Countrystride

...in which we celebrate the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in one of the north country’s foremost orchards.

Striding out from the Georgian facade of the National Trust’s Acorn Bank in the company of Ruth Cassell (Gardens & Landscape Manager for Lakes and Eden Portfolio) and Bronwyn Thomas (Garden Supervisor at Acorn Bank), we’re introduced to our heroine of the podcast – Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, the Yorkshire-born author, traveller and woman of means, who bought the property in 1934 and began planting apple trees.

Arriving in Dorothy’s walled orchard, we learn about the journey of the humble apple, from the mountain forests of Kazakhstan, by way of the Silk Road and expanding Roman empire, to the gardens and orchards of landed Cumbria, including Lowther Castle and Holker Hall.

Walking among the laden boughs of Acorn Bank’s 175+ heritage apple varieties, the waters of Crowdundle Beck bubbling in the background, we consider the establishment of this nationally important collection through a collaborative lineage of gardeners and apple enthusiasts, and about the science (and accidents) of apple cultivation – of grafting, root stocks and pollination.

In the house’s drawing room – now joined by Margaret Hoyes (Gardener at Sizergh) – we embark on a heritage apple taste test, focussing on local varieties like the Keswick Codlin (actually from Ulverston), Nelson's Favourite (not that Nelson), the Duke of Devonshire (not that Duke of Devonshire), Lord Lambourne and super-local Maulds Meaburn, before noting the Hallowe’en-horror origin story of the Bloody Ploughman.

Reflecting on the nation’s favourite fruit – and learning the chemical difference between eaters and cookers, the importance of an open canopy and how best to pick an apple – we consider both the vulnerability of heritage varieties and their increasing importance in a fragile food system during an era of changing climate and seasons.

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Acorn Bank comprises ornamental gardens, 180 acres of parkland and woodland, a café and historic working watermill. The property closes for the winter in November and reopens in February ready for half term. For more information see here.

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You can learn more about Cumbria’s orchards from the North Cumbria Orchard Group and South Lakeland Orchard Group.

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A reminder that on Friday next week (6 Nov), we host our first Countrystride Live event of the autumn at Rheged – ‘Are Our National Parks Broken?’ with Julian Glover, Tiffany Hunt, Tim Farron MP and Rose O’Neill, where we’ll ask why interest in our protected landscapes has waned in Westminster – even as visitor pressures mount – and what a renewed vision for world-leading protected landscapes might look like. With plenty of chance to ask questions, and exclusive access to the Forty Fells exhibition, tickets can be purchased here: https://rheged.com/event/countrystride-live-are-our-national-parks-broken/

...in which we celebrate the satisfaction of long days on the fells in a ‘rock and stroll’ ascent of enigmatic Carrock Fell in the northeast corner of Lakeland.

In a ‘Mark and Dave’ pod, we set out from Carrock Beck on a northerly pasture line onto the Back a’ Skidda’ massif, discussing what ‘great mountain days’ mean to us – long journeys, ever-changing scenery, a mix of natural and human interest, a sense of adventure… and the post-walk pint.

Climbing past tumbledown bields and chatting with fellow walkers, we swap favourite great mountain days – a high-level circuit of Great Gable, a greater Langdale traverse, the Kentmere Round – and reflect on the difference between bagging and wider journeys through the Lakeland landscape.

Arriving on Carrock Fell’s rocky summit, we discuss the enigmatic ‘hill fort’, the remarkable view (Cheviot visible on the northeastern horizon) and the fell’s unlikely place in one of English literature’s most celebrated travelogues.

Traversing the fell’s squelchy western ridge, we give mountain-day love to a Derwent Water circular, a Wetherlam wander and a Newlands round.

Descending the old sledway of Red Gate, we discuss the Caldbeck Fells’ extensive mining history – not least the remarkable Carrock tungsten mine – and close the pod by reflecting on the mounting stand-offs between walking ambitions and ageing limbs.

