PODCAST

Countrystride

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

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

55:06

#162: The Grasmere Dialect Plays

Countrystride ·

2026/04/17

...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.In the company of Eleanor's great-niece, Harriet Spence, and academic Sue Wilkinson, who has resurrected the plays for a modern audience, we discuss the emergence of the

62:30

#161: Donald Campbell – Speed king of Coniston

Countrystride ·

2026/03/20

...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 Campbell – the 'national hero' record-breaker of the inter-war years – and the frenetic home life into which son Donald was born. Approaching Coniston Water, we consider young

67:07

#160: Vicars of the fells

Countrystride ·

2026/02/27

...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 and Rydal) to the Lakes and consider the ‘no two days the same’ reality of life as a vicar in rural

46:30

#159: Blackwell – Arts & Crafts in Lakeland

Countrystride ·

2026/01/23

...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 – the rise of mass production in the Victorian age. Paying homage to John Ruskin – over the hill in Coniston – we consider the polymath visionary’s founding contribution to a

66:00

#158: Haystacks – How Wainwright changed our lives

Countrystride ·

2025/12/31

...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 of guests whose lives have been touched or changed by the Blackburn-born rambler, artist and guidebook writer. Chatting as we wander – through dense clag and worsening rain –

57:33

#157: A Cumbrian Christmas Cracker – December 2025

Countrystride ·

2025/12/19

...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 Allan; and musicians Carolyn Francis (fiddle and vocals) and Mike Willoughby (vocals, bouzouki and melodeon), we enjoy a miscellany of nostalgic readings, letters, poems,

50:53

#156: Kurt Schwitters – From the international...

Countrystride ·

2025/12/05

...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, Lizzie introduces us to the pioneering modern artist, and the wandervogel ‘back to nature’ youth movement that was a reaction against capitalism and industrialisation. Pausing to enjoy views

63:16

#155: The Lakeland Angler – On Derwent Water with...

Countrystride ·

2025/11/14

...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. With waves lapping against the boat, Eric introduces us to the pastime that has given him a career and lifelong passion; to game and coarse fishing; to lines, bait and olives. Delving deep into the 'mangroves' of

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

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