CSlive
Our first ever Countrystride Live – the Amblestride – was held in Ambleside in November, 2023 featuring a range of walks, talks, food, drink, music and Countrystride bonhomie.
We sold out, and had a blast. As a consequence we've hosted a rolling series of smaller events around the Lakes ever since, including at the Force Café, Verey Books, The Armitt and Theatre by the Lake. This autumn and winter (2026) we have a series of events, three tied in with the launch of Dave's Forty Fells book and the accompanying Rheged exhibition.
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Countrystride Live: Autumn & Winter '26
Fri 6 November, 7pm: Are our national parks broken? Rheged
75 years since the Lake District was designated a National Park in a moment of national optimism, we ask our expert panel (Julian Glover, Tiffany Hunt, Tim Farron, Rose O’Neill) why interest in protected landscapes has waned in Westminster – even as visitor pressures mount – and what a renewed vision for world-leading protected landscapes might look like. More details below...
Sun 6 December, 4pm: A celebration of the fells: Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides & The best fell in Lakeland. Rheged
Sunday afternoon Countrystride Live double-whammy celebrating the Lake District fells, featuring archivist Chris Butterfield discussing the origins of Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides – and Wainwright’s original list of Lakeland fells, which contained considerably more than 214 – followed by an all-star panel debate that will decide, with audience help, the king of the hills. More details below...
Fri 15 January 2027, 7pm: Future Fells: What next for the Lake District uplands? Rheged
An expert panel, including academics and land managers, debates what the Lakeland fells will look like in 5, 50 and 500 years in a wide-ranging discussion covering biodiversity, farming, leisure and the changing climate. More details below...
Countrystride Live: 'Are our national parks broken?'
Fri 6 November, 7pm, Rheged
75 years since the Lake District was designated a National Park in a moment of national optimism, we ask our expert panel (Julian Glover, Tiffany Hunt, Tim Farron, Rose O’Neill) why interest in protected landscapes has waned in Westminster – even as visitor pressures mount – and what a renewed vision for world-leading protected landscapes might look like.
In this Countrystride Live panel discussion, we will talk about the political context that gave rise to national parks and the tensions and ommissions built into the enabling legislation. We will move on to consider the pressures on protected landscapes today – rising visitor numbers, nature loss and climate change, reduced funding and political inertia – then discuss what changes, to funding, purposes and governance, might help build renewed energy, focus and confidence in managing some of the world’s most cherished landscapes.
Our panel:
Julian Glover OBE: Author and journalist Julian led the Glover Review of 2019, which evaluated England's National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The first government-commissioned review of National Landscapes in a generation, the report gave 27 recommendations for reforming protected landscapes, including strengthened statutory purposes around nature and a night under the stars for every child. The groundbreaking Review – widely welcomed by national park bodies and campaigners – has been watered-down by successive governments.
Tiffany Hunt MBE: Tiffany has spent a lifetime engaged with the north of England’s landscapes, including as Director of Northumbria, Yorkshire and the North West regions of the National Trust, as chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund North West and, most recently, as Chair of the Lake District National Park Authority (2022–2026). Tiffany lives in the South Lakes and volunteers in a range of roles, including at Cartmel Priory and York Minster.
Tim Farron MP: Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 and the Lib Dem spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tim represents communities in both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming, he has taken a long-term interest in upland farming, and is known for championing climate issues, food security, environmental standards and clean waterways. We will quiz Tim about the priorities of nature and protected landscapes in Westminster. In his spare time, Tim is a keen fell-runner.
Dr Rose O’Neill: Chief Executive of the Campaign for National Parks – which has campaigned since 1936 to secure the future of National Parks in England and Wales – Rose’s background is in environmental campaigning, policy and research. A member of Natural England’s Landscape Advisory Panel, she previously led the UK rivers programme at WWF. From a working class background, Rose has a particular interest in creating opportunities for everyone to connect with nature.
The discussion – with contributions invited from the audience – will be hosted by David Felton, producer of the Countrystride podcast, award-winning Lakes-based publisher and co-author of Forty Fells. Audience members will be able to access the Rheged Forty Fells exhibition before the talk.
Countrystride Live: 'Future fells – What next for the Lake District uplands?'
Fri 15 January, 7pm, Rheged
An expert panel including academics and land managers debates what the Lakeland fells will look like in 5, 50 and 500 years in a wide-ranging discussion covering biodiversity, farming, leisure and the changing climate.
The fabric of the fells has been changing for millenia. Wooded dales and hillsides – abundant with flora and fauna – were cleared in prehistory, then steadily settled and enclosed. Post-War headage payments led to overgrazing, while today's farming support pendulum is swinging back, with commons agreements now limiting sheep numbers, posing an existential challenge to hill farming. The latest chapter in the long history of contested land use focuses on nature recovery, with swathes of the Lake District entering landscape-scale nature recovery schemes that will change the character of the fells for generations.
Moving beyond the divisive ‘culture ve nature’ debate that has reduced land use discussions to a binary ‘farming vs trees’ choice, our expert panel – Upland author Ed Douglas, Restoring Hardknott Forest’s John Hodgson, Upland Ecologist John Holland and Director of the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas Lois Mansfield – will discuss a selection of Lakeland case studies, talking water, fire risk, nature, farming and people, as we paint a picture of what the fells will look like 5, 50 and 500 years from now. A Countrystride Live podcast event, hosted by David Felton.
Our panel:
Dr John Holland: An upland ecologist based at Scotland’s Rural College Hill & Mountain Research Centre near Crianlarich, John’s areas of academic interest include the impact of grazing on upland vegetation, the management of grasslands, upland biodiversity and hill farm greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage. An active bird surveyor and plant recorder, John has helped establish two community woodlands, and was a trustee of the Farm Woodland Forum for more than ten years, a charity which advances public education in all aspects of the science and practice of farming with trees.
Ed Douglas: Author of the 2026-released Upland – The Strange History and Vital Future of Britain’s Mountains, Ed is a prize-winning author on mountains whose books include Himalaya: A Human History, shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and Kinder Scout: The People's Mountain. Ed won the Boardman Tasker Award for mountain literature in 2010, has been a climber for 45 years and was for a decade the editor of mountaineering’s oldest publication, The Alpine Journal. Ed’s first mountain expedition was up Skiddaw and he has spent many years exploring the Lakeland fells.
Emeritus Professor Lois Mansfield: Professor of Upland Landscapes, Director of the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas and a Special Advisor to the Lake District National Park Authority, Lois’ academic life has been dedicated to rural development, uplands and farming, with a particular focus on Cumbria. Author of Managing Upland Resources: New Approaches for Rural Environments, Lois has spent 30 years exploring upland agriculture and its relationships with other land users, with current research interests focussing on multiple capitals approaches to managing upland landscapes where agricultural systems are marginal in character.
John Hodgson: John is the Project Officer for Restoring Hardknott Forest, a partnership between the University of Leeds and Forestry England, which has been working since 2003 to restore a 630-hectare former conifer plantation to native woodland and other habitats for the benefit of people, nature and climate. At the heart of one of Lakeland’s best-kept landscape recovery projects, John has spearheaded a collaborative partnership – alongside Forestry England and local farmers – that has seen previously clear-felled hillsides return to native woodland with engagement from a range of local communities, including West Coast schoolchildren.
The discussion – with contributions invited from the audience – will be hosted by David Felton, producer of the Countrystride podcast, award-winning Lakes-based publisher and co-author of Forty Fells. Audience members will be able to access the Rheged Forty Fells exhibition before the talk.
Countrystride Live: 'A celebration of the fells: Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides & The best fell in Lakeland'
Sun 6 December, 4pm, Rheged
Sunday afternoon Countrystride Live double-whammy celebrating the Lake District fells, featuring archivist Chris Butterfield discussing the origins of Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides – and Wainwright’s original list of Lakeland fells, which contained considerably more than 214 – followed by an all-star panel debate that will decide, with audience help, the king of the hills.
First half: Origins of Aflred Wainwright’s 214
In the first half of our celebration of the fells, Wainwright archivist and author Chris Butterfield will explore the beginnings of Alfred Wainwright’s iconic 214-fell project and the creation of the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. Showcasing original letters and Wainwright’s personal notes, Chris will trace how the seeds of an idea developed into the best-selling seven-volume series. He will look at Wainwright’s arrival in Kendal in 1941, his growing ambition to produce a book about Lakeland, and the experiences that eventually led him to begin his 13-year guidebook project. He will then examine Wainwright’s design process, showing how the structure of the guides continued to evolve until the familiar format was finally settled upon. Chris will show Wainwright’s rare original list of Lakeland fells, which contained considerably more than the final 214. Detailing some of the ommissions, he will explore how Wainwright arrived at the list we recognise today and pose the age-old question: what exactly defines a Wainwright?
Second half: Lakeland’s finest fell
Wainwright’s ‘214’ fells have drawn ramblers and mountain enthusiasts to the high places of Lakeland for generations. In this exclusive Countrystride Live event, join author and presenter Mark Richards; former Fell Top Assessor, mountaineering/climbing Instructor and author of Walking the Wainwrights Graham Uney; 10-times Wainwright completer (6,000 fell ascents and counting – most by bus!) and author Anna Nolan; and Nordic walker and mountain leader Nicky Merrett as we engage in an entirely unscientific ‘fantasy fells’ endeavour to decide – with the help of our audience – which is the finest Wainwright fell.
Our panel:
Mark Richards: Strongly influenced by his mother’s roots in the Yorkshire Dales, from his youth Mark has adored the hills and dales of northern England. Mark gained encouragement in directing his passions for pen and ink drawing and walking into writing and illustrating walking guides from Alfred Wainwright, with whom he spent many weekends in the '70s. Mark is the author of numerous guidebooks, including his seminal eight-volume Lakeland Fellranger series featuring 230 Lakeland fells. He is the presenter of the Countrystride podcast.