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Mark’s new book, Best Walks in the Lake District, can be ordered direct from Cicerone here, or from all good Cumbrian bookshops.

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Dave’s new book, Forty Fells, can be ordered direct from Inspired by Lakeland here, or from all good Cumbrian bookshops.

...in which we head east to one of Lakeland’s loneliest dales, and tell the story of a once-thriving valley lost beneath the dammed waters of Haweswater.

In the company of local historian and dialect champion Jean Scott-Smith, we set the historic scene on Mardale, cradled in the Far Eastern Fells and overlooked by a British fort, a Roman Road and Scandinavian shielings.

Proceeding into the 18th century, Jean paints a picture of a bustling farmed valley, with rich dairy pastures and a steady flow of traders and packmen making their way over the passes of Nan Bield and Gatesgarth and down past High and Low Water.

Recounting tales of the Kendal Archers, boisterous nights at the Old Dun Bull (where buckets of ale were passed around) and the legendary week-long Mardale Shepherds Meet (originally held on High Street, latterly at the Dunnie), we introduce a range of local characters, from the Kings of Mardale to eccentric ‘Old Barham’ the vicar, who bled parishioners using a tortoise-shell lancet.

With the waters of Thirlmere insufficient to meet the growing thirst of Manchester, we learn about Manchester Corporation’s acquisition of the valley – with barely a whisper of protest – and, following the Haweswater Act of 1919, the subsequent abandonment of the hamlets of Measand, Mardale Green and Whelter before the grammar school was relocated, the church taken down and Royal Engineers arrived with explosives to raze the remaining farms and homesteads.

Heading up-dale to rain-drenched Mardale Head, Jean points out landmarks uncovered by the summer’s drought – including foundations of the Dun Bull, and the old valley road (its walls as they were 90 years after the terminal flood) – before noting nearabouts landmarks – the corpse road to Shap, the grandstand-view peatcutters’ huts, the former navvie settlement of Burnbanks.

Closing the pod in Shap’s upper graveyard – where many of Mardale’s dead were reinterred – we reflect on the passing of a community; on the media circus that unfolds in dry years; and on the surprise discovery of Mardale’s long lost church organ.

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Shap Local History Society holds an extensive archive, including artefacts and images relating to Mardale, at their Heritage Centre, Market Cross, Shap. The archive is open by arrangement – please contact either 01931 716671 or 01931 716386.

…in which we tour south Lakeland to tell the remarkable story of an industry that expanded from one-man bloomeries set deep in the woods to blast furnaces powering the industrial age.

In the company of industrial history enthusiast Mark Hatton we begin our journey at Glen Mary below Tarn Hows, where we are introduced to the three ingredients that allowed Furness monks to first produce iron: expansive woodlands, fast-flowing rivers and rich deposits of local hematite.

Noting clues of iron in the landscape – Red Screes, Red Pike, Red Tarn – we visit an oak-shaded glade that was once a charcoal-burners’ platform, where coppiced timber was piled high then baked to create the ‘rocket fuel’ charcoal required to generate temperatures of 1,000+ degrees centigrade.

Moving upstream, we come upon an ancient bloomery, where hematite from Orgrave (literally ‘ore pit’) was transported, by boat then pony, to ‘bloom’ in the charcoal hearth before being forged into weapons and farming tools to help Cumbria’s medieval farmers eke out a marginal living.

Heading south, we visit the site of a 17th century bloom-smithy in the heart of Coniston, learn about the laws introduced to ban timber extraction as Lakeland’s woods were fed to the furnaces, and the journey of Cumbrian entrepreneurs into Scotland as home-grown forests were denuded.

Ending our trip in Furnace Wood (the clue’s in the name) above Duddon Bridge, we explore a network of ancient holloways and moss-reclaimed cobbled trails, remnants of a thriving woodland industry feeding Britain’s largest surviving blast furnace, where a huge waterwheel powered bellows heating a next-generation hearth to fulfil the insatiable iron needs of the industrial age.

