Folkways: The Folklore of Britain & Ireland

‘Jesters, clowns, shamans and poets belong to this border realm...' An extract of the introduction to Boundaries and Thresholds, by Hilda Davidson.

In 1929 an occultist was drawn to the Scottish Isle of Iona, her eerie story contributing to the island's already substantial mythos.

Welcome to the broadcast! Some Lide winds blow the cobwebs away, before we head up into the Curlew Mountains to view some strange lights...

Welcome to the broadcast! Let's wander around some places associated with St Brigid, including a very famous street in central London...

Welcome to the broadcast! Step back with me into Ordinary Time as we celebrate Twelfth Night... Welsh style! Plus let's pay a visit to Pentre Ifan, said to be the entrance to Annwn...

I sit down for the ultimate winter chat with Thomas Sheridan! We discuss everything from Alternative Folklore, Winter liminality, James Joyce, Irish Christmas traditions, The Snowman... to the symbolic murdering of the year! Not under any circumstances to be missed!

Please enjoy the original stunning radio play 'Solstice' by Alison Mcleay, first broadcast Sat 21st Dec 1985, 10.30pm on BBC Radio 4. Original blurb: 'It is now the Winter Solstice, the night when the sun dies and is reborn: a night of magic, which has more to do with our traditional Christmas celebrations than people might like to admit. Just for tonight, the Shaman lives...' With the voices of Michael Elder, Diana Olsson and Paul Young. Produced by Patrick Rayner for BBC Scotland. This can additionally be found at the end of A Sleigh Ride Through Christmas from Folkways Podcast https://spoti.fi/3pfx2PB Merry Solstice!

Welcome to the broadcast! Thinking about Britain's Germanic heritage, this Christmas we raise a glass to the ancient northern spirits: the mothers at Modraniht, and the Norse dísir and their Dísablót.

Due to the lateness of this episode (extreme tech issues), please enjoy a juicy extra-long section on Halloween

It's the month of Lughnasadh or Lammas, so let's head out into the fields!

Get out your sunscreen and Mr Whippy's as we consider what July has in store for us in the heavens and hedgerows, including talk of St Swithin's Day and Sirius, plus Thomas Hardy and some early Irish verse.

⚡️ Season 4 returns April 2024! In the meantime, here's a rare self-indulgent ramble about life at Folkways HQ...

Let's take a look at the reflection of Mars in the Celtic languages, plus St David, St Piran and St Patrick, and the strange fairy lore of Milford Haven...

Welcome to the new format! The almanac will now be uploaded as an individual video here (streaming platforms), with the main show uploaded separately. As is done on Youtube. This is in acknowledgement of time sensitivity for episodes - as many people listen in the archive, often years later, and the almanac at the end of an episode may not be relevant!

Let's head to Loch Sween, Argyll, Scotland, as we linger by a patch of rocks, rumoured to be an entrance to the Otherworld...

Write to me!

This Yule, come in from the cold, warm your feet by the fire, grab a mulled wine if you like, as it's time to consider The Ancestors.

What happened in Kersey, Suffolk, October of 1957? Find out in this atmospheric episode for Samhain.

This month we take a look at Harvest Home festival (ingathering), plus muse over the foraging, moon, and astronomy for the month of September. Not to mention... we visit the otherworldly Dinas Rock, said to be the last haunt of the fairies in Wales...

In this episode we continue our look at the folk traditions surrounding the early harvest feast. This time we look at the fairs of Tailtiu or Carmen; plus we play 'an hour in the hay', and mull over the significance of that very first loaf.

A look at the folk traditions surrounding the early August feast that opens the harvest, also known at Lugh's Funeral Games. Stay tuned for part 2, coming this week.

Travel with us to Wivenhoe, north Essex, as we muse over the role of folklore today, fairy trees, plus bizarre lockdown sightings with folklore researcher Bethan Briggs-Miller. BBM's work:

Enjoy this adventure to folklorist Bethan Briggs-Miller's childhood home in Tondu, Wales. Bethan is a great raconteur and regales us with tales of the spectres that may still linger at the family fireplace... A frank, vivid, and personal conversation. BBM's work:

Welcome to Season 3! Today we're heading into the swirling mists of time for four strange tales from these isles...

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Welcome to the next episode in our series The Otherworld. Part 4: Gifts from the Gods.

Welcome to the second episode in our series The Otherworld. Part 3: The Adventures of Cherry of Zennor.

Welcome to the second episode in our series The Otherworld. Part 2: Places Between Places.

