Claim OwnershipThe Strettons Podcast
Subscribed: 7Played: 515
Subscribe
© Sian Lovegrove, Pete Johnson
Description
This podcast features the lives of the people who live in Church Stretton and 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 coffee and cake in one of the tea rooms in town. Millions of fell-runners, walkers, hikers, campers, dog-walkers flock to the Church Stretton area every year.
Agriculture is an important part of the economy here too and we talk to farmers and others born and raised in the area, not just about farming but what it was like to grow up here. We collect stories of the people who made this area what it is today, the characters who inhabited the village pubs, stories of terrible winters and childhood activities in the fields and streams around the Long Mynd. This is an important archive project for this tiny corner of South Shropshire.
We are the first village podcast in the world and would like to hear from listeners across the world who enjoy hearing voices from The Strettons. 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.
65 Episodes
Reverse
David Cooke talks to us about his life growing up in Ratlinghope and the fun that was had there in his youth. He shared his childhood with an inspiring German prisoner of war who worked on the farm and could turn his hand to anything, even making him a snooker table as a Christmas present. As a young boy, he walked to London with his rucksack to have a look at some football stadiums. 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 Prolley Moor to see the best honesty shed in the county run by Lexi Morris. Then we've got the first in our lambing special - looking at scanning the ewes. And finally we're at All Stretton Village Hall where they cast of the annual panto - The Princess and Pea - are having a final dress rehearsal. And there are. a handful of events to finish up.Timings Honesty Box 00:49Lambing special 11.30All Stretton Panto 18:47What’s On 24:06What three words for the honesty shed///washroom.excuse.unravelIf 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.
1Francis Acton lives at Acton Scott Hall in Acton Scott and manages the 1000 acre estate which includes the Acton Scott Heritage Farm. He speaks to Sian about the responsibility of looking after the estate, and the expectations which come with being the eldest son and the importance of retaining the knowledge and skills of Victorian farmers.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 chatting to some young girls starting on their guiding journey and seeing what happens at their meetings. We've also been to the Parish Centre to see the mess left behind by the holme oak which crashed through the roof during the most recent snow storm. And to satisfy our obsession in this country with home ownership and house prices, we talk to two estate agents who operate in the town and learn about the state of the market at the moment.TimingRainbows and Brownies 02:17Hot Property feature 11:10Parish Centre holme oak 21:49What’s On 23:21To donate an old or new generator please contact Robin Lloydrobjanlloyd@gmail.comIf 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.
Sian wound her way around the lanes of Frog’s Gutter to go and see Peter Philips who lives off-grid in a cottage which was marked as unfit for human habitation when he moved in. Peter talks about the joys of living off-grid in peaceful surroundings near The Bog, and the changes he’s seen in the area since arriving over 50 years ago. 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.
Sian talks to Evelyn Vaughan from Edgton who still farms age 88. Evelyn talks about her childhood, the loss of her mother and husband and a lost opportunity to become a professional singer. Her animals have inflicted numerous injuries on her but she still love them unconditionally and if you want more stories about the winter of 1947, you won’t be disappointed! 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.
Acton Scott is more than a working Victorian museum, it's a living breathing tight-knit village. Merle Wilson describes growing up without basic amenities, the death of her mother and farming with her father. She paints a picture of a supportive vibrant community in which people look after for each other and work to continue the spirit of the community.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.
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.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States