Taking a long view of a lost, and neglected, industry, we seek out a slate wall melted by fire before reflecting on the zenith, then decline, of Cumbria’s iron age, when Barrow alone produced more steel than anywhere else on earth.

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The Duddon Furnace (with parking alongside) is located at Grid Reference SD 197 883, immediately north-west of Duddon Bridge. More details can be found at https://lakedistrict.gov.uk/explore/things-to-do/historical-places/industrial-heritage-sites/

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The first site we visited was in Lane head Coppice beside Tom Gill below Tarn Hows (SD 3221, 9989). It is around a two minute walk uphill from Glen Mary car park (National Trust).

...in which we ramble up remote Liddesdale in the extreme north-east of Cumbria to uncover the remarkable history of a unique independent territory transformed into a bloody borderland.

In the company of author and academic Graham Robb we set out from Kershopefoot along the trackbed of the historic Waverley Line, taking in the landscape of the once-unique enclave between England and Scotland; an uninhabited ‘batable’ grazing land bounded by the rivers Liddel, Esk and Sark that formed a buffer zone between often warring nations.

Stepping into the Scottish Borders, we discuss the popular perception of the ‘reiving’ families who lived around this anomalous territory – the Elliots, Armstrongs and Grahams – and the raids that saw cattle rustled and fortified peel towers set ablaze.

Surveying moorland and scattered woods to rising Tinnis Hill, Graham outlines a parallel history; one of stability, in which a raid was not thuggery, but a coming-of-age ritual/form of trade in an advanced pastoral society with strict Border laws that kept the peace for 1,500 years.

Passing meadows with folds and dips that made ideal hiding places for rogues and raiders, we move into the mid-1500s, when the English and Scots crowns orchestrated a plan to carve up the Debatable Land by making lawlessness legal, preparing the ground for characters like ballad outlaw Kinmont Willie and the sadistic Duke of Buccleuch to conduct reigns of terror.

Closing in on Liddel Water, we learn about the end of the Debatable Land, and the “astonishingly beautiful and accurate map” (below) that recorded the establishment of what Graham argues is “the oldest detectable territorial division in Great Britain”.

Reflecting on the violent excesses that wiped the one-time grazing lands from the map, Graham discusses the long shadow cast by imperial colonialism, the persistent discomfort over cross-border marriage and the independent spirit that lingers in border folk.

We close with our quickfire questions, where Graham recalls a relationship-testing ascent of Swirral Edge, waxes lyrical about the definitive descriptions of Cumbrian rain in Rogue Herries and notes the advice he was given before moving into the borderlands – to “leave the pub by 9.30 at the latest”.

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The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England is published by Picador.

…in which we take a midsummer stroll through Hawkshead to learn about the village's deep history and its tiny school that had a big impact – not just locally, but on the world stage.

Accompanied by Joanne Heather, director of the Hawkshead Grammar School Foundation, we set out from the meadows above the village to explore Hawkshead’s long history – its Norse roots, the chapelry that served Furness Abbey, and the wool trade that put the market town on the map, long before neighbouring Ambleside, Coniston and Windermere.

Visiting the church of St Michael & All Angels, Joanne introduces us to the Sandys family of Graythwaite, and Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York during the reign of Elizabeth I, who founded the school to train new generations of clergy.

Arriving at the Grammar School, museum assistant manager Hollie Barker talks us through life at the school: the hours of Latin and scripture; the cock fights and sword fights; the strict rules that allowed boys (no girls) to smoke and drink, but never gamble.

In the confines of the school library, we learn about old boy and London vintner Daniel Rawlinson – great grandson of Daniel Hechstetter, the patriarch of Keswick mining – who founded the school's collection of priceless books, which includes a guide to dissecting elephants.

Finally, we turn our attention to the school’s most famous alumnus, William Wordsworth, enrolled into the school after his mother’s death, who excelled at maths and who led a seemingly idyllic school life ’midst the family trauma, with days off spent ice skating, visiting the Duddon sands and eating strawberries and cream.