Welcome to the first episode in our series The Otherworld. Part 1: Dead Can Dance

Welcome to the first episode in our unique series Folklore (Why Bother?) Part 1: The Land Men who eat Ringforts https://bit.ly/3KysPxT

The show returns with the second instalment of atmospheric folk tale The Bells of Minsmere. Also included is April's mini-almanac, where we wash white lions in the tower of London, buy some striped paint, as well as beg for eggs at our neighbours' doors.

A warm welcome to the first episode of Season 2, where we're heading deep into the marshes for the Bells of Minsmere. Also included is March's mini-almanac, where we muse the Spring Equinox, do some 'shriving' and learn the true origin of Mothering Sunday. Soundtrack to The Bells of Minsmere by Big Big Sky https://spoti.fi/3hwjFG4

Welcome February 2022! This month we're thinking about Imbolc and St Brigid's Day, Anglo Saxon Aecerbots and much more, plus your usual sun and moon times.

Waes hael! Wishing you a happy new year and a prosperous 2022. Please enjoy January 2022's Almanac, including a reading from The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill.

Solstice greetings! The longest night of the year is upon us. To help pass the dark hours, why not listen to this conversation between Folkways and Eerie Essex, in which we contemplate the darker side of this time of year. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

Hello! The show returns on the heels of the Spring equinox to give you an update about Season 2 and to inform you of an exciting project. Finally we close with some recent podcasts recommendations on folklore and its peripheries. FOR ALL FOLKLORE SUBMISSIONS: folkwayschannel@gmail.com and attach your audio to email (feel free to use file transfer sites too for larger recordings) or alternatively type as text. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

It's Christmas Eve! Wrap up warm, pour yourself a mulled cider and hop on board as tonight we take a sleigh ride through Christmas. We're visiting Newgrange for the Winter Solstice, dropping by on a Roman Saturnalia, as well as encountering the Holly King and that jolly Saint Nick. If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw If you have any thoughts on today's show, please get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com | Connect with Folkways on Instagram or Twitter @folkwayschannel | LINKS + SOURCES | Gaw, Matt 'Under The Stars: A Journey into Light' London: Elliott & Thompson Ltd; 2020 https://bit.ly/3q8P6ZN Pappas, Stephanie, 'Pagan Roots? 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas': Live Science https://bit.ly/370HQr9 Main, Douglas 'Magic Mushrooms May Explain Santa & His 'Flying' Reindeer Live Science https://bit.ly/2OqYBFF May, Katherine 'Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times' London, Rider, 2020 https://bit.ly/3cUTg3D Macleay, Alison 'Solstice' BBC Radio 4 https://bit.ly/3jAqOoY | Solstice video on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h06m6Ttr5Wk (with thanks to HermitPiper Tim for his help and correspondence) Written and produced by Ashleagh Claire Hurren | Music by Josh Sandifer | Excluding Many Points of Light by Judson Lee | Christmas piano carols by Roberto Diana

The final instalment in our popular mini-series Still Waters Run Deep. Today we hike through both Snowdonia and the Otherworld as we discover further tales of the Gwragedd Annwn, or, the ladies of the lakes. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

We're returning to our exploration of the the Ladies of the Lakes as we rejoin Rhiwallon in the Brecon Beacons, as the dramatisation of the lady of Llyn y Fan Fach concludes. The second episode in a three-part mini-series. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

Today we're getting out our hiking boots and heading into the mountains to dive into the world of the Gwragedd Annwn: the water women of the Welsh lakes. We start with the most famous lake lady of all - the keeper of Excalibur in the legends of King Arthur - before finding ourselves in the Brecon Beacons for the story of Rhiwallon and the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach. The first of a three-part mini-series. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/3dxssVw

We're talking to Rob Jones of Black Dog Zine - a striking new publication looking at East Anglian landscape and lore. We talk cities that fell in the sea, black dogs, white dogs and green children. Plus our relationship with the landscape around us, experimental music scenes, “deep touristing” and the lingering touch of MR James. Not to be missed! ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee

Welcome to our second episode on Midsummer! We're taking a deep-dive into the customs surrounding this time of year - from fires on the hill tops of Ireland, dreaming of your future lover, to the occult past of St John's Wort. ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee

Welcome to our maiden voyage! This is the first of 2 episodes on the folklore of Midsummer - that period celebrated between 19 - 25 June, with Midsummer's Day traditionally falling on the 24. We'll be providing context for sun worship in the modern age, pausing for a moment to smell the damn roses, and issuing a warning about stone circles that come alive and dance on Old Midsommers Eve... ☕️ If you enjoyed, feel free to buy me a coffee