...in which we take a Dales Way wander downstream from Cowan Head to Burneside to explore the long history of paper-making on the River Kent. In the company of paper manufacturer and fell-runner Mark Cropper, Chair of the six-generation family business James Cropper plc, we rewind the centuries to when 50 or more mills spanned the Kent, processing everything from wool to snuff. Entering the packhorse age, we learn about the growth of the provincial book trade and the growing demand for a new kind of 'clean' paper. Leaving the valley floor, we visit the cow byre-housed Paper Foundation to immerse ourselves in the centuries-old craft of paper making. Arriving at the heart of the family business in Burneside, we explore the cutting-edge mills that today make the paper not only for Armistice Day poppies and packaging for many of the world’s leading luxury brands, but also next-generation 'papers' destined for aircraft, supercars and wind turbines. Finally, looking across the pastures above Kendal, we reflect on Mark's ambition to rethink the landscapes of east Lakeland, and the emerging Penrith–Kendal wildlife corridor that will feature a heritage 'patchwork' of wood pasture, wildflower meadows and orchards, alongside traditional farming and food crops.
The Paper Foundation can be found at paper.foundation/category/shop/
James Cropper is at www.jamescropper.com
Countrystride #44: Christmas past - A Wetheral wander
Countrystride #43: Shap & The Postman's Path
Countrystride #42: Cumbria on film
Countrystride #41: Harriet Martineau - The roving Laker
Countrystride #40: Bill Lloyd - Into the woods
Countrystride #39: Thirlmere - and the flooding of a valley
Countrystride #38: James Rebanks - English Pastoral
Countrystride #37: Hardwicke Rawnsley - Lakeland champion
Countrystride #36: A Walney Wander
Countrystride #35: The children's literature of Lakeland
Countrystride #34: Caring for the commons- A view from Newlands
Countrystride #33: A brief history of Cumbria
Countrystride #32: Lady Anne Clifford - First lady of Westmorland
Countrystride #31: Cumbrian folk music and the Back o'Skiddaw
Countrystride #30: Buttermere - Tales from the secret valley
Countrystride #29: Dorothy Wordsworth & women walking pioneers
Countrystride #28: Future farming – Six generations working the land
Countrystride #27: Bill Birkett - Lakeland legend in Langdale
Countrystride #26: Piers Gill - A winter's ascent with Mountain Rescue
Countrystride #25: Smugglers, bombs and Plague Dogs - A walk on Wetherlam
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