Anna Nolan: Anna is a linguist, educationalist, author and satirist who worked as an English teacher, broadcaster at the BBC, the manager of public examinations and a developer of national qualifications. Now retired, Anna is a walking group leader who has completed ten rounds (with the 11th nearing completion) of the Wainwrights – most by bus – with a cumulative tally of 6,000+ fells and counting.
Graham Uney: Author and mountaineer Graham is one of the Lakeland’s most prolific outdoorsmen, having guided thousands of people onto the fells in a career spanning 30+ years. A Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader, Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Graham spent five winters as a Fell Top Assessor and is the author of 12 guidebooks, including Mountain Walks: Scafell and Walking the Wainwrights.
Nicky Merrett: Mountain Leader, Nordic Walking Coach and Cumbria-born-and-bred Nicky, alongside her team of 12 mountain leaders at Hiking Highs, has been leading walkers and teaching mountain skills to outdoors enthusiasts on the Lakeland fells for 12+ years. With a particular passion for the deer strongholds of the quieter fells, Nicky’s family come from Patterdale, and were strongly connected to Mardale. Now living in the foothills of Helvellyn, the Lakes’ third highest peak, it is her playground – but is it her favourite fell?
The discussion is chaired by author, publisher and Countrystride producer David Felton. Audience members will be able to access the Rheged Forty Fells exhibition before the talk.
Countrystride Live: 'The Cumbrian Christmas Cracker'
Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
Wed 3 December, 2025, 7.30pm – SOLD OUT
Thu 4 December, 2025, 7.30pm – SOLD OUT
Open the season of goodwill at the 'Cumbrian Christmas Cracker’, a nostalgic evening of seasonal readings, memories, food history, poems, dialect and music from author Alan Cleaver (A Lake District Christmas), host David Felton (Countrystride) and a line-up of special guests.
Rewind time to the days of the village Waits, when snow filled the valleys and ice froze the lakes. Take a winter walk down Lucy Gray Lonning, visit the Keswick ‘old folk’s do’ and go skating on Derwent Water with Hardwicke Rawnsley, enjoy Cumberland dialect past from Naddle's own John Richardson, explore the Cumbrian trade in rum and spices, and delve into the Christmas songbook as our musicians strike up a selection of traditional local tunes.
Christmas jumpers are optional as Alan and the Countrystride team unpack a stocking of seasonal gifts featuring memories of past days, reports of seasonal mischief and merrymaking, records of pies eaten in Buttermere, letters from the Western Front… and the inevitable fire-side ghost story....
Featuring:
Alan Cleaver: Alan is an author living in Whitehaven. With his wife, Lesley, he has published a number of books on ancient footpaths. His latest, The Postal Paths, looks at the routes walked by rural postmen and women. In 2021 he compiled the anthology, A Lake District Christmas. Alan spent a career in regional journalism, latterly as deputy editor of The Whitehaven News. When Alan is not walking the fells or writing about them, he practises bookbinding and calligraphy.
John Crouch: John – a Cumbria resident for over 40 years, former mayor of Allerdale and regular contributor to BBC Radio Cumbria and Cumbria Life – is a well-known chef and cookery teacher, promoting local dishes and ingredients. John will take us on a journey through the history of Cumbrian Christmas food, featuring the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Whitehaven trade in rum and spices, the Wordsworth family and Mrs Beeton’s local connections.
Sue Allan: Cumbrian writer and cultural historian Sue researches, presents and publishes on the county’s folk music, folk traditions and dialect, and in 2020 wrote the book The Cumberland Bard about dialect poet Robert Anderson. A former morris, clog dancer and ceilidh band musician, these days is she is more often found giving presentations on folk music and dialect around the county. Having worked in a variety of roles in local radio, TV and community arts over many years, Sue is probably best known today as a freelance arts writer for Cumbria Life magazine.
Mike Willoughby and Carolyn Francis: Mike and Carolyn are south-Cumbria based folk-roots musicians committed to the rejuvenation of Lakeland traditional dance music and song. For 30 years they have played together in ceilidh band Striding Edge, as well as developing Lakeland music and song with numerous community groups and schools. Mike sings and plays melodeon and bouzouki, while Carolyn sings and plays fiddle and border pipes. In The Christmas Cracker they celebrate all things Cumbrian and Christmas, with a mix of seasonal songs, tunes and spoken word performances steeped in the Cumbrian tradition.
David Felton: Our host for the evening is one half of Countrystride's presenting/production duo and main man at Inspired by Lakeland, publisher of, among other titles, the award-winning Forty Farms, Cumbria: 1,000 Years of Maps and A Lake District Christmas. He is currently working on a new book title: Christmas in Maps & Infographics.
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Tickets available from theatrebythelake.com/event/cumbrian-christmas-cracker/
