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An
exciting new project investigating what it means to be Cumbrian.
Listen
to the programme on-line >>
Ah
for a place in the country!
We
compare rural bliss with life downtown ... but expect some surprises.
Those stereotypes about roses round the door and grey grimy towns
ain’t always true you know!
Roses round the door, a beck at the bottom of the garden, birds
twittering outside. It sounds idyllic – and it would be if
it was true.
Rural
life may sound like bliss but it’s not all rosy-faced kids,
jam-making and communing with nature.
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| Fell
ponies behind Murton Fellgate |
Take
Murton, a small fell-foot village just outside Appleby. It looks
like the perfect rural retreat. But there’s no shop, no post
office, no pub, no school and there isn’t even a bus service
to get you to town.
When
it snows, the roads are a nightmare, and then there are the problems
you would never anticipate. Pam Lawrence has some very friendly
rabbits who seem determined to bury under the house and up into
her bedroom!
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| Pam
and her dog ... not a natural rabbiter! |
Village
life has changed over the years. When Harry Beadle first moved here
in 1936 there was a healthy social life in Murton.
There was a Reading Room for farm workers with a billiard table,
darts and cards and you could go to a dance nearly every night of
the week. It’s a far cry from today.
Even the pub at nearby Hilton closed last year so it’s far
harder for locals to get together over a pint for a bit crack.
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| Harry
Beadle in front of Murton Pike |
There
were six farms in Murton back in the sixties but there are just
two left today.
Many of the barns and outbuildings in the village have been renovated
and bought up by people from as far afield as Essex, Kent and London.
Hear
Harry Beadle talking about his
mum who could poach
pheasants even though she only had one leg!
You often hear of problems between so called off-comers and locals
but in Murton there seems to be a pretty good rapport between the
two.
Most folks accept that village life has to change. Farming has declined
and it’s inevitable that newcomers will move into such a pretty
area.
They’re also well aware that people from out of the county
generally bring good ideas, enthusiasm, and a welcome injection
of cash.
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| Alan
Ormrod at the Fellgate |
One
way that people manage to keep abreast of what’s going on in
the village is through 'The Villager', an extremely comprehensive
newsletter edited by Alan Ormrod.
It
includes potted histories of everyone new moving into Murton which
is perhaps another reason why locals and newcomers get on so well.
There’s no mystery and no secrets!
One woman arrived in the village to find that everyone already knew
all about the PhD she’d just finished. Which sounds about par
for village life: people tend to know what you’re doing before
you’ve even done it!
Don’t move to the country under the illusion that you’ll
bathe in space and privacy. You won’t.
Hear
Alan Ormrod talking about The
Villager
And
as for that peace and quiet? Well the worst thing about living in
Murton for 13 year old Adam Waite is the noise. All those tractors
waking him up at 7 in the morning.
Our hearts bleed! His sisters hate the fact there’s no shop
and no bus.
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| Anna,
Adam and Amy Waite |
For
most folks in Murton, though, the lack of a shop, post office and
pub is just the reality of village life in 2002.
Most people have a car and nip into Appleby every day, anyway.
And the peace, tranquility and strong, friendly community more than
make up for no bus and a short journey to get the shopping.
More
>> Life Downtown
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