Welcome to a warm summer's evening in a Medieval barn, complete with twilight birdsong, for Three Ravens Live @ Chiltern Open Air Museum!

Set across 45 acres of the Chiltern Hills, "COAM" rescues endangered historic buildings and reconstructs them at its picturesque site - one where a working historic farm and traditional craftspeople continue Buckinghamshire's old folk occupations and ensure they live on in the modern day. Learn more here.

This recording, made last Saturday evening, is a celebration of not just COAM and the Chiltern Hills but the entire county of 'Bucks' - a place once ruled over by the pagan king Cymbeline, through which Woden dug a very big ditch, and where Little Witches might hypnotize your sheep before hippy-hopping away over the nearest hedgerow...

From the county's ancient gold and silver mints at Aylesbury to the furniture makers of High Wycombe - at least two of whom stuck around after death - local delicacies including the Buckinghamshire Bacon Badger to Augustinian monks catching devils in their shoes, Bucks might not have a particular reputation for being folky, but that's only because the county's people have been keeping quiet about it!

Including performances of traditional folk songs Green Bushes and The Barley Mow by Ben and Eleanor, and Eleanor's haunting live performance of local folktale A Promise Kept with dramatic live underscoring, it's an evening to remember, interrupted by a pigeon and topped off with a Q&A session with our lovely live audience!

We really hope you enjoy it, and will speak to you again on Monday for the penultimate episode of our Bonus Series Magic and Medicines, all about Familiars and Animal Magic!

P.S. We recorded a whole second episode after the audience went home, during which we explored the museum's historic buildings and searched for ghosts between midnight and 2am. We still have work to do to edit it all together, but that decidedly spooky recording will be coming out on the Three Ravens Patreon during July!

Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux.

Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England or Wales' 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of a traditional story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...

Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county - and Live Shows come out on Saturdays.

With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?

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