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Hawkshead Grammar School Museum is open 1 April–31 October, Thursday–Monday 11am–4pm during term time, and daily 11am–4pm during school holidays. 2026 exhibitions are ‘Friends Before Fame’, about Wordsworth’s school friends, and ‘America 250’, highlighting the school’s links with America.

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More information about the museum and library conservation project can be found on Bloomberg Connects and at http://www.hawksheadgrammar.org.uk/. New volunteers are always welcome; contact Joanne at hgsmuseum@gmail.com.

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The museum is hosting a series of evening talks, usually on the last Monday of the month. The talk on Monday 29 June is Mark Hatton (see Countrystrides past) discussing the history of Coniston Copper Mines and its links to the school. For details and tickets go to EventBrite and search for ‘A Talk at the School’, or see http://www.hawksheadgrammar.org.uk/.

...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 for Kelsick’s arrival in Maryport in around 1818 – Britain as a maritime superpower, the age of empire, the political endgame of slavery – and paint a picture of the town’s bustling harbour, its numerous taverns, the lavish dinners held for Lord Senhouse, the squalor of many residents.

Battling weather on the harbour wall, we introduce Kelsick Wood, the Workington-born shipbuilder who travelled the world before acquiring the family yard at Maryport and starting the illustrated journals (excerpts below) that Simon discovered in a Greenwich archive.

Sheltering from the gale in a harbourside ginnel, we discuss the business of shipbuilding: the crafts required to bring together a finished brig; the unforgiving economics of timber imports; the impact of Cumbrian weather on operations; and the insurance stranglehold held for a time by London shipbuilders.

Retiring to the Golden Lion – where Kelsick spent many of his working hours entertaining potential customers and networking with the Maryport elite – we learn about the politically progressive family man who grieved the loss of a wife and six children, before winding down the podcast considering the numerous pressures which built on domestic shipbuilders – from overseas competition to the introduction of iron hulls – signalling the end of the age of sail.

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The Vanishing Age of Sail can be bought from Bookends in Carlisle and Keswick, and other local bookshops. It is also available from Amazon and Waterstones.

...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, often shepherds, taking well-heeled visitors on mountain adventures.

‘Roving Laker’ Harriet Martineau’s Complete Guide to the English Lakes(1855) was among the first to speak to fell-walkers, Liz tells us, with an ascent description of Fairfield that was – like the woman herself – quietly revolutionary.

On the long climb of Cat Gill we discuss the forgotten Victorian colossus of Keswick, Henry Irwin Jenkinson, who compiled the most authoritative guide of its era, his Practical Guide to the English Lake District (1872), in just seven winter months (he would go on to consult on mountain rescues, and organise the Latrigg Fell Mass Trespass of 1887).

Entering the age of M. J. B. Baddeley, we turn to his evergreen (tiny type) Thorough Guide to The English Lake District – first published in 1880 and still selling nearly a century later. We consider the democratisation of travel, and walking, in the age of rail, and the changing nature of the guidebook, as fells received dedicated chapters and publishers augmented directions with maps.

Atop breezy Walla Crag we talk about the contribution of The Rev. H. H. Symonds – committed to “rescuing scraps of natural beauty” – who published a kind of ‘campaigning guidebook’ in his classic highbrow Walking in the Lake District (1933), and the very different books of his contemporary, outdoors advocate W. T. Palmer, who urged readers to get off the beaten track and take walking tours between youth hostels in his Penguin Guide, The Lake District (1939).

Finally, on Falcon Crag, after a discussion of Walter Poucher’s photographic guides, we arrive at the master himself, Alfred Wainwright, whose uniquely artisanal take on the format turned the guidebook into companionable pocket art.

