Tim Laycock | Local Legends #15: Dorset

This week's Local Legends episode is a very special conversation in which Martin gathers round the Three Ravens campfire with Tim Laycock, an inspirational, multi-talented person and a true champion for the county of Dorset.

Author of books including Dorset Folk Tales, writing is just the tip of the iceberg with Tim, who came to the attentions of many in the British folk community through his work as part of Magic Lantern with the one and only Taffy Thomas.

Music is absolutely key to Tim’s life. He is a tremendous singer and multi-instrumentalist, and, like a crafty folk song magpie, he has been finding stories and songs, and story-songs, and bringing them out and into the light across his many years of performance.

With a rich catalogue of wonderful recordings available as CDs and through streaming services, his talents stretch yet further, including into theatre, where he has worked with the likes of the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Festival Theatre Chichester, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Being a Dorset man, it’s perhaps necessary that Thomas Hardy would feature in that mix, and Tim is also the Artistic Director of the New Thomas Hardy Players.

On top of which, he is an extremely friendly and knowledgeable chap, so, please settle in and get comfortable for one of the richest, most interesting conversations we've had for Local Legends so far. One that folds in everything from nativity plays with John Eliot Gardiner to the Dorset Ooser, the poetry of William Barnes to false teeth being lost off fishing boats.

It's a great one, as is Tim himself. And to learn more about Tim and his work, do visit his website at https://timlaycock.co.uk/

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

Join the Conspiracy of Ravens ✨

🌐 Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!

🎤 Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!

🛒 Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop

👑 Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon

📚 Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales

👻 Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027

📱 Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

RETHINK THE WAY YOU DRINK WITH OUR PARTNER THREE SPIRIT - USE OFFER CODE THREE RAVENS FOR A 15% DISCOUNT AT CHECKOUT

Our Linktree to all things Three Ravens

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