...in which we rewind the centuries to the Neolithic Age on a journey in search of Lakeland's earliest settlers and their highly-valued stone axes. In the company of archaeologist Steve Dickinson, we set out from Brotherilkeld – the great medieval farmstead with Norse roots. Leaving the valley walls behind, we enter wild country, once a place of forest groves and wood pasture stalked by deer and lynx, wolves and bears. As we trace the river upstream, we imagine the 6000-year-old endeavours of our earliest ancestors, as they left their coastal settlements in search of a rare band of volcanic cutting stone. Arriving atop Scar Lathing – a maiden ascent for Mark and Dave – we seek out two extraordinary archaeological finds that paint a picture of a lost civilisation: of Cumbria's first extractive industry; of ritual burials; and of a deep communion with high places that was etched into immaculately crafted artefacts.
Steve is on Twitter at @SteveDickinson2
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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