Back at Ashness Bridge, we reflect on the factors that make for the perfect guidebook – portable, easy to use, with an intuitive blend of text and imagery – and ask Liz to name her favourite guidebook; to consider where guidebooks go in the post-AW digital age; and to tell us why Steeple remains aloof in her 214 completer’s list.

...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 turn-of-the-century village drama movement and Eleanor's relocation from London to Grasmere, where she acquired a passion for local dialect.

A series of clips from the plays featuring members of the Lakeland Dialect Society illustrate recurring themes: local traditions like rushbearing and pace egging; marriage proposals (and refusals); vignettes of everyday life including sheep-clipping and children's games.

As Sue describes the plays' extraordinary rise in national fame – which brought queues over Dunmail Raise and reviews in papers worldwide – Harriet details the developing three-way relationship between Eleanor, Canon Rawnsley and his increasingly frail first wife, Edith.

Emerging from World War II, we consider the demise of the plays, the death of Edith, and the short-lived marriage between Rawnsley and "True Help Meet" Eleanor.

Harriet closes the podcast reflecting on the life of her "quiet, pious and kind" great aunt, whose achievements have been overshadowed by her husband, but who was not only a remarkable author and producer of plays, but also a formidable painter, campaigner and champion of all things Lakeland.

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The featured dialect play recordings feature the voices of John Campbell and Jean Scott-Smith.

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The plays will be 'coming home' to Grasmere on 10 October, 2026 in an evening of readings, music and song in Grasmere Village Hall. If you'd like to be involved – either performing or helping behind the scenes – please contact Sue Wilkinson (sue_wilkinson_2000@yahoo.com). Tickets will be advertised in advance and also available at the door.

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Sue's YouTube channel featuring short excerpts from the plays: http://youtube.com/channel/UC6wZ2EMH-UIG20Fa3SnXogw

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For more about the Lakeland Dialect Society: http://lakelanddialectsociety.co.uk/

...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 Donald's emergence from his capricious father's shadow, and his lifelong desire to seek paternal approval – even after Malcolm's death. Arriving on the lakeshore, we learn about the historic context of post-War speed records and the meeting of man and jet-powered machine that allowed Donald to set seven world water speed records between 1955 and 1964, inching him ever closer to the holy grail 300mph.

As waves lap the Water's gravelly shore, Keith describes the jet-powered hydroplane's final voyage, the somersault that ended Donald's life, and the speed king's final words, which offer insights into what went wrong as the craft surpassed 320mph.

Closing the pod at Donald's grave, we hear the postscript tale of the craft's recovery and rebuild, and reflect on a remarkable man piloting a remarkable craft in a remarkable place.

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Bluebird K7 The Festival is taking place 11–17 May, 2026: https://bluebirdk7thefestival.co.uk/

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Keith is speaking as part of the Festival on the 11 May: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05tuxwjaVVncdp7HQBtJJhPQDscvzP1kc8kPKQS7hYn41wtq5cRqe9CQPBXfJUF2yl&id=100064908631980

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Keith and Neil Sheppard's book 'Donald Campbell Bluebird and the Final Record Attempt' can be bought from the Ruskin Museum.

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To support Countrystride, you can buy our Lake District walking guidebooks at https://www.countrystride.co.uk/our-bookshttps://www.countrystride.co.uk/our-booksoror gift us as little as £3 a month via Patron at http://patreon.com/c/countrystride

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...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 Cumbria.

Turning our attention to St Oswald’s, we delve into the history of a wood-carved pulpit that links Sam Read Bookseller, a near-tragedy in the church and Greenup Edge; and consider why Grasmere Rushbearing plays such a key role in the life of the village.

Disappearing down a fell-running rabbit hole, we discuss the inaugural ‘Rector’s Run’; the remarkable community of those who run in the fells and the spiritual ‘settling’ that happens when moving through wild places, before Charlie describes a heart-stopping moment in Wasdale (’Swing Low, Sweet Chariot!’) at the head of Joss Naylor’s funeral cortège.

