Countrystride #44: CHRISTMAS PAST - A Wetheral wander

...in which we take a seasonal stroll from Wetheral along the banks of a swollen River Eden with historian and writer Dr Sue Allen. As we walk, through winter woods to St Constantine's Cells in the December gloaming, we talk about Cumbrian Christmases past, about mischief and misrule; about why Cumbria's 'hackin' pre-empted Scotland's haggis; about why Christmas wasn't what it used to be – even in the 18th century; and about John Lawson – the man who captured so many Wetheral memories in the late 1800s – before Sue regales us with dialect song and a seasonal 'merryneet' tune. Happy Christmas to all.

• You can find Sue on Twitter at twitter.com/SueCumbria

• Sue's book, The Cumberland Bard: Robert Anderson of Carlisle 1770-1833, is available at https://www.bookscumbria.com/cgi-bin/trolleyed_public.cgi?action=showprod_6681

• The closing 'merrymeet' tune, 'Keswick Bonnie Lasses', is played by Lakeland fiddler Carolyn Francis.

Sue on the banks of the Eden.

Dr Sue Allen.

St Constantine's Cells above the Eden.

Access to the Cells.

Benedictine monk on one of Pip Hall's Eden Valley waymarkers.

Holy Trinity Church, Wetheral.

Route for our short wander.