Voices From The Dales
33 episodes - English - Latest episode: 20 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingVoices From The Dales is currently in Series Three, 'Swaledale Farmer'. It's a mix of fresh interviews and clips from the Dales Countryside Museum's oral history archive. All episodes are 15 minutes and presented by Andrew Fagg from Hawes.
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Episodes
Swaledale Farmer pt.6: A Big Part (Michael Watson part 2 and Rachel Watson)
April 06, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBMichael shares his knowledge of bird life on the farm, stressing that there is as much wildlife about as there ever was. He describes how the farm business is dealing with the government’s major change to farm payments. Michael shares his views on the Swaledale breed in the sheep shed, and there’s a cameo from daughter Rachel who describes her attraction to a career in hill farming.
Swaledale Farmer pt.5: Maar Rain No Hay (Michael Watson part 1).
April 05, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBMichael Watson fothers sheep in a high allotment with haylage and cake. He paints a picture of the scene in Upper Teesdale, and describes how much the stock means to him. The talk turns to the changing climate and Michael reveals that 2023 was the first time no hay was made at Stoney Hill.
Swaledale Farmer pt.4: Side By Side (Ray Ridley)
April 04, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBAs Ray gives his beloved White Park cattle a scratch in a rain-battered shed, he reveals how Swaledale sheep numbers have come down over the years as stewardship schemes have come in. He describes how lapwings and sheep ‘look out for each other’, how ‘scrapes’ have been dug to provide habitat for the birds, and how he grew up on the farm wondering at the abundance of wildlife.
Swaledale Farmer pt.3: So Much Grass (Sue Ridley)
April 03, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBSue Ridley describes the unique location of Kexwith Farm in lower Swaledale. She humorously rejects the title of ‘farmer’s wife’, tells the story of the revival of a remnant of ancient woodland, and reveals how engagement with stewardship schemes has led to healthier stock and more grass.
Swaledale Farmer pt.2: Eager To Learn (Christine Clarkson pt. 2)
April 02, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBChristine speaks about wildflower identification, hay meadow management and peat depth testing. She reveals how the authorities once regarded Kisdon hill top as being of insufficient environmental interest to warrant stewardship payments, and closes with stirring advocacy of the importance of local communities.
Swaledale Farmer pt.1: Deep Black (Christine Clarkson pt. 1)
April 01, 2024 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBThe new series is introduced by presenter Andrew Fagg. Then meet champion Swaledale sheep breeder Christine, checking on tup Mo. She shares the story of her farming career and her current thoughts on the direction of the Swaledale breed, as well as a conversation between tourists overheard in Muker’s famous meadows.
Dialect pt.8: Kit Calvert, 'Wily old bird'
November 01, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBSeries Two special guest Rob Ward remembers Kit Calvert. He adds ‘warts and all’ to our understanding of the man regarded as the ‘Complete Dalesman’. After Rob, a Kit Calvert recording gifted to the museum in 2019 is published for the first time. It is the story of how he came to faith through the travails of a milk cow. Published on Wed 1 November 2023.
Dialect pt.7: Kit Calvert, ‘Wass than nowt’
November 01, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBKit Calvert, one time saviour of Wensleydale Cheese, is introduced. A description is given of the recordings of him held at the Dales Countryside Museum. From the 1977 Trevor Sharpe tapes, we hear Kit Calvert tell how his use of dialect made the Queen Mother laugh. And it is revealed how Wensleydale dialect propelled Wensleydale cheese onto the national stage, with the help of a Mr Capstick. Published on Wed 1 November 2023.
Dialect pt.9: Kit Calvert, 'Lord, do somemat f't'cow'
November 01, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBKit Calvert’s conversion and cow story, begun in episode 8, concludes. We also hear him telling how he was persuaded to ‘translate’ parts of the Bible into Wensleydale dialect, and why he collected the poems of John Thwaite. He reads from St John's gospel and the poem 'Wakken Mother Wakken'. This is followed by concluding thoughts on dialect. Published on Wed 1 November 2023.
