
Folkways: The Folklore of Britain and Ireland
A stroll through the rich and fascinating folklore of Britain and Ireland. From music, to psychogeography, to what to do if you notice the devil following you to church. It's a long, strange trip and there are no guarantees you'll be home in time for dinner.
Each episode also includes a mini-almanac for the month ahead.
If you enjoy this show, feel free to buy me a coffee https://bit.ly/2SWoNqH
Music by @big.big.sky | Additional artists referenced in each episode | Logo design James Fisher
Latest episodes

Sep 8, 2024 • 12min
🌝 SELKIE SUPERMOONS: September 2024 Almanac
📻 Welcome to the broadcast! This month we talk the Autumnal Equinox, Scottish Selkies and Harvest Supermoons 🌾🌕
📍 PLACE OF THE MONTH:
St Trothans or Olrig Kirk, Castletown, Caithness
https://bit.ly/3MzlaCZ
Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast

Aug 8, 2024 • 9min
🌾 LABOURING MAN: August 2024 Almanac
It's the month of Lughnasadh or Lammas, so let's head out into the fields! 🌾 Also talk of August's supermoon and some exquisite verse from Hugo Williams
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast
| LINKS + SOURCES |
P.H. 'Old English Customs: Extant at the Present Time'. (London: Methuen, 1896) https://bit.ly/3vMRKKf
Dunlop and Tirion 'Night Sky Almanac: A Stargazer's guider to 2022'. (Glasgow: Collins, 2021) https://amzn.to/3FTHfqL
Hutton, Ronald 'The Stations of The Sun'. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) https://bit.ly/3hG1Wft
Lagram, Anne Marie 'Country Wisdom and Folklore Almanac'. (Talking Trees Books, 2020) https://www.talkingtreesbooks.co.uk
Leendertz, Lia 'The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2023'. (London: Gaia/Octopus Publishing Group, 2021) https://www.lialeendertz.com/
Roud, Steve 'The English Year'. (London: Penguin Books, 2008) https://bit.ly/3txP9RQ
Wright, Jonathan 'The Forager's Calendar'. (London: Profile Books Ltd, 2019) https://www.foragerscalendar.net

Jul 2, 2024 • 10min
🐕 DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: July 2024 Almanac
Get out your sunscreen and Mr Whippy's as we consider what July has in store for us in the heavens and hedgerows, including talk of St Swithin's Day and Sirius, plus Thomas Hardy and some early Irish verse.
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast
| LINKS + SOURCES |
P.H. 'Old English Customs: Extant at the Present Time'. (London: Methuen, 1896) https://bit.ly/3vMRKKf
Dunlop and Tirion 'Night Sky Almanac: A Stargazer's guider to 2022'. (Glasgow: Collins, 2021) https://amzn.to/3FTHfqL
Hutton, Ronald 'The Stations of The Sun'. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) https://bit.ly/3hG1Wft
Lagram, Anne Marie 'Country Wisdom and Folklore Almanac'. (Talking Trees Books, 2020) https://www.talkingtreesbooks.co.uk
Leendertz, Lia 'The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2023'. (London: Gaia/Octopus Publishing Group, 2021) https://www.lialeendertz.com/
Roud, Steve 'The English Year'. (London: Penguin Books, 2008) https://bit.ly/3txP9RQ
Wright, Jonathan 'The Forager's Calendar'. (London: Profile Books Ltd, 2019) https://www.foragerscalendar.net

Jun 17, 2024 • 39min
(S4E1) 🌲 INTO THE TREES: The Strange Case of Mawnan, Cornwall (Part 1)
🎈 Welcome to Season 4! Today we're plunging into one of the strangest stories in contemporary British folklore... Monsters in the woods at Mawnan, Cornwall.
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast
#owlman #cryptid

Mar 8, 2024 • 14min
🌼 MARS & MILFORD HAVEN: March 2024 Almanac
Let's take a look at the reflection of Mars in the Celtic languages, plus St David, St Piran and St Patrick, and the strange fairy lore of Milford Haven...
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast

Feb 5, 2024 • 13min
🕯 BRIGID & BOSCASTLE: February 2024 Almanac
Welcome to the new format! The almanac will now be uploaded as an individual video here (streaming platforms), with the main show uploaded separately. As is done on Youtube.
This is in acknowledgement of time sensitivity for episodes - as many people listen in the archive, often years later, and the almanac at the end of an episode may not be relevant!
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram @folkwayspodcast

Jan 14, 2024 • 45min
(S3E8) 🎶 PORTALS: The Fairy Music of Loch Sween
Let's head to Loch Sween, Argyll, Scotland, as we linger by a patch of rocks, rumoured to be an entrance to the Otherworld...
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram or Twitter @folkwayspodcast
THE KIST: The Magazine of the Natural History & Antiquarian Society of Mid-Argyll
http://kist.scot/The%20Kist%2021%20(1981).pdf
http://kist.scot/The%20Kist%2085%20(2013).pdf

Dec 22, 2023 • 7min
(BONUS) 💌 Postal Address + FOF Winter Competition Winners 2023
Write to me!
Plus the Friends of Folkways Winter Solstice Competition Winners. 💌 Merry Christmas!
🎄 Some more festive offerings... 🎄
❄️ THE ANCESTORS (are watching) https://bit.ly/3RTt1xx
❄️ A SLEIGH RIDE THROUGH CHRISTMAS https://bit.ly/3GUn7H6
❄️ SOLSTICE: The Real Story of Yule https://bit.ly/47cjfft
❄️ GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS https://bit.ly/3vbdq4C

Dec 14, 2023 • 36min
(S3E7) 🔗 THE ANCESTORS (Are Watching) | Christmas | Yule
This Yule, come in from the cold, warm your feet by the fire, grab a mulled wine if you like, as it’s time to consider The Ancestors. 🔥
Plus we talk Anglo Saxon Christmas, the Winter Solstice, JRR Tolkien, and more in December's Almanac. 📅
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram or Twitter @folkwayspodcast

Oct 12, 2023 • 50min
(S3E6) 🌀 BACK, AGAIN: The Kersey Slip (Halloween special)
What happened in Kersey, Suffolk, October of 1957? Find out in this atmospheric episode for Samhain. 🍂 Plus, the latest almanac!
🤝 Become a valued Friend of Folkways: https://bit.ly/34awiDB
🎧 Soundtrack by @big.big.sky: https://spoti.fi/47jvok6
📺 Folkways Youtube: https://bit.ly/3rUs9PF
☕️ Buy me a coffee: https://bit.ly/3dxssVw
💌 Get in contact folkwayschannel@gmail.com
👋 Connect with Folkways on Instagram or Twitter @folkwayspodcast