48 min listen
Countrystride #53: The lost history of hill farming
FromCountrystride
ratings:
Length:
55 minutes
Released:
Apr 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
...in which we head to Borrowdale in Westmorland with author and dry-stone waller Terry McCormick to uncover the lost history of hill farming. As we explore one of Lakeland's quietest valleys, we take the long view of a turbulent history, starting with the David vs Goliath battle of the Kendal Tenant Rights Dispute 1619–1626 that established the pattern of resilient farmsteads still operating today; we consider why writers – from Wordsworth to Wainwright – have frequently misunderstood or ignored the lives of upland farmers; we ponder how a new golden age of farming literature – championed by James Rebanks – can co-exist with the closure of Newton Rigg; and we discover why Terry's new vocation as a waller ('Aim for beauty; settle for strength') at the age of 55 felt like coming home.
Terry's book, Lake District Fell Farming - Historical and Literary Perspectives 1750-2017, can be bought from Bookcase.
Terry's book, Lake District Fell Farming - Historical and Literary Perspectives 1750-2017, can be bought from Bookcase.
Released:
Apr 26, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Countrystride #22: Lost Words - Past and future in the woods of Wreay: …in which we follow the gently-meandering River Petteril from an M6 underpass on Carlisle’s urban fringe through Wreay’s ancient woodland to one of Cumbria's most beautiful churches in search of lost words. As we stroll, with Jamie Normington from Cumbri... by Countrystride