Trailer for Episodes 7-9 of Series Two on dialect, ft. Kit Calvert
October 17, 2023 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.07 MBA 90-second trailer for the final three episodes of Series Two on dialect. It whets the appetite for Episodes 7-9, which will feature never-before-published archive material of Kit Calvert, the saviour of both The Wensleydale Dairy in Hawes and the dialect poetry of John Thwaite.
Dialect pt.6: At the Washdub
February 17, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBOnce the village children’s favourite place to play, the Gayle millpond – known as the washdub – becomes the place for a reflection on dialect, as the series draws to a close for now. Series Two special guests Rob and Val Ward remember the washdub as a place of meeting. There’s a reminder of how dialect sounded, with another archive clip of Lizzie Dinsdale. From the 1977 tapes, Kit Calvert tells how some people regarded dialect as wicked. And Helen Guy of the Keld Resource Centre shares ...
Dialect pt.5: George Calvert’s verses
February 03, 2023 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBSeries Two special guest Val Ward reads the dialect verse of the late road sweeper George Calvert from Gayle. Three poems are featured: ‘Kit Storra’; ‘Mi Granfatther’; and ‘T’Paper Lad’, which was written in tribute to John Mason. Special guest Rob Ward also remembers the village allotments and George ‘Laps’ Alderson. Presented by Andrew Fagg from Gayle chapel, where George Calvert said people would sing ‘wi’ a gusto ‘et mead yer throats thrive’. Published on Friday 3 February 2023.
Dialect pt.4: Fishing and Jessie Blades
January 20, 2023 09:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBSeries Two special guest Rob Ward says, ‘There’s no fish in’t beck’. The sad recent demise of brown trout in Upper Wensleydale prompts a diversion from dialect into fishing. Three more voices from 1977 are heard: Fred Nuttall recounts the formation of Hawes and High Abbotside Angling Association; Jessie Blades speaks of her family’s fame at fly dressing and their work as bailiffs; and Chris Heseltine talks vividly about grobbling (tickling) trout. Presented by Andrew Fagg from the River ...
Dialect pt.3: Hannah Metcalfe, Taylor Dinsdale
January 06, 2023 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBAfter a noisy introduction at Gayle Bridge, this episode opens with a little more of Rev James Alderson, including a short study of his 1980 Dales dialect primer. Presenter Andrew Fagg then stands by the black-painted railings of Foss Head Farm house in the village of Gayle to cue in a 1977 recording of the late Hannah Metcalfe (nee Alderson). The Metcalfe name and family is described. The late Taylor Dinsdale, interviewed by Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby, comes next. Hear him speak ab...
Dialect pt.2: Rev James Alderson and Aunt Lizzie
December 16, 2022 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBPresenter Andrew Fagg is by the beck in Gayle village to introduce the late local historian Rev James Alderson and the late Lizzie Alderson. There is a touching story about a petted pig, along with excerpts from a lecture given by Rev James in the early 1980s at the Grassington Festival. Both characters are remembered by special guests Rob and Val Ward. The work of Trevor Sharpe and Bradford Youth Service in the gathering of the original interviews, more than 40 years ago, is further exp...
Dialect pt.1: Lizzie Dinsdale
December 02, 2022 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBPresenter Andrew Fagg introduces Series Two on Dales dialect, with special guests Val and Rob Ward. He visits Hawes Methodist Cemetery and makes the case for dialect. Enter then the remarkable voice of the late Lizzie Dinsdale, in a recording made in the 1970s but until now hidden away. She gives her recipe for havercake and speaks about doing a 'man's part' at hay time.
Trailer for Series Two
November 21, 2022 14:00 - 1 minute - 740 KBVoices From The Dales is returning for a second series - on dialect - on Friday 2 December 2022. This is our one-minute trailer. Series Two will have at a least six episodes of the usual 15 minute length, to be published fortnightly. Do come and meet the people of the village of Gayle and the little town of Hawes next door. Presented by Andrew Fagg.
