Countrystride #167: The story of Cumbrian iron
…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.
Hefted - Dispatches from Cumbria
Podcasts, news, views and long-form articles inspired by the landscapes, heritage, culture and people of Cumbria and the Lake District. From the team behind Countrystride and Inspired by Lakeland.
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Latest episodes
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
Countrystride #166: The real reivers – Hidden history of the Debatable Land
...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.
Countrystride #165: Wool, Wine & Wordsworth – Hawkshead and its remarkable Grammar School
…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.
Countrystride #164: Maryport and The Vanishing Age of Sail
...in which we return to 19th-century Maryport in the company of author Simon Francis Brown to explore the world of shipbuilding through the illustrated journals of master shipbuilder Kelsick Wood.
Bluebird’s back, illegal beavers, (more) YHA closures, Joss record falls, warming Windermere… and Millom folk get creative.
Despatches from Cumbria and the Lake District, from the team at Countrystride and Inspired by Lakeland
Countrystride #163: Walla Crag – A short history of Lake District guidebooks
...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.
Forty Fells: Rannerdale Knotts
Every spring, Rannerdale becomes 'Bluebell Valley'. But locals know it by a different, older, name. This is the Secret Valley, where flowers bloom from the blood of the dead.
Hefted newsletter #21: April 2026
Despatches from Cumbria and the Lake District, from the team at Countrystride and Inspired by Lakeland
Countrystride #162: The Grasmere Dialect Plays
...in which we visit springtime Allan Bank to explore the forgotten phenomena of the Grasmere dialect plays...
Countrystride #161: Donald Campbell – Speed king of Coniston
...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.