The Cornish Bird

Who doesn't love a story about strange things falling from the sky!? Listen to the true tale of an unusual weather event that occurred near Redruth in 1886.

Carved into a smooth rock face of a hidden cave on Crantock beach is the face of a woman and a strange poem . . . discover the story of the artist behind this work and my struggle to uncover the truth behind the legends.

This bizarre story of love, marriage and burnt effigies takes place in the little village of Bugle, deep in Cornwall's Clay Country. Cornish writer Elizabeth Dale tells one of the strangest stories she has come across in all her years researching Cornwall's history.

In this episode I tell the story of Tryphena Pendarves and look into the stories that her ghost haunts Treslothan Church and the nearby Pendarves woods. I also tell my own spooky experience with this place . . .

The people of Cornwall held on to their belief in witchcraft, charms and fortune telling well into the 20th century. One man, John Roberts, known as Jan Taddy, was thought to be a white witch and was charged and imprisoned for telling fortunes in 1903. But given that many of his clientele appear to have been wealthy women, is there more to this story than meets the eye.

Within just a few months of each other two murders occurred close to Bodmin in the mid-19th century. The circumstances of both were strangely similar but for some reason one became a familiar part of our Cornish heritage, a tale told and retold, while the other was almost entirely forgotten . . . until now.

In this episode we discover the fate of Thomas Prockter Ching, what happened to him and his companions when their ship the Charles Eaton was wrecked near the Torres Straits in 1834.

Discover the story of a Cornish woman from very humble beginnings who was whisked away from Cornwall at a young age, was widowed three times and became enormously wealthy but never forgot her roots . . . 

This interview was recorded in 2016 shortly before Bart passed away. We talk about his amazing life, dowsing, earth energies, making clouds appear and disappear and the Great Train Robbery amongst many other things. This is a longer recording than usual, so make a cuppa, sit back and relax or maybe take us on a walk with you, whatever you do please enjoy!

This episode takes us back to the late 17th century and the village of St Keverne on the Lizard where we go on an unexpected and rather dangerous journey with a Cornishman called John Sandys.

A spooky story for you this time . . .

Discover the stories behind some amazing precious objects from across the globe that have close connections to Cornwall!

In this episode we talk about some real mermaid sightings near Newquay and that time that Sir Humphrey Davy went skinny dipping and caused a bit of a fiasco! 

In the 19th century half a million Cornish left their native home and travelled across the globe in search of work and a new life. This episode follows the story of two of them and what befell them in the deserts of Arizona and the Wild West town of Tombstone.

In this episode I talk about how small objects can still have big stories to tell and how a little item in Falmouth's Maritime Museum took me on a historical adventure across Europe.

In this episode we discover a few of Cornwall's logan rocks, and some of the history, myths and legends associated with these wobbly stones . . . 

In this episode I take a look at the ordinary, and yet extra-ordinary, life of Hannah Jory, also known as Hannah the Sweep, who lived in Truro in the 1840s. 

In this episode I talk about why I write about Cornwall, the influence my father has had on me, my love of prehistory and his passion for massive bits of granite . . .

My first podcast takes a look at the history of Temple Church from the mysterious Knights Templar who founded it, to it's reputation as the Cornish Gretna Green . . .