Advertise on podcast: The Strettons Podcast

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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.

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Check latest episodes from The Strettons Podcast podcast

Sian's new business

2026/08/17

Hi everyone, it's Sian here. I have a new business in Church Stretton called Sandford Studio. The business runs heritage craft workshops including stained glass, printmaking, basketry, paper crafts, textiles, Christmas wreaths, terrariums, drawing and painting, eco-printing silk scarves, lino-printing, etching and more. In fact we have 25 workshops scheduled so far and already the stained glass workshop is full. It's in the old hotel in the old hotel in the centre of town. Everyone's envious of the big windows, high ceiling and the view of Sandford Avenue and High Street. If you'd like to join a workshop, visit https://www.sandfordstudio.com/. If you've never been to Church Stretton why not combine a short hiking holiday with a heritage craft workshop - exercising your body and mind. Thanks for your support in this new venture and I hope to see you at Sandford Studio soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast final episode

2026/06/30

it's been a long 18 months of producing an episode every Tuesday and we're feeling worn out from the effort. Sian and Pete look back over their time producing The Strettons Podcast, their favourite episodes and the people who will stick it their minds. Thanks for your support and encouragement and thanks for talking to us when we approach you in the street, in the hills and on the farms. You have helped make this podcast an important archive for rural South Shropshire. We've had fun but now we need a rest! It will remain here so you can re-listen to any of the episodes. You can still buy us a beer or a coffee if you see us around town! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Madeley of Eaton Manor

2026/06/23

Tony Madeley reflects on three generations of farming history, from his grandfather’s struggles in the 1930s to the gradual building of a livelihood at Eaton Manor. What emerges is not just a story of agriculture, but of resilience, risk, and the long view, where decisions made with caution and care slowly take root over time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Davies of Blackhurst Farm

2026/06/16

Jim Davies reflects on a lifetime in farming, from rebuilding Blackhurst Farm from dereliction to adapting through decades of change. With humour and honesty, he shares stories of family, hardship, and resilience, alongside memories of horses and travel, offering a grounded perspective on rural life and what matters most after nearly ninety years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Morris of Church Stretton

2026/06/09

Mark shares a life shaped by farming roots, family, and hard work, from milking cows by hand as a child to running a rural taxi business. He reflects on loss, including a fire that destroyed treasured vintage tractors, and the realities of modern rural life. With humour and honesty, he talks about family, local life, and looking ahead to a slower pace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigel Morris of Picklescott

2026/06/02

This week we’ve been back up the hill to Picklescott where we’ve caught up with Nigel Morris, a third generation farmer at Wilrack Farm. Nigel tells us what it was like to grow up in a small village on top of a hill and what passed for entertainment for him and his friends. We talk about the challenge of early starts and the importance of resilience in order to overcome the challenges of low milk prices and what the future of dairy farming might look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long Mynd Zebras

2026/05/26

We have a bit of a laugh with the kids who will eventually become the custodians of this land we love. We’re back at the food bank in the Parish Centre to learn how the situation has changed over the last year. Then it’s the Gardening Club Show in the Silvester Horne Institute where we speak to exhibitors and visitors and we finish off this week, where we will all end up - in a cemetery but it’s a popular green burial remembrance park near Rushbury. Timings Next gen farmers 02:03 Food bank 09:37 Gardening Club show 15:14 Green burials 22:14 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Wright of Church Stretton

2026/05/19

Stuart Wright is known to everyone in town as the owner of Wrights Estate Agency. He talks to Sian about how the family ended up in Church Stretton, the shops and people who were around then and about the time he went on a school trip to the Welsh coast which ended in disaster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maypoles and Muckspreading

2026/05/12

We have been back to see Matt Johnson at Hazler Farm to hear how lambing has gone this year and what’s next in the farming calendar. And there’s some Victorian farming going on at Acton Scott Heritage Farm where visitors dance around a May pole like something you’d see in a jigsaw of times gone by! Church Stretton accordion band provide the music and the shire horses provide the raw material, and and then carry it, for the other big event on the Victorian Farm - muck spreading. Timings Acton Scott Heritage Farm 00:48 The cake walk at Eaton church 07:10 Th end of lambing 14:48 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keith Morris of Church Stretton

2026/05/05

Keith Morris is well-known in the area as the undertaker. He tells us about growing up in Church Stretton, memorable moments with a burning hearse and the brotherhood of undertakers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beef, burning houses and the butty van

2026/04/28

This week we go up onto the Long Mynd to speak to Sioned Morris who's practicing for the stock judging competition at the local Young Farmers Club and then we join the Much Wenlock Fire Service as they carry out a practice drill in the centre of Church Stretton. Finally we are at Bowman Hill Farm in Plaish where the Butty Van is offering not just sausage and bacon baps and cups of tea but important social interaction with other farmers, health checks and chats. Timings YFC Stock Judging 01:00 Fire Service drill 07:32 The Butty Van 14:48 Total Dur 26:20 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ron Cox of Soudley

2026/04/21

Ron Cox looks back on his life in Bucknell and then Ticklerton and Soudley where he still lives today. He tells us about his sporting life, his dancing days, his courting days and what he got up to with his brothers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Courting King Charles: Tips from the Lord Lt of S***p

2026/04/14

Anna Turner, the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire talks about how she tries to get members of the royal family to come to the county. There’s also an offer of help to give your award nominations the best chance of success. There’s also a round up of what’s in the area in the next few weeks to get you out of the house. Timings Anna Turner 00:53 Arts Trail 21:46 What’s On 24:54 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malcolm Probert of Leebotwood

2026/04/07

Malcolm shares memories of growing up in rural Shropshire, attending school in Smethcott and joining the army at sixteen. He and his brother both served in Northern Ireland, where his brother was shot. After returning to Church Stretton, Malcolm turned from farming to growing flowers. He speaks movingly about the lasting grief of losing his son and explains how he became famous for his spectacular hanging baskets at The Pound in Leebotwood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pulling lambs

2026/03/31

We catch up with lambing at Hazler Farm and watch as two lambs arrive in the world. The hills are alive with the sound of walking poles and we chat to a couple of visitors enjoying the area in different ways. A local scout is raising money for the jamboree in Poland and we’ve been to the tourism information exchange and networking event in Church Stretton. Timings lambing 01:14 Vox pop 09:56 Tourism exchange 13:53 Scouts 19:02 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 out of 5

1 reviews

★★★★★

Gerrit H 2025/06/09

Relaxing and fun to listen to

It’s just lovely listening to Sian and Pete about the daily happenings in The Strettons, normal people, everyday conversation, unconventionally simple...

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