Ep 102 The River Maiden: Part 2

In part two of The River Maiden, Claire Casely returns to Dartmoor to meet Ian on the summer solstice and walk with him to the bridge where his unforgettable fairy encounter took place. As they move through meadows alive with butterflies, wildflowers, birdsong, and the shimmer of midsummer, the landscape itself becomes part of the story — a place where folklore, memory, and mystery seem to gather close.

During their walk, Ian shares more about the sighting he first described in part one: a strangely out-of-time figure near the river, dressed in Victorian-style clothing and somehow both unexpected and entirely at home in the wild. Standing close to the place where it happened, Claire and Ian reflect on bridges as thresholds between worlds, the heightened magic of Summer Solstice, and the possibility that certain places can invite glimpses of something beyond ordinary perception.

The conversation also wanders through wart charmers, local magical traditions, dreams, consciousness, and the paranormal, weaving Ian’s personal experiences with the rich folklore of Devon and Cornwall. 

As the journey continues towards a lane haunted by a spectral wind and the Fairy Tree, this episode invites listeners to step deeper into Dartmoor’s enchanted landscape — where fairies, ghosts, ritual, and the unseen world may be closer than we think.

Claire