. Moving to farming, Rory raises the alarm

59:35

#153: Monasteries, mining and manhunts – A 10,000...

Countrystride ·

2025/10/10

...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 bothers from Fountains and Furness Abbeys made Borrowdale productive. It

56:21

#152: The Lost Paths – Jack Cornish from The Ramblers

Countrystride ·

2025/09/12

...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 by wandering animals through the post-Ice Age Greatwood – then proceed into the era of the drovers, when food was transported through the landscape over great distances, creating

01:03:48

#151: Eycott Hill – Landscape in recovery

Countrystride ·

2025/08/22

...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-rich acid grassland, marshes and mires.Setting out from the botanically-rich hay meadows – in late

01:18:52

That's all for now: By Styhead Tarn

Countrystride ·

2025/05/16

...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-lacking trial run above Seathwaite and share favourite memories of the hours spent in the fells since, with the Pennine Way, Goldscope Mine and Upper Eskdale all featuring among Mark and

01:00:09

#149: Hostelling in the Lakes

Countrystride ·

2025/04/25

...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 their hostelling flames (family holidays, illicit treks and Amsterdam's red light district respectively). Looking back over the early, then glory, days of the YHA – when the

54:04

#148: Tom Stephenson and Thomas Arthur Leonard:...

Countrystride ·

2025/04/12

...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 Lancashire village of Roughlee, where the scene is set for the arrival of the 'two Toms' – a time where workers in the industrial north had to fight to access the hills around

50:41

#147: Last of its kind – Eskdale Mill

Countrystride ·

2025/03/28

...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 learn about the long history of milling in Lakeland, where over 2,000 mills harnessed power in their pre-industrial heydey. Moving indoors, we observe the drying room, where peat

47:24

#146: The lead mines of Nenthead

Countrystride ·

2025/03/15

...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, artificial hushes. Arriving at a centuries-old stone leat – still flowing – we consider the unusual addition of flag coverings, and nature's steady reclamation of spoil

01:06:23

#145: The Westmorland Dales – A century of farming...

Countrystride ·

2025/02/28

...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 the Westmorland Dales, the northern Howgills and the Orton Fells. Looking back to the inter-War years – long before the arrival of phones and electricity in remote valleys – we hear

01:01:49

#144: Gavin Capstick – New CEO of the Lake District...

Countrystride ·

2025/02/14

...in which we are joined by Gavin Capstick, new chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, for a wide-ranging chat about the state of the Park and his ambitions for its future.Ascending out of Tebay onto the Howgills, we learn about Gavin's Eden Valley upbringing and his first interactions with the Lake District – playing youth football – before a local government career led him to the Park Authority. Arriving at a stock exclosure fence with emerging woodland, we talk about

56:51

#143: Robert Southey – The neglected Lake Poet

Countrystride ·

2025/01/17

...in which we visit Keswick Museum for a deep dive into the life of one of Romantic Lakeland's most under-appreciated figures: writer, former Poet Laureate and long-term resident of Greta Hall, Robert Southey (1774-1843).In the company of Museum curator Nicola Lawson and trustee Charlotte May, we return to Bristol, 1774 and set the shifting social scene for the birth of a young radical – expelled from Westminster – whose education was beset by bullying. Alongside new wife Edith Fricker and

01:44:02

#142: Review of 2024

Countrystride ·

2024/12/30

...in which we unwrap a selection box of our favourite clips from the year past in the company of Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Jamie Normington and Low Sizergh Barn co-owner Alison Park.Featuring clips from, among others, James Robinson, Eileen Jones, Mark Hatton, Phoebe Smith, April Windle, Mark Cropper, Angus Winchester and Peter Todhunter, we sift through 19 episodes and 20 hours of recordings from as far flung as Newlands, Windermere, Seathwaite, Orton and Great Moss. In our annual extended

54:20

#141: A Cumbrian Christmas Cracker

Countrystride ·

2024/12/23

...in which we congregate at the Armitt, Ambleside for a night of readings, historic press reports, dialect poems and music that celebrate a distinctly Cumbrian Christmas.In the company of Alan Cleaver, Lesley Park, Sue Allan and – on harp and guitar – the Cumbrian Duo, we take a nostalgic trip down memory lane (and beyond) as we learn about seasonal customs from the historic counties of Westmorland and Cumberland: of the 'Waits' who performed dance tunes in isolated valleys; of the 'Merryneets',

54:13

#140: The owls of Grasmere, with Polly Atkin

Countrystride ·

2024/12/20

...in which Dave takes a midwinter stroll with author Polly Atkin to discuss The Company of Owls, Polly's new book about her tawny owl neighbours in Grasmere. Climbing from Town End onto White Moss Common, we consider the recent history of the surrounding landscape – from grazed pasture through makeshift 'hutment' settlement to the rich woodland of today that is home to deer, badger, fox and numerous birds. Arriving at a mossy oak, we learn about Polly's passion for owls, and the personal

55:40

#139: Gowbarrow Fell with Fix the Fells

Countrystride ·

2024/12/01

...in which we make a breezy autumnal ascent of Gowbarrow Fell to learn about the unending work of Fix the Fells.In the company of FtF partnership manager Isabel Berry and deputy ranger Jonny Skinn, we take a long view of Lake District trails – back to the days of pack-horse routes and quarry ways – then fast-forward to the 1960s and '70s, when the golden age of rambling etched great scars into the landscape. Advancing three decades, we arrive at the origins of Fix the Fells (it could have been

51:14

#138: Running int' fells - A brief history of...

Countrystride ·

2024/11/16

...in which we take an autumnual stroll around Grasmere to explore the history of fell-running with runner, archivist and west coast lad Peter Todhunter.Setting out from the village green – one-time site of Westmorland wrestling matches – we visit the field below Allan Bank, where the first known Guides Race took place in 1868. As a traditional Cumbrian 'sports day' grew to encompass hound trailing, boating, 'high leaping' and horse-racing – alongside the emerging discipline of fell-running – we

01:00:32

#137: Voices from the changing commons

Countrystride ·

2024/11/01

...in which we delve into a remarkable oral history archive to paint a picture of the historic Cumbrian commons as they enter a period of profound change.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 grazing the fells of the Westmorland Dales: the northern Howgills and Tebay; the Pennine fringes; Orton Fells and Wild Boar Fell. Relishing a bounty of Westmerian accents, we consider how

46:39

#136: Rebecca Smith in Grizedale – Lives of the...

Countrystride ·

2024/10/19

...in which we take an autumn stroll into Grizedale Forest with local-born author Rebecca Smith to explore the hidden history of working class people in the countryside.Exploring the expansive pine plantations north of Satterthwaite, we learn about Rebecca's idyllic childhood roaming the Graythwaite Estate, where her father was head forester. Seeking out elusive Bogle Crag, we consider the class ambiguity of living in the shadow of 'the big house', and the mixed blessings of tied housing for

54:17

#135: Phoebe Smith – Love, loss and life on Britain's...

Countrystride ·

2024/10/11

...in which Dave interviews adventurer, author and multi-award-winning photographer, presenter and broadcaster Phoebe Smith about journeys of self-discovery on the country's old ways.Recorded live at Countrystride's end of summer gathering at Kelsick Grammar, we learn about the ancient practice – still banned in this country – of pilgrimage, and hear about the great emptiness Phoebe felt on a secular walk along the Camino de Santiago. In a wide-ranging conversation centred around Phoebe's book

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