S2 Ep20: In Praise of the Shipping Forecast on the Occasion of its 97th Birthday
The shipping forecast turned 97 on January 1st 2021. In this final episode of the second series of Coastal Stories Charlie Connelly sums up what makes this iron horse of the broadcasting schedule so special.  Treat Coastal Stories here: https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
13m Jan 01, 2021
13m
S2 Ep19: Herman Melville's English Christmas
In 1849 American author Herman Melville was in London looking for a publisher. He'd just turned thirty and was wearing a strange green coat. By Christmas he was ready to go home to the US, his literary career on its uppers, but an idea forming for a novel about a vengeful whale.
15m Dec 24, 2020
15m
S2 Ep18: The Giant Christmas Pudding of Morecambe
In 1931 the bigwigs of Morecambe decided to cheer up the town by making a giant Christmas pudding, a monster twenty feet in circumference weighing in at half a ton. This wasn't just any giant Christmas pudding, however. This was a giant Empire Christmas pudding, designed to showcase Britain's global influence. On puddings. In Morecambe.  Buy Coastal Stories a Christmas pint - or even a first b...
12m Dec 18, 2020
12m
S2 Ep17: Elegy for a One-Legged Pier Diver
There's a truncated pier at Skegness these days and no hint of the theatre that used to stand out there above the waves, or the 75 foot tower from which Frank 'Peggy' Gadsby, the one-legged pier diver, would perform dives that thrilled holiday crowds. An elegy for a theatre, a pier and one of its favourite sons.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
12m Dec 11, 2020
12m
S2 Ep16: The First Conquest of Rockall
It's tiny, you can barely stand up on it, it's smack bang in the middle of nowhere and the seabirds of the North Atlantic use it as a toilet. Nevertheless Rockall, stalwart of the shipping forecast, was still conquered in 1811 by the British Royal Navy and by the extraordinary man who lent his name to its only tangible feature.  Buy Charlie's book of his adventures around the shipping forecast...
13m Dec 04, 2020
13m
S2 Ep15: The Tale of the Mussenden Temple
On the coast of Northern Ireland stands a curious building, apparently on the point of toppling into the North Atlantic at any moment. It's the last relic of an 18th Century scandal involving a remarkable bishop. A really remarkable bishop. You can support Coastal Stories here: https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories Charlie's book 'The Channel', meeting all your Christmas gift needs: https://uk.boo...
13m Nov 27, 2020
13m
S2 Ep14: Three Hermits
The coast has always had an attraction for hermits. The wide horizon, the sense of being at the end of somewhere, it's no surprise those seeking solitude away from the world have turned their backs on land to face the sea. Is it the romantic existence it seems? Listen to the stories of three coastal hermits and judge for yourself.  Buy Coastal Stories a pint here: https://ko-fi.com/coastalstor...
16m Nov 20, 2020
16m
S2 Ep13: Letters from the Loneliest Place in the World
The St Kilda archipelago, far out in the north Atlantic way beyond the Western Isles of Scotland, was cut off entirely from the world for nine long, lonely months every year. During that time the islanders would trust letters and messages to the waves on the 'St Kilda mail boat'.  Support Coastal Stories here: https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories Some of Charlie's favourite maritime books: https:...
12m Nov 13, 2020
12m
S2 Ep12: Ethel Langton, the Lady of the Lamp
15 year old Ethel Langton lived in a sea fort off the Isle of Wight where her father was the keeper of its lighthouse. When a fearsome storm hit while her parents were ashore, stranding her alone for three days at the mercy of the gales, the welfare of the Solent's mariners lay entirely in her hands.  Support Coastal Stories here: https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories Check out Charlie's books her...
13m Nov 06, 2020
13m
S2 Ep11: The Haunting of UB-65
Ghostal Story #3: In the summer of 1918 an American submarine cruising off the southern coast of Ireland witnessed the mysterious demise of a German U-Boat. In fact its ending was probably the least mysterious thing about a vessel that many said was cursed from the start.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
11m Oct 31, 2020
11m
S2 Ep10: "Leave My Ship": The Remarkable Tale of the Lady of Avenel
Ghostal Story #2: Arctic expeditions, transatlantic trade runs: the Lady of Avenel had already had a wealth of adventures before a furniture magnate turned her into his luxury yacht. Then things got... weird. https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
10m Oct 30, 2020
10m
S2 Ep9: The Harewood Haunting
Ghostal Story #1: After a stormy Atlantic crossing in 1874 a sailor roamed Greenock desperate to find a new ship. There was no way he was going back on the Harewood.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
9m Oct 29, 2020
9m
S2 Ep8: His Name Was Oude Ojun
When 'John Bardoe' was cornered by police on a chandlery roof at St Katherine's Dock in the summer of 1859 it led to a court case that revealed a heartbreaking story of slavery and human degradation. This episode of Coastal Stories, in Black History Month, revives the tale of a forgotten life and restores the dignity, if nothing else, of a man's name.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
16m Oct 23, 2020
16m
S2 Ep7: Picturing James Sharman (for Trafalgar Day)
One day during the 1860s an old man walked into a Norfolk photographer's studio and sat down warily in front of the camera. Behind the defiant eyes staring down the lens lay quite a story, encompassing some of the greatest moments in history and literature.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
13m Oct 16, 2020
13m
S2 Ep6: The Margate Naked Bathing Incident, 1801
When two men ran naked into the women's bathing room on Margate sands in September 1801 people feared it was either the start of a French invasion or, worse, swimmers from Ramsgate. A hilarious dive into the pomposity of Georgian morals and a hint of the very real fear at the time that Napoleon was about to show up armed to the teeth.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
13m Oct 09, 2020
13m
S2 Ep5: The Mysterious John MacLeod
In 1841 a man sailed into a harbour in the remote northwest of Scotland and never left, living happily as part of the community. When he died many years later locals realised they knew nothing about his life before he arrived. But a deathbed confession had revealed the secret of John MacLeod.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
10m Oct 02, 2020
10m
S2 Ep4: Betsy Miller, Queen of the Irish Sea
When William Miller, ship owner and timber merchant of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, died with his business affairs in disarray people predicted the workhouse for his daughters. They reckoned without the remarkable Betsy Miller, Britain's first woman sea captain.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
11m Sep 25, 2020
11m
S2 Ep3: Dando, The Oyster Eater
Of the millions of oysters consumed in London every year during the early 19th century a considerable number were swallowed by the notorious Dando, the Oyster Eater. Class warrior or glutton? You decide.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
14m Sep 11, 2020
14m
S2 Ep2: When Eddie Heron Flew
In the 1970s kids at the Blackrock sea baths in Dublin would be awestruck by an old man executing dives of exquisite grace and elegance from the highest board. He was the remarkable Eddie Heron, the greatest Irish sportsman you've never heard of.  https://ko-fi.com/coastalstories
13m Sep 04, 2020
13m
S2 Ep1: The Last King of Bardsey
Love is great name for a king, and King Love Pritchard of Bardsey Island was a monarch like no other. 
13m Aug 28, 2020
13m
S2: Series Two Trailer
2m Aug 14, 2020
2m
S1 Ep20: The Wreck of the Northfleet
For the last episode in the current series, the story of an English Channel tragedy and a pilgrimage to visit one of its victims. 
12m May 08, 2020
12m
S1 Ep19: The Magnificent Voyage of Eric Smith
When Eric Smith set out to save mankind it was via an epic voyage in a small boat. With three young women. None of whom were his wife. 
12m May 01, 2020
12m
S1 Ep18: Zimmy the Fish
A childhood encounter with a Chicago tramcar made Charles 'Zimmy' Zibelman one of the most extraordinary people ever to attempt an English Channel swim. 
9m Apr 25, 2020
9m
S1 Ep17: Ralph Stott's Flying Machine
In 1876 a man arrived in Dover announcing a Channel crossing that would change the world. Some people scoffed. Then Bismarck got involved. 
