Countrystride #43: Shap & The Postman's Path

...in which we journey to Shap, the historic transport hub, to take a wintry walk among the Far Eastern Fells in the footsteps of 1950s postman Jimmy Eland. In the company of born-and-bred Shapite Jean Scott-Smith and author Alan Cleaver, we visit the secluded remains of Shap Abbey, discover the far-from-the-madding crowd loveliness of Swindale, learn about the hard-graft lives of rural postmen, and enjoy Jean's memories of pastoral Wet Sleddale before the dam rose .

• You can read more of Jean's research and memories at https://shaplocalhistorysociety.wordpress.com/contact-us/
• You can buy Alan's books, Get Lost! and The Corpse Roads of Cumbria at Books Cumbria.
• Alan is on Twitter @thelonningsguy