Claim OwnershipThe Strettons Podcast
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© Sian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson
Description
This podcast features the lives of the people who live in Church Stretton, Little Stretton, All Stretton and surrounding villages in the Shropshire Hills.
It's a tourist area and we welcome visitors from all over the world to enjoy the Shropshire Hills National Landscape. You'll find our guests not only on top of the Long Mynd, but nursing a craft beer in a snug country pub or having reasonably priced coffee and cake in one of the handful of tea rooms in town. Millions of fell-runners, walkers, hikers, campers, dog-walkers flock to the Church Stretton area every year.
We are the first village podcast and the first hyper-local community podcast in the world. We are fun, entertaining and informative without ranting, rudeness or intolerance. We're non-political, non-religious and self-funded. We prioritise the quirky, unusual, interesting, funny and curious. We only cover important things if they are also interesting.
We are village people and we want to give a voice to the villages of the Shropshire Hills.
We're independent of any organisation and publish episodes every Tuesday.
We have a website http://thestrettonspod.com/.
Producers
Sian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
58 Episodes
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Happy new year from Sian and Pete. This week we’ve been stroking hedgehogs at a rescue centre in Edgton and been to see the monument to the last sin eater in the churchyard at Ratlinghope. We look back and forward to 2026 and see what events are coming up in the next two weeks.Hedgehog RescueMartin And Tanis Jordan, email tmjordan559@gmail.comMidland Gliding Club cafe franchisee enquiriesTim Murphy email secretary@midlandgliding.clubTimingsLast Sin Eater 02:17Hedgehog Rescue 11:10What’s On 23:21If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Richard Hill from Batchott talks about the family he worked for all his life, his love of tractors and lost opportunities. Poignant memories of family members he has lost coupled with stories of teenage trouble-making paint a vivid picture of what life was like growing up in Batchcott on the Long Mynd.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Part 2 of Pete's selection of his favourite bits from 2025.TimingsTom Norris 2:28Bug hotel. 8:07Brian Pope 13:56Lucinda the potter 21:15John Sankey 27:35Terry Davies. 35:58If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jim grew up in an old mill in Walkmills near Leebotwood, and worked hard helping his father on the farm. Today his success in business can be put down to his parents instilling in him a strong work ethic, and his general happiness is partly attributed to keeping donkeys. He talks about the mills which operated along the valley, and about his ‘water-powered’ childhood. And if anyone ever wondered what the courtroom in the old Shire Hall in Shrewsbury used to look like, they can see a lot of it in the drawing room of Jim’s house. If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Pete's selection of his favourite bits from 2025.TimingsSteve Paige 2:10Losing my religion 6:53Anne Morris 10:10Snailbeach Mine. 15:08Nick Churton. 21:34Ragleth Fidget menu 26:24If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ruth Lawrence was brought up on Womerton Farm, educated in Cardington and then sent to a boarding school near Shrewsbury. Her love of farming brought her and her husband Tony back from New Zealand to take on the family farm on the Long Mynd, where she still lives today. She tells us about the characters who lived in the area when she was young, the fun she had with her friends, exploring the hills on their ponies and why BBC television wanted to follow her and Tony as they built their new house.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’ve been around all the shops asking what shoppers can buy there for Christmas. We’ve taken the chutney we made from our foraged blackberries and paired it with different cheeses at Saxtons. We also found a couple of people waiting for the bus on Beaumont Road, both heading to Ludlow but for different reasons and we learn all about cookies - the computer type - what are they, are they harmful and do we really need them.Contact Graham Giugh if you have time to help out with Santa's Sleigh in Craven Arms or Church Strettonemail him: caradoc131@gmail.comTimings Chutney and cheese 0:45Where to shop in town this Christmas (1) 1:06The jug collector 13:20The geologist 15:06Tech corner, cookies 16:50Where to shop in town this Christmas (2) 22:39Soundscape, children crafting 29:14If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Robert Brain grew up in and around Minton where he still lives today. He tells us about riding ponies on the Long Mynd as a young boy, about hurtling down the hill on a piece of tin sheeting,and what it was like living next door to Hollywood actor, Pete Posthlethwaite. He tells us how Pete gave him his first experience of air travel when he took him away on a film shoot to Ireland, and lets us into the secret of what he wore in bed! If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The kids are getting excited about Halloween and the veterans are contemplating past action and those who are no longer here. In Picklescott village there’s a special nature reserve which demonstrates a sustainable way of living and the Bucks Head in Church Stretton is under new management. We finish with fireworks night at Acton Scott village where they burn an effigy of a traitorous catholic on a bonfire.Timings Karuna 00:51Halloween kids 07:15Remembrance Day 14:43The Bucks Head 21:52Acton Scott bonfire night 27:58If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dorothy used to play on the A49 as a child and keep an eye out for any cars. She talks about what life was like growing up in Church Stretton and the fields where she would play with her friends. Listen to the sort of small pleasures she enjoyed and the changes she has seen in the town since the 1930’s.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s time to order your Christmas turkey and my word they’re looking beautiful and plump on Harton Farm. We speak to some people organising a secret adventure run and we learn about the wildlife that’s been in our gardens this summer from the local wildlife group. The women on the Ring and Ride bus keep us amused on their weekly shopping trip and then the Church Stretton Ukulele band play us out. Timings Christmas turkeys 1:23Wildlife Group 7:17Ring Ride bus 11:50Expendable pensioners 19:00Secret adventure 20:28Ukulele band 24:00If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We had a chat with Brian Pope who lives with his brother David, at Whittingslow Farm. Apart from a Young Farmers trip to Smithfield in London and a day trip to the Welsh coast when he was at school, Brian has stayed on his farm his entire life. He talks about the characters of his youth, Wistanstow Village Hall and contentment with his relatively simple life in Marshbrook.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There’s a new art gallery in The Square where you can buy and sell investment art, the mobile library comes to service the good people of All Stretton and we talk to the Police Community Support Officer about his role. We chat to some visitors from South Wales and Pete’s put a long list of things to do in the area in the next few months. We finish with turkeys singing to us.Timings Roger Bebb 1:45PCSO 10:40Flicks in the Sticks 15:50435 bus stop chats 24:10All Stretton library bus 20:05What’s On 27:18Turkey soundscape 31:00 If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Maureen Pountney grew up in Gogbatch near All Stretton and tells us about life on a small farm with her family. At the age of 6 Maureen would walk to school in Smethcott with her cousin and friends, a journey which took about an hour through fields and along lanes. Simple pleasures were playing hide and seek in the tall bracken and caring for caid lambs in the kitchen. She left Gogbatch and married a professional footballer and they later opened a sports shop on Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A packed events calendar in the run up to Christmas. There’s flicks in the sticks, pop-up pubs, carols in the square, the remembrance parade, coffee stops, fairs, pantos and fun for all. A lot of voluntary effort goes into putting on interesting events for our rural communities so why not go along to support them. If you’re new to the area, this is a great opportunity for you to meet your neighbours.TimingsRushbury 1:00Cardington 6:23All Stretton 11:52Church Stretton Town Council 16:00If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Will Priestley is well-known in the town for being the son of the town’s solicitor and then the town’s solicitor. He tells us about the characters who helped on the family farm and their unusual courting practices. Post-war life for young boys in Cardington and Marshbrook was full of motorbike racing and fishing.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We drive over to Gatten at the foot of Stiperstones Nature Reserve to get a tour of The Hollies farm from Rhian and then a cooking session where we discover and create edgy recipes using the hedgerow bounty we picked last week. Connr Furnival talks about his new role as Church Stretton town clerk and then we drive over to Munslow village where we join conservation volunteers from Caring for God’s Acre preserving wildlife in the churchyard.Timings The Hollies farm visit 1:09Pick it, cook it, eat it7:10Caring for God’s Acre15:00Connor the town clerk 21:10Soundscape28:11Caring for God’s Acre https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We’re off to the other side of the Long Mynd, to a mystical area of the Shropshire Hills - Stiperstones. Here we find John Sproson, who owns the Stiperstones Inn and the shop attached to it. John tells us about village life, how the pub trade has changed and the lack of rich single women in Shropshire.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Goodbye to the summer with Teas to Please at Little Stretton, All Stretton village show and we go foraging in the hedgerows and fields of the Shropshire Hills in search of free food. We visit a small specialist company doing well in Leebotwood and we head to The Bog to join a group of people studying moths and bats in one of the last warm evenings of 2025. Timings Bats and moths 1:00Foraging 7:57McMillan Holder 15:32All Stretton village show 22:42Soundscape - Teas to Please, Little Stretton 26:54Moth Group and Bat Group https://www.facebook.com/goingwildinbcIf you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We chat to Anne Morris who brought up her young family in a derelict farm in Cardington and tells us about the struggles she and John had to grow the business. Working a job for the Milk Marketing Board, Anne also helped on the farm and brought up four children. We learn about all the people who sought shelter in her house when they had nobody to turn to.If you know someone we should speak to for the podcast, please get in touch with us.Find us onlinehttps://thestrettonspod.com/email us: thestrettonspod@gmail.com Support the podcast https://buymeacoffee.com/thestrettonspodProducersSian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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