Peatland
August 22, 2022 09:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBHear the voice of the bog as recorded by composer Sarah Smout in this one-off episode about the restoration of a vast area of peatland in the Yorkshire Dales called Fleet Moss. Peat Restoration Officer at the Yorkshire Peat Partnership Jenny Sharman speaks about how she has developed a ‘real love’ for Fleet Moss as as a ‘black, broken land’ has once again become a place with ‘a wealth of life’. The episode also features Bishopdale landowner and grouse shooting enthusiast Rob Brown speaki...
Our Ingleborough pt.6: Classic Oral History
June 06, 2022 14:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBIn Part Six, hear children from nearby Settle Primary School interview their grandparents. 93 year old Edna Thornton, from the village of Austwick to the south of Ingleborough mountain, remembers the days when the milkman delivered milk directly into a jug on her doorstep each morning. Two granddads from Settle are asked about the changes they have seen in the natural environment. Meanwhile builder Kevin Woods, who from his home looks at Ingleborough’s peak, reflects on a lifetime of res...
Our Ingleborough pt.5: Caving
June 06, 2022 14:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBIngleborough is limestone – or karst – country. It is world famous for its caves. Part Five features Avelina Wright from the local Cave Rescue Organisation. ‘We don’t only pull humans out of holes,’ she says. Such was the pull of the caves for Lincolnshire woman Leann Rennie, she upped sticks and moved to the area. ‘There’s everything here that adventurous people like,’ she says. Her husband, Tam Rennie, also speaks of caving, while also giving an insight into his day job as signalma...
Our Ingleborough pt.1: Farming
June 06, 2022 13:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBThe Ingleborough area covers around 100 square kilometres and it is the mountainous heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is mostly a farmed landscape. In Part One of Our Ingleborough , commoner and dairyman John Dawson explains hill farming practices. ‘Our mark is a red arse,’ he says, referring to his sheep, before developing the argument that ‘everything is fine as long as you walk hand in hand with nature’. Presented by Andrew Fagg and Anna Greenwood.
Our Ingleborough pt.2: Ribblesdale
June 06, 2022 13:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBRibblesdale is the main valley in the Ingleborough area and is renowned for its quarries. In Part Two, local farmer and former quarryman Winston White reflects honestly on his career. ‘If they had the chance they’d knock your house down and crush that up as well,’ he says. Ribblesdale has also become home to printmaker Hester Cox. She has become so well known for using natural materials in her work that she receives unusual gifts. ‘People give me little boxes with dead birds in,’ she sa...
Our Ingleborough pt.3: Recreation
June 06, 2022 13:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBThousands of people, often from the towns and cities of Lancashire and West Yorkshire, travel each week to the Ingleborough area for recreation. In Part Three, hear two men from a Muslim hikers group. Group leader Sham Ali proudly declares that he is from ‘Bradford, born and bred as a Yorkshireman,’ while teacher Tariq Shiraz shares his admiration for the way people try to keep the area free from litter. ‘People walk with bin liners,’ he says. Also in Part Three, Anna Greenwood goes for...
Our Ingleborough pt.4: Campaigners
June 06, 2022 13:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBPeople have visions for the future of Ingleborough. For many, the hope is that it will become a wilder, even more species-rich environment. In Part Four, hear how Rachel Benson, who runs a bunk barn, has been making the vision a reality. ‘Now it is very flowery,’ she says of a restored hay meadow. Also hear the voice of an activist, Amy-Jane Beer. ‘It’s my place to go out to roam at will,’ she says. Presented by Andrew Fagg and Anna Greenwood.
Cheese Present
October 15, 2021 13:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBThe Courtyard Dairy cheese shop at the foot of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales has been named 'among the best 50 food shops in the world' (by the Financial Times). In Voices From The Dales 'Cheese Present' hear the Courtyard Dairy story from co-founder Andy Swinscoe and his fellow cheesemongers, as they 'fill faces' with farmhouse cheese made from raw milk. 'Cheese Present' follows on from the last episode, Cheese Past, which featured clips from the oral history collection at the Dale...
Cheese Past
September 20, 2021 14:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBProducing milk and making cheese are essential industries in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. But what’s the story behind the great tradition of cheese in the Dales? Find out in ‘Cheese Past’, the first of two Voices From The Dales podcast episodes dedicated to cheese. Presented by Andrew Fagg, in Hawes, hear the voices of Brian Sunter, Margaret Watson, Matthew Bell, Eleanor Scarr, Kit Calvert, Derek Ramsden and Iona Hill.
Fell Runners
July 09, 2021 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBFell running is one of the oldest and most traditional sports in northern England. Races take place across the Yorkshire Dales throughout spring and summer. In this podcast you are taken to the ‘Hawkswick Dash’ in Littondale in June 2021, organised by the British Open Fell Runners Association. Hear the voices of Skipton’s ‘Mr Sport’ Roger Ingham, ‘Run The Dales’ writer and organiser Victoria Benn, Kilnsey Show fell race record holder Mick Hawkins and Wensleydale fell runners Heather Hodg...
Schools pt. 1
March 08, 2021 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBA cockerel down a chimney, school closures, sex education and a ‘Roman toilet’ are discussed in Episode One of Voices From The Dales. Hear the voices of John Waggett from Gunnerside, Joan Fawcett and Christa Fagg Rawlence from Hawes, Sally Stone from West Burton, Norman Guy from Muker, Enid Lundberg from Arkengarthdale and Barbara Buckingham from Reeth. Also meet Mary Burrow, the woman who devoted her life to one Dales school. It is presented by Andrew Fagg from outside Hawes Primary Scho...
Schools pt. 2
March 08, 2021 10:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBClogs, snow, the bus driver and the ‘kiddy catcher’ are discussed in Episode Two of Voices From The Dales. Hear the voices of Kit Calvert, Joan Fawcett, Eric and Vera Alderson and Reggie Fagg Rawlence – all from Hawes – as well as John Waggett from Gunnerside, Norman Guy from Muker, Jennie Sunter from Keld, Brian Sunter from Low Row, Eleanor Scarr from Bainbridge, and Allen Kirkbride from Askirgg. It is presented by Andrew Fagg from outside Hawes Primary School and was recorded on 5 March...
Chapels
March 08, 2021 09:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MB“The energy is no longer there,” said the Methodist minister in Reeth in 2016, as another Dales chapel closed. As journalist Mike Amos reported, a way of life was quietly disappearing. Chapels were at the heart of village life in Wensleydale and Swaledale for around 150 years, but decline set in during the second half of the last century. And yet in half a dozen places such as Gayle and Gunnerside the Methodists are ‘still alive’, as they like to say. In this episode hear Walden preacher ...
Bard
March 08, 2021 08:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBJohn Thwaite (1873-1941) was a Wensleydale dialect poet who wrote about the natural beauty as well as the ordinary working class people around him. He worked as a grocer in the town of Hawes. Some 30 years after his death a group of people in Wensleydale recorded his poems on cassette tapes. In this episode hear two poems read by Jack Fawcett: ‘The Quarryman’s Cross’ and ‘T’Auction Mart’. It is presented by Andrew Fagg from Hawes Main Street and was recorded on 6 March 2021.
Bard
March 08, 2021 08:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBJohn Thwaite (1873-1941) was a Wensleydale dialect poet who wrote about the natural beauty as well as the ordinary working class people around him. He worked as a grocer in the town of Hawes. Some 30 years after his death a group of people in Wensleydale recorded his poems on cassette tapes. In this episode hear two poems read by Jack Fawcett: ‘The Quarryman’s Cross’ and ‘T’Auction Mart’. It is presented by Andrew Fagg from Hawes Main Street and was recorded on 6 March 2021.
Museum Makers
March 08, 2021 07:00 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBMarie Hartley and Joan Ingilby founded a museum and brought pleasure to millions of people through their popular books on the Yorkshire Dales. What started their love affair with the Dales? How did they encourage Dales folk to tell their stories? And what role does museum they created, the Dales Countryside Museum, have today? In this episode hear the voices of Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby, Guy Ingleby of Littondale, Taylor Dinsdale from Gayle, and Fiona Rosher, the current Museum M...