Test Valley Tales Podcast
10 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago -From dragons and magical fish, to enchanted trees and spectral horses, storyteller Amanda Kane-Smith brings the landscape of Test Valley in Hampshire to life with folk tales and local legends.
Accompanied with music by Paul Sartin and traditional Hampshire Dance tunes of the Pyle Family manuscript
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Episodes
Episode 10: The Wild Horses of Wellow
March 16, 2022 16:12 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBThis episode's Test Valley Tale is a spookily magical tale. It’s a mash up of a local ghost sighting of a horse drawn carriage on New Year’s Eve and an Aesop’s fable - ‘The Horse, Hunter and Stag’. I wanted to create an origin story for the ghost sighting. And as Wellow sits by the edge of the New Forest, I thought it would be fun to connect the horse drawn carriage with the New Forest ponies. The story takes place during a cold Winter, food is sparse and so the horses are forced to share t...
Episode 9: The Enchanted Flute of Sadler’s Mill
January 04, 2022 12:54 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBThis episode's Test Valley Tale is a magical tale with environmental themes and is perfect listening for folktale lovers young and old. One morning when Tom the miller goes to collect wood for his fire, he finds himself in a strange new world where trees can talk and a water nixie gives him a gift of an enchanted flute. Having begun so well, will Tom continue to make the right decisions to live in harmony with nature. And will he remember the Water Nixie’s warning - never to use the flute f...
Episode 8: The Magical Fish of Mottisfont
November 26, 2021 15:11 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBThis episode's Test Valley Tale is a magical wish story. As Mary makes her weekly trip along the Sprat and Winkle Railway line from Stockbridge to Mottisfont, she encounters a fish on a bridge! This is when things take a turn for the magical as the fish offers her a wish. Just one wish. What will Mary wish for? ‘The Magical Fish of Mottisfont’ is my version of a traditional tale called ‘The Clever Wish’ or ‘The Wise Wish’. Sometimes the wish giver is a deer and in some versions, it can ev...
Episode 7: The White Trout of Stockbridge
November 10, 2021 14:54 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBThis is a magical tale of love and tragedy, set in one of Test Valley’s beautiful chalk rivers. Isolda and Benen discover their shared love for each other and the natural world and plan to get married. When tragedy strikes, however, a legend is created and ultimately tested by someone who has lost his belief in magic. This is my adaptation of ‘The White Trout’ which originates in Ireland. My version is written for the beautiful location of Stockbridge in Test Valley in Hampshire. After th...
Episode 6: The Wandering Tree of Danebury Ring
October 28, 2021 17:38 - 30 minutes - 28 MBSet in one of Hampshire's most famous landmarks: the Iron Age Hillfort of Danebury Hill, this week's episode is a magical story which brings to life the wood which circles the fort. The story takes place in the 16th century when a Royal Charter was granted for Danebury to be used as a site for a rural fair, on a very hot day in late July, as John the farm labourer had just finished work having been given the afternoon off to go to the fair. Little did he suspect the strange and unusual thi...
Episode 5 - The Cockatrice of Wherwell
October 06, 2021 13:31 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBIn this episode I tell one of Hampshire's most famous stories. And best of all it's about a dragon! With the head of a cockerel and the tail of a serpent, this type of dragon is known as a cockatrice, and this one caused chaos in the little village of Wherwell about 400 years ago... or so they say. This is a great story for all the family and I have also created a cockatrice puppet template which can be downloaded from my website and used to join in with the storytelling. (See below). Aft...
Episode 4: The Deadman‘s Plack of Harewood Forest
September 21, 2021 18:47 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBIn this episode I tell a historical tale full of deceit and murder based in Harewood Forest. 'Halfway along The Middleway, which lies between Picket Twenty and Longparish, there is a small wooden stile hidden in the hedge. Climb over this stile and walk across the sloping field. At the top you will find a path; that will take you into Deadman’s Plack Copse. Here, as legend has it, the Saxon King, Edgar killed his friend Ethelwold while hunting for deer. All for love of the beautiful Elfrida...
Episode 3: The Baker‘s Daughter of Amport
September 07, 2021 08:03 - 38 minutes - 35 MBIn this episode I tell a story based in the beautiful village of Amport. Based on an old English folk tale, 'The Baker's Daughter of Amport' tells the story of a baker’s daughter who pays a magical price for her lack of kindness. It’s a little bit spooky this one, so if you are listening with very young children it may not be the best episode for bedtime! Having said that, children do love a spooky tale! Versions of this tale date back to before Shakespearean times and is referenced by S...
Episode 2: The Feuding Farmers of Harmony Woods
August 30, 2021 18:28 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBThis is a brilliantly jolly tale with a great environmental message: 'Can we really own a piece of land? And if the land could speak, what would she have to say about it?' When two farmers begin to fight over who owns a meadow, a small bog fairy has a very wise solution to solve their disagreement. This story is part of Test Valley Tales. 'Test Valley Tales' is an Arts Council Funded project and one of Test Valley Arts Foundation's Borough of Culture Legacy Projects. All the stories are ...
Episode 1: The Ghost Vicar of Vernham Dean
August 23, 2021 18:00 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBHello, I'm Amanda. In this episode I retell a local ghost legend from Vernham Dean in Test Valley, set in the time of the plague. Legend says that the vicar, wracked with guilt, still haunts the old Roman road that leads to the top of Conholt Hill. But why is his ghost still there and what is his guilty secret? This story is suitable for children aged 7+ (although probably not best listened to before bedtime). Adults will enjoy listening any time of the day! After the story I interview t...