16m Apr 18, 2020
16m
S1 Ep16: Three Coastal Vignettes (Bonus Edition)
An extra dose of Coastal Stories; three coastal snippets, each with its own happy ending: a blind poet, a trans-hemispherical farce and a drunk with musical ambitions. 
8m Apr 14, 2020
8m
S1 Ep15: The Last Fisherman
By the mid-1930s Oliver Storm was the last remnant of a seafaring way of life at Robin Hood's Bay. 
11m Apr 11, 2020
11m
S1 Ep14: Two Pork Pies and a Bath Bun: Alice Smith Stows Away
When penniless Alice Smith met Eileen Sullivan in a Liverpool boarding house it opened up a world across the sea. But how to get there?
13m Apr 04, 2020
13m
S1 Ep13: The Kindness of Kate Poad
The paths of two lonely people from different sides of the Atlantic cross briefly to produce a simple act of kindness that will never be forgotten. 
14m Mar 28, 2020
14m
S1 Ep12: Queens of the Silver Darlings
From Victorian times up to the 1950s, Great Yarmouth would be swamped every autumn by thousands of the remarkable Scottish 'herring lassies', tough, hardworking women far from home.
14m Mar 21, 2020
14m
S1 Ep11: A Foghorn Elegy
From the Trenwiths of Scilly - a father-son human foghorn duo - to a pan-European foghorn concerto, via the Boddam Coo, we say hats off to the foghorn.
16m Mar 14, 2020
16m
S1 Ep10: A Door to Nowhere
A mysterious Dublin door leads nowhere but to the strange story of a ship given up for lost.
12m Mar 06, 2020
12m
S1 Ep9: The Transportation of Charlie Dolphus
Last seen three years earlier being herded in chains onto a convict ship to Australia facing a 14 year sentence, the last place Charlie Dolphus was supposed to be in November 1839 was a Manchester boarding house. When put before the beak he told quite a story.  
14m Mar 01, 2020
14m
S1 Ep8: The Eastbourne Bathers' Rebellion of 1929
At the end of a long, hot summer class war came to a shingle beach in East Sussex. Its weapon of choice: the mackintosh. 
14m Feb 14, 2020
14m
S1 Ep7: The Ballad of Frank and Breda
A lonely American seaman drops a message in a bottle into the Atlantic. Hundreds of miles away an Irish teen is driving her cows to pasture near the shore when she spots something among the seaweed...
17m Feb 04, 2020
17m
S1 Ep6: The Sea Serpent of Stronsay
In the summer of 1808 a clergyman spotted something strange in the sea as he shuttled between his Hebridean island parishes. A few weeks later something very odd washed up on an Orkney beach. 
14m Jan 24, 2020
14m
S1 Ep5: The Curious Afterlife of Ambrose Gwinnett
You'd think being hanged for robbery and murder would be the end of it. Not for Ambrose Gwinnett, it wasn't.
13m Jan 09, 2020
13m
S1 Ep4: A Lifeboat New Year
It's New Year's Eve 1931 and the crew of the Flamborough lifeboat is called out just before midnight. 
9m Dec 30, 2019
9m
S1 Ep3: The Looming
Upside down ships and Folkestone door numbers: a brief selection of some notable mirages. 
9m Dec 20, 2019
9m
S1 Ep2: Jack Cross's Lighthouse Christmas
In 1938 keeper Jack Cross sailed out to the Wyre lighthouse off the coast of Fleetwood in Lancashire for his 11th successive lighthouse Christmas.
9m Dec 13, 2019
9m
S1 Ep1: Ted May in the Channel
In 1954 44-year-old boilermaker Ted May set out to swim the Channel without a pilot boat - or any practical support at all. It was supposed to change his life. It was incredibly dangerous.
9m Dec 12, 2019
9m
Welcome to Coastal Stories
Here comes the Coastal Stories podcast, your official muster station for the best in maritime tales.
1m Dec 10, 2019
1m