Folk on Foot Classic: Cara Dillon in Dungiven

Folk on Foot Classic: Cara Dillon in Dungiven

Author: Matthew Bannister July 27, 2026 Duration: 46:43

Enjoy this classic episode from September 2018.


The multi award winning singer Cara Dillon and her husband and musical collaborator Sam Lakeman take Matthew on a walk through the countryside around the Northern Irish town of Dungiven where she was born and brought up. Standing on an iron bridge over the River Roe, Cara sings “The Winding River Roe” with the water rippling by in the background. Then they climb the local mountain known as “The Hill of Thieves” which is also the inspiration for one of Cara’s songs. As the rain begins to fall, they take refuge in a local sibin where Cara and Sam perform “The Leaving Song” about the living wakes held by families before their children emigrated to the United States.


---


We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...

Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot

Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot

Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com

Follow us on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot


---


Find out more about Cara at https://www.caradillon.co.uk/


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Imagine stepping out for a walk with a friend who happens to be a brilliant musician, the path unfolding through the very hills, coastlines, or woods that shaped their songs. That’s the essence of Folk on Foot, a multi-award-winning podcast created by Matthew Bannister. Each episode is a gentle fusion of conversation, landscape, and live performance, recorded outdoors while walking with some of the most compelling voices in folk music. The format is beautifully simple yet profound: as they traverse a place of personal significance, the guests discuss their connection to the land, their creative process, and the stories behind their work, often pausing to play a tune or sing a song right there on the trail. Listeners are invited into an intimate, thoughtfully crafted soundscape that feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s been praised as a restorative listening experience and is noted for its impeccable production. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's an auditory journey that celebrates the deep, often unspoken bond between artist, music, and environment. The resulting podcast is consistently engaging, offering a unique blend of natural history, cultural insight, and, of course, fantastic music. It provides a genuine sense of accompaniment, as if you’re right there beside them, sharing in the quiet moments and the melodic ones, all woven together into a wonderfully calming and enriching hour.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Folk on Foot
Podcast Episodes
Stornoway on the Gower Peninsula [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:22
Join us on a spectacular walk with the band Stornoway in the glorious Gower Peninsula. Lead singer Brian Briggs is an ornithologist who - when he’s not touring with the band - works in a nature reserve in this beautiful…
Official Folk Albums Chart Show—8th September 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:24
This month’s show features music from Gwenifer Raymond, Cinder Well, Robyn Hitchcock, Arun Sood and Angeline Morrison, Nick Parker and the False Alarms, Joshua Burnside and Dove Ellis. Matthew Bannister reveals the next…
Folk on Foot Classic: Martin Simpson in Scunthorpe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:47
Enjoy this classic episode from July 2019. Regularly voted one of the world’s greatest guitarists, Martin Simpson has been nominated for an astonishing 23 Radio 2 Folk Awards – and won artist of the year twice. He was br…
Jenn Butterworth at Whithorn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:53
Come for a wild and windy walk in the Scottish borders with the brilliant guitarist Jenn Butterworth. We visit the remote farmhouse where she grew up, the pub where she worked as a teenager, the otter statue commemoratin…
Official Folk Albums Chart Show—4th August 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:50
On this month’s show, Kellie While joins Matthew Bannister to launch a call for entries for the 2026 Folk Album of the Year Award. There are also songs old and new from Emily Portman, Peggy Seeger, Natalie Wildgoose, Phi…
Rob Cowen and Johnny Flynn at Thornborough Henges [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:15
We’re going back to Neolithic times with the award winning author Rob Cowen (“Common Ground” and “North Road”) and his friend the actor and singer Johnny Flynn. For two thousand years the Thornborough Henges in what is n…
Official Folk Albums Chart Show—7th July 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:23
This month's show features music from Adam Ross, Clementine Lovell, Ryan Young, Laura Cannell, Karine Polwart and Pippa Murphy, Teddy Thompson, Frankie Archer and Tide Lines. Lucy Shields previews forthcoming releases an…
Joshua Burnside in East Belfast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:24
Folk Album of the Year nominee Joshua Burnside takes us for a walk near his home in East Belfast, singing songs from his latest album “It’s Not Going To Be OK” along the way. He talks movingly about his friend Dean Jendo…
Official Folk Albums Chart Show—2nd June 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:33
This month’s show features music from Natalie Wildgoose, Anna McLuckie, Lady Maisery with Jimmy Aldrige and Sid Goldsmith, Lemoncello, The Longest Johns, Chris Brain, Ladylike and Jim Moray. Lucy Shields has a bumper edi…
Folk on Foot Classic: Angeline Morrison in North Cornwall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:36
Enjoy this classic episode from June 2023. Angeline Morrison’s “The Sorrow Songs - Folk Songs of Black British Experience” was one of the most significant albums of recent times. On this walk near her home in North Cornw…