Grasmere Part 1: Prehistory, The Last King of Cumberland and The Rushbearing

Our final episode sees the series ending in Bowness on Windermere. Looking at local folktales, wedding customs and the importance of the lake in our story. We also take a breif moment to tie the series together. Additional Music by Marc Nellis @nuancemarc

We're in Windermere (Birthwaite) this week with Rob Daniels, Railway historian to give us an insight into the ways that the arrival of the railway impacted on the area and we see the return of Jean Scott - Smith of the Lakeland Dialect Society to tell us more about the dialect and its viking connections. This week the host is very nervous about performing a dialect song. All additional music by Marc Nellis @nuancemarc

Troutbeck Bridge is probably the least well know of the villages the series but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have many tales to tell. We will hear stories of conflict and battle from Jane Renouf of the Ambleside Oral History Group and Dr Sue Allan who will tell us about Robert Anderson. There are some stories in this that some listeners may find upsetting. Additional music by Marc Nellis @nuancemarc

This episode is packed! We have interviews with Nicola Carter, a mountain leader, and Jane Renouf, a founding member of the Ambleside Oral History group as well some tales from their archive. We still have time for a folksong, a folktale and a look at folklore around cleaning. All interviews were recorded on the phone in lockdown. This week the host has a bad cold. Additional music by Marc Nellis @Nuancemarc

This episode is based in the tiny village of Rydal, where we look at the history of the hall, the cattle trader turned MP before exploring Cumbrian death customs and talking to Alan Cleaver about Corpse Roads. Plus we throw in a murder ballad to cheer the whole thing up! All interviews were recorded on the phone during the coronavirus lockdown. Additional music by Marc Nellis @nuancemarc