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Secret Cumbria

Explore fascinating stories from Cumbria.

Radio Cumbria,25 episodes

Episodes

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The secrets of Mr Bells mince pies
Family owned bakery, Bells of Lazonby near Penrith, is the mince pie capital of England.
21 Dec 2025,26 mins
Secret Wainwright
In search of the man behind the best selling pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells.
26 Oct 2025,27 mins
The secrets of the Ulverston Talisman
Alex Sharphouse had a dream to build from a scratch a Fowler B6 Big Lion Road Locomotive.
05 Oct 2025,26 mins
The secrets of Brampton's Rocket
After the Rainhill Trials this iconic steam engine rusted away on a colliery line.
07 Sep 2025,24 mins
The Secrets of the King of Piel Island
Uncovering the tradition of crowning the landlord of the Ship Inn the 2nd King of England
03 Aug 2025,19 mins
Keswick and the secret of the Three Bears
Robert Southey wrote the original version of the world's most famous fairy tale.
27 Jul 2025,15 mins
The secrets of the Cumbrian who fell to earth
Archie Workman is one of the last lengthsmen maintaining Colton Parish Council's roads.
22 Jun 2025,13 mins
Secrets of the Carlisle railway traction maintenance depot
Meet the guys who show Andrew Carter how they feed, water and repair the 130 ton beasts.
01 Jun 2025,27 mins
The secrets of the hole that Mark dug in Flimby
West Cumbrian businessman, Mark Telford, built a replica nuclear fuel storage pond.
04 May 2025,10 mins
The secrets of Kendal's time guns
Forget the speaking clock or pips, in the past you set your watch with a cannon going off!
13 Apr 2025,6 mins
Secrets of Cockermouth Castle
From Bing Crosby, ghosts, and floods to a private archive of national importance.
06 Apr 2025,19 mins
The Secret Life of the Carlisle Custard Cream
And other stories from the oldest biscuit factory in the world.
20 Mar 2025,25 mins
The secrets of the Keswick museum wars
When rival 18th Century Lakeland museums jockey to be the top dog, almost anything goes!
13 Feb 2025,27 mins
The Secrets of Ullswater’s Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel
For 50 years Francis Coulson and Brian Sack ran this remarkable award winning hotel.
17 Jan 2025,27 mins
The secrets of Mr Pocklington's Keswick island
250 years ago an eccentric bought Vicar's Island on Derwentwater and caused a scandal.
01 Dec 2024,13 mins
Uncovering the secrets of Roman Carlisle
The Carlisle Cricket Club dig has revealed the largest Roman building on Hadrian's Wall.
17 Nov 2024,30 mins
More secret Carlisle Citadel station tunnels
Andrew Carter explores more subterranean features and the abandoned station master's flat
01 Nov 2024,20 mins
Secrets of the deepest gypsum mine in the world
Birkshead mine near Appleby-in-Westmorland is a 1000 ft deep under rolling farmland.
14 Oct 2024,30 mins
Secrets of the Borrowdale caveman
Millican Dalton the 'Professor of Adventure' lived in a cave on Castle Crag for 30 years.
04 Sep 2024,12 mins
The secret underground world of Carlisle station
Underneath the platforms Andrew Carter discovers deserted kitchens, and hidden tunnels.
22 Aug 2024,12 mins
The secret Brampton nuclear bunker
Constructed during the Cold War, it was a refuge for 3 Royal Observer Corp volunteers.
09 Aug 2024,24 mins
The secret of the lost Cumbrian clapcake
Food historian Ivan Day cooks a food staple, that's disappeared into the mists of time.
02 Aug 2024,12 mins
Carlisle Citadel - the secret passages
Underneath the court building the Tudor gun bastion has been hidden for 200 years.
26 Jul 2024,10 mins
Carlisle Gaol - Secrets of the last public execution
The condemned cell is in Carlisle Citadel, which dominates the city's southern entrance.
19 Jul 2024,12 mins
Carlisle Cathedral's secret painted Tudor ceiling
The Prior's Tower in the Close is home to one of the finest ceilings in the north.
12 Jul 2024,10 mins