The Bard of Cumberland: Cumbria’s storyteller of ghosts, boggarts, witches and vampires – Lancs Live

Cumbria has some of the most unique landscapes in the UK ranging from dramatic moorland and gentle lowlands to valleys and coastal plains. The scenery has inspired the imagination of writers, poets and artists for decades and the county is steeped in history.

It has the highest number of preserved fields monuments in the UK with many dating back to pre-historic times such as Castle Rigg stone circle in Keswick and Long Meg in little Salkeld. It's home to a number of unique traditions such as ancient wrestling in long johns and the world's biggest lying tradition. There are still many tall tales to tell however with many historic legends that should never be forgotten.

It's not surprising then that Cumbria has its own folklorist. And not just any old storyteller, a bard.

Poet Lady Wilde once warned: Bards possessed strange and mystic powers of wisdom. It was therefore very dangerous to offend a poet. If anyone refused him a request he would take the lobe of the persons ear and grind it between his fingers, and the man would die.

In ancient times these keepers of tradition were custodians of the sacredness of the 'word' and kept the memory of the tribe alive. In 58 BC to 50 BC the Roman invasion of Gaul saw the druid orders suppressed by the Roman government and any written record of them had disappeared by the 2nd century. Druid lore was learned by heart and druid novices were taught orally and learned conjecture out of necessity due to very little of their history being found in written form. Bards were held in very high esteem as the training is intense and lasts many years.

For Cumbria, the land has its own story to tell and is kept alive to this day by the Bard of Cumberland, real name Stephen G. Rae.

After moving to Cumbria in 2007, Stephen began researching the folklore of his adopted county and found a plethora of boggarts, vampires, and strange monsters that lurk in the depths of its lakes and tarns. After working in developing countries on sustainable food production, being ordained as Buddhist monk, realising it's not for him and leaving his early career in botanical science to pursue his passion for art, Stephen's own personal story is as interesting as the tales he tells.

Born in Ayrshire Scotland, his family farmed on the Ayrshire coast and bread cattle. It's this experience that was an early influence on Stephen and he developed a profound connection with nature and the land. He pursued an interest in botany and studied Botany, Ecology and Botanical Science at Glasgow University in 1992. He became an Agricultural and Horticultural consultant and travelled to Pakistan and Zambia in 2000 creating sustainable farming practices and also provided AIDS awareness to schoolchildren and adults. The experience had a life changing impact on him in many ways.

Stephen said: "I absolutely loved Pakistan however the county didn't love me! I got dysentery twice with one time being quite acute and whilst being flown to hospital I did think I was going to die! During my time in Zambia teaching AIDs awareness there were people that were ill and died by the time I left.

"Seeing that kind of thing makes you realise that life is short and precious and you need to do what you want to do. Most people work until they're 60 to 70 to get a pension and sometimes they may not even see that and it really made me realise you've got to live for now. "

When Stephen returned back to the UK he decided to leave his career in botany and pursue his passion for art. He went on to study art at the Cumbria Institute of Arts in 2003, moved to Cumbria in 2007 and in 2016 was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. He's now a multi-disciplinary artist in contemporary fine art, performance art and film making not mention his storytelling project as 'the Bard of Cumberland'. This is more than just a project however and as it ties in to his practices as a druid and interestingly, not as an ordained Buddhist monk. After studying Fine Arts he studied Buddhist philosophy for a number of years only to discover it wasn't for him.

Stephen said: "I found it quite narcissistic. With all religions the onus is on the self and with Druidry you're much more connected and have respect for nature. For example a Buddhist would have no problem cutting down a tree that was in front of a temple. There's a feeling that the world is a bad place and you need to separate yourself from it. Buddhism and mindfulness teachings are also very different. Druidry is a practice that speaks to three of our greatest yearnings: to be fully creative in our lives, to commune deeply with the world of nature and to gain access to a source of profound wisdom. That appealed to me much more."

Stephen now resides in Ulverston, on the edge of the Lake District National Park, researching Cumbria's specific folklore amongst many other things. His storytelling project arose whilst studying as a Bard within the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. So far he's discovered fairies, good and evil, such as Keswicks Fairy Postman; shape-shifting boggarts that inhabit households, bogs and marshes, such as under a bridge in Leece and Vampires in Seaton and Croglin Grange. There many other tales of witches, wizards, dragons and mythical creatures such as Bownessie; an elusive creature that lives at the bottom of Lake Windermere.

Stephen said: "There's many stories of divers who have had hair-raising encounters diving at night with creatures such as the Conistion pike and the Wurm of Wastwater - which is actually a dragon with no arms and legs! I just love this kind of stuff. I'm a total geek and absolute bookworm and I have a friends with a lot of books!

"I have one friend who is a historian and his house is just full of old books. In the last few years I've also spoke to a number of Cumbrian authors and I've made some contacts on the film scene. I have a lot friends who have elderly relatives who pass tales and folklore on by word of mouth. I always try to find good references for my stories. Some of it dates back to Victorian times so not all folklore is ancient or that old. Some it could be deemed as 'urban myth'."

As a Hedge Druid (someone who rides the Hedge between this world and the next), Stephen now tells these tales through modern day media such as on his website, on Twitter and through film making and podcasts. He has storytelling projects with local radio stations Cando FM (Furness area) and Lake District Radio with both a Folklore and Countryside podcast. He also runs Bardsea-Green Films and is working on his One minute films series based on Cumbrian folklore. He also creates performance art, paintings an poetry. He currently has two Twitter accounts that you can follow; his first his Cumbrian folklore account @BardCumberland and the second is his artist and film account under @StephenGeoRae.

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The Bard of Cumberland: Cumbria's storyteller of ghosts, boggarts, witches and vampires - Lancs Live

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero