CUMBRIA'S first comedy podcast has launched, taking a look at everything weird and wonderful the county has to offer.

Hosted by Jane Postlethwaite and Steph Bradshaw, Miraculous Cumbria launched last month and has so far visited locations such as Derwent House and Muncaster Castle, with episodes being heard around the world.

Jane explains: "The premise is that we have both moved back to Cumbria after living away and we are rediscovering what Cumbria has to offer.

"We go off for the day do the activity and then podcast about it."

Since moving back to Cumbria from Brighton, stand-up comedian Jane has been working on various projects, including a new show for the Brighton Fringe festival and hosting writing workshops across the county.

Steph attended some of the workshops in Carlisle, and the pair instantly clicked.

"I met Steph at my comedy workshops in Carlisle earlier in the year and thought she was hilarious," says Jane.

"I keep in touch with all my workshop students and she had mentioned she wanted to do more comedy.

"Steph has been writing stand up since uni but hasn’t tried it out at live gigs yet. Since moving back to Keswick, she has been involved in various local theatre productions.

" It made sense we should work together on the project and luckily for me she said yes to it.

"I’ve wanted to do a couple of podcast ideas for a while including a character one, then I realised no one else seemed to be doing anything Cumbria related.

"I wanted to do something that was fun and would make me appreciate living in Cumbria again. My family goes back centuries in this area, so I feel local, but also feel like I want to connect with everything Cumbria has to offer."


Steph Bradshaw and Jane Postlethwaite recording their Miraculous Cumbria podcast

The title, Miraculous Cumbria, came from the overused adjective, which Jane spotted in a number of online news reports.

The format of the show is part travel show, part chat show, where the hosts discuss their days out and answer questions from the listeners.

Jane continues: "I absolutely love podcasts and listen to loads of comedy ones like ‘With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus’ and the Adam Buxton show.

"On TV, there are always so many men doing travel programmes or talking about Cumbria on shows. There’s a gap where a woman’s perspective should be.

"There are so many young people in Cumbria who don’t often get chance to have their voice heard.

"Having our own podcast means we’ve an excuse to visit weird and wonderful places in Cumbria. We get to really enjoy a day out and then sit down and talk about it.

"We take the equipment with us so we can record wherever and we’ve full control of the content.

"We’re not scripted or controlling what we have to say. We’re not trying to sugarcoat anything there’s definitely northern bluntness.

"I also talk honestly about my mental health on the podcast. There’s adult themes and swearing so we don’t recommend you listen to the podcast around children unless you’re wearing headphones."


Steph Bradshaw and Jane Postlethwaite

The reception since launching last month has been positive, clocking up more than 1,000 listeners and five-star reviews.

"People like that we’re actually going out to the places we talk about the same day as recording and giving a fresh honest perspective," says Jane.

"Steph’s mum didn’t start listening to the podcast until I got an article in August’s Cumbria Life and then she thought it was credible enough to waste some time on. She loves it now!

"My Dad loves it too.

"One of the funniest pieces of feedback we got was Steph’s gran asking us if we could post the podcast to her."

Future episodes of Miraculous Cumbria will see the hosts visit Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top house and the museum in Hawkshead, while others looking at Cumbrian murders and ghost stories are also in the pipeline.

It is a project that both Jane and Steph have enjoyed so far, and plan to continue with for the foreseeable future.

"We already know that we’re going to continue to a series two. We also think the series would do well on TV - so TV people, give us a call.


Steph Bradshaw and Jane Postlethwaite

"As long as we are having fun doing it we will continue with it. We’ve got so many ideas for the podcast and can see it growing from strength to strength.

"The podcast will reach the people who enjoy it and we’ll find our audience over time. We know it won’t be to everyone’s taste but that’s okay - if you don’t like it then don’t listen to it.

"We'd also like to point out that we’re fully aware we’re not experts on Cumbria - far from it - but part of the reason to do the podcast is to become better Cumbrians, even though we can sometimes be terrible people.

"We’re getting so much better with each episode. We have such a great day out and we laugh a lot.

"We both want the podcast to become our full time job!"

Miraculous Cumbria can be streamed on iTunes, Audioboom and Spotify. Any businesses that would like to sponsor the podcast are encouraged to get in touch via miraculouscumbria@gmail.com