Closing our conversation, we play Cumbrian church Top Trumps (and are spoiled for choice); consider our guests’ favourite time in the church year; and brainstorm a new event for the Lakeland calendar – a drive-in midnight mass (or should that be moss) at White Moss... You heard it here first...

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More information on St Oswald's can be found here: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/12407/

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More information on the Binsey Mission Community can be found here: https://www.binsey.org.uk/

...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 movement that encompassed social justice, art and architecture, and the impact of his iconic treatise The Stones of Venice that called for traditional craftsmanship, simplicity and the use of natural materials in everything from furniture to buildings.

Entering Blackwell, we are immersed in the movement made real, with immaculately detailed stonework, wood carvings, floor tiles, stained glass and wallpaper showcasing the creative talents of dozens of local craftspeople, all designed into a coherent rural retreat for the wealthy Holt family of Manchester.

Wandering through room after enchanting room, we meet two more key figures whose lives are intertwined with the house: William Morris – the revolutionary designer, craftsman, social activist, and founder of Morris & Co – and Blackwell architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott, whose extraordinary vision gave rise to one of Lakeland’s finest, and most eccentric, houses.

In divers quickfire ramblings that take in pubs, breweries and stag do’s, we proceed into Blackwell’s recent past, and its second life as an evacuees’ boarding school, before closing by considering the legacy of one of the country’s most important arts movements – as relevant as ever in the age of AI.

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Blackwell is open from now until 31 March: Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm, then 1 April – 31 October: Monday to Saturday 10am – 5pm. The house is currently exhibiting 'Frances Priest Motif | Line | Colour' until 11 April, 2026. Explore the ceramic work of celebrated Edinburgh-based artist Frances Priest in an exhibition tracing 25 years of her artistic work.

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More about Blackwell can be found at: https://lakelandarts.org.uk/blackwell/

...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 – we meet walker Richard Jennings, who completed his 214 at 2:14 on the 21st of the fourth, 2014 (definitely not an obsessive!), and who credits AW with his move to the Lakes.

We catch up with geographer-legend Chris Jesty – the only person authorised by AW to update his Guides – who chats about camping on Scafell Pike for six months "waiting for clear weather", about the 10-year three-month update odyssey, and why the Howgills and Outlying Fells are his backwater favourites.

Arriving at Dubs Hut, we are joined by brothers Mike and Paul Duff from Kendal. who accompanied dad Percy and Betty Wainwright onto Haystacks in March '91 to scatter AW's ashes, and who recall their old family friend – the "foreigner from Blackburn" who sunk roots deep in Westmorland.

Anna Nolan from Keswick is our next guest – a bagging record-breaker currently on her 11th round of the Wainwrights by bus, with a cumulative tally of 6,000+ fells and counting.

Sculptor Clive Barnard recounts his experience of working with AW on the bronze bust now resident in Kendal Museum, remembering the 'big, amiable bear' with a commercially savvy mind who made "awful" cups of tea.

In thickening clag, we meet Chris and Lorena Linke from Florida, who fell in love with long distance walking, after completing AW's Coast to Coast Walk, and discuss the under-acknowledged community created by the C2C, life lessons taught by through-walks, and the unique storytelling artistry of the Guides.

Arriving at our pilgrimage end-point of Innominate Tarn, we pay our respects to former Westmorland Gazette print manager Andrew Nichol – one of the unsung heroes of the AW story, who did so much for the ex-fellwanderer, his book sales and his profile. Beside the hallowed 'gravely shore' of the misty tarn, Chris and his wife Priscilla reflect on Andrew's legacy, and the poignant 'guard of honour' final trip he made onto Haystacks to say farewell to his old friend.

Happy New Year to all, from Mark and Dave!

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Chris's extensive archive of articles about AW's books and memorabilia can be found at http://alfredwainwright.co.uk/

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Anna Nolan's books about fell-bagging and walking in the Lakes can be found at http://bookguild.co.uk/our-authors/anna-nolan

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Richard Jennings has created The Lakeland Way – a 144 mile walk through the valleys and mountain passes of the Lake District. See here for more.

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Inspired by the Coast to Coast Walk, Chris and Lorena Linke made a film about the Herriot Way. The story behind it can be found at http://alfredwainwright.co.uk/the-herriot-way/

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The film of Andrew Nichol's journey to Innominate Tarn can be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=UpLVp20qIJE&t=330s

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Chris Jesty's beautiful summit panoramas can be enjoyed here: https://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ChrisJestyPanoramas.html

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With many thanks to Chris for making the day and recording happen.

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And with thanks to the team at Honister for driving some of our guests to Dubs Hut, and for Tom McNally for arranging the transport.

...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, music and dialect – all recorded live at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.

Join Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley skating on Derwent Water; 'Hunsup through the wood' with the Christmas waits; take a gastronomic journey through Cumbrian culinary history starting with the Romans and their winter Satarnalia; and enter the weird world of wholesome lectures and gymnastics (no rice! no sugar!) at Blennerhasset.

Advancing in time, we hear letters from the 1914 Christmas Truce; attempt to make a turkey from breadcrumbs; head 'Down t'Lonnin'' with Sue; then descend on Keswick for the Old Folk's Christmas Do before playing out with the raucous 'Bleckel' Merry Neet'.

...All this and more in the penultimate Countrystride of 2025, before Mark signs off revealing the toys of his childhood, and why Santa won't be downing any bitter this year.

Mark and Dave extend to all listeners a very Happy Christmas.

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If you'd like to be kept informed about future events, simply sign up to our newsletter midway down this page: http://ountrystride.co.uk

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You can buy Alan's A Lake District Christmas, which includes various of the readings and poems from the Cumbrian Christmas Cracker – including 'Down't Lonning' here.

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Sue's book on The Cumberland Bard – Robert Anderson of Carlisle can be found here.

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Mike and Carolyn play in Striding Edge. More from them can be found here.

...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 over Fairfield and Wansfell, we consider the scientific and social revolution of the ‘fizzing’ inter-war years and artists’ subversive responses to the rise of national socialism.

Finding himself on the Nazi’s list of degenerate artists, we follow Schwitters as he abandons his first immersive ‘Merzbau’ in flight to Norway and thence to internment on the Isle of Man, where the gregarious creative entertained inmates by crafting porridge towers and howling at the moon.

Introducing Edith ‘Wantee’ Thomas – Schwitters’ latter-day support and companion – we enter the artist’s Lakeland years, highlighting the confident, prolific and underacknowledged second artistic life (540 works in three years) that started when he settled in Ambleside, and the oft-epic walks he undertook as Westmorland became home.

Finally, we learn about the chance encounter that led Schwitters to the Cylinders Estate in Great Langdale, opposite the Langdale Estate – a one-time hangout of intellectuals – bohemians and artists, and his last great, unfinished work, the Merzbarn, in the woods north of Elterwater.

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Dr Lizzie Fisher is a curator and art historian, and principal of Higham Hall College – an educational trust supporting lifelong learning in the arts and humanities through a year-round programme of lectures, events, short residential courses and retreats in the Lake District. http://www.highamhall.com

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For more about the Cylinders Estate and the Merzbarn as it now is – in the care of the Factum Foundation – see here.

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Part of the Merzbarn’s wall was relocated for preservation to the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle in 1966, where it is on permanent display. For more information visit merzbarn.co.uk

...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 Manesty, we talk salmon on the world-class River Eden and introduce the 'holy trinity' glacial relics of Cumbria: the Arctic Charr, Schelly and Vendace.

After diversions aplenty (why ice made Keswick; the 'floating island' of Derwent Water; the monster Pike of Windermere), we consider the zen of fishing – immersion in nature, mysteries beneath the waves, a chance to properly talk.

Closing with our quickfire questions, Eric reveals his love for High Pike, the ODG, Wainwright's Eastern Fells... and Cranstons.

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Eric's book, Tales of a Lakeland Angler, is available here: http://medlarpress.com/Authors/eric-hope.html

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Eric's guiding business, Hemmingways Fishing is here: http://hemmingwaysfish.co.uk/

...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 over a new era of small farm 'clearance', urges caution over rewilding a heritage landscape, and argues that binary thinking is impeding a subsidy regime that would champion nature-based farming.

Grappling with a 'Middleland' identity, we consider why the reality of Cumbria – sparsely populated, mountainous, complex – questions so many assumptions at the heart of modern politics, and learn why we should not lose confidence in our National Parks.

Facing our quickfire questions, Rory describes his earliest Cumbrian memory (rescue from a snow-blocked A6 aged four), his fondness for Penrith fudge and his love of Striding Edge.

Closing on a note of positivity; Rory reflects on the fact that – despite its challenges – Cumbria remains a place in which tens of thousands of people contribute to a place that brings "a type of joy, meaning and happiness that is elusive elsewhere".

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Rory's new book, Middleland, isout today.

...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 was the Dissolution that set Upper Borrowdale on a unique course, the Great Deed of Borrowdale securing the freeholds of farmers, transforming their dwellings and safeguarding the ancient valley-side woods.

While the wealthy wad mines of Seathwaite impacted little on back-road Seatoller, the green slate of Honister bought money, miners and cottages to the growing village, and a new private road that opened the pass to motor vehicles.

Before subjecting Steve to our quickfire questions (favourite fell – Fleetwith Pike; favourite pub – The Yew Tree; favourite Lakeland season - spring, summer, autumn and winter), we follow Seatoller into the tourist age, and discuss the ‘Cambridge’ link with Seatoller House, which gave rise to the remarkable Trinity and Trevelyan ‘Manhunts’.

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Steve’s books are published by Bookcase. You can find volume 1 here: https://www.bookscumbria.com/product/uk-books/countryside-and-nature/seatoller-1-monks-monarchs-farmers/ and volume 2 here: https://www.bookscumbria.com/product/uk-books/countryside-and-nature/seatoller-2/

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You can read more about the Manhunts at http://medium.com/@Real_XC/pursuit-what-can-be-learned-from-a-manhunt-on-the-fells-0ad18f6cd4f7

...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 many of the trails we tread today.

Turning to some of the least-known chapters in British walking history, Jack discusses the tramping networks of the dispossessed, the revolution of the turnpikes (and the bizarre protests they prompted), and the era of Enclosures, which diminished and fragmented many ancient routeways. He then turns to the post-War legislation that granted us world-class rights of way – a network that needs constant protection, including, locally, at Hayton Woods, east of Carlisle.

Diverting briefly to muse upon competitive walking (weird) and train-era rambling mania (wonderful), Jack reveals that one of his all-time favourite paths is along the Cumbrian Solway Coast and explains why paths – as the oldest parts of our heritage still used for their original purpose – are as important as St Paul's Cathedral and Stonehenge.

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Jack, and The Lost Paths, can be found in various locations online; his Linktree is here.

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Jack's website is here: http://jackfcornish.com

...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 summer bloom – we consider whether traditional management techniques might be augmented for wildlife by swapping the mower for cattle. Pausing at a badger sett and heather stands – that bloomed again the moment sheep made way for Belties – we learn about the hill's unusual geology, and how that has shaped its diverse range of habitats.

Summiting the lowly Birkett of Eycott Hill, we marvel at the 270 degree panorama, get soaked in an unforecast shower, then get reflective, asking whether the concept of the shifting baseline is still relevant in conservation, why the economics of traditional sheep farming no longer work, and why 'rewilding' is a term Kevin avoids. We close by reflecting on what the transformation of the hill can teach us about approaches to land management elsewhere in the Lakes.

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More about Eycott Hill from CWT: http://cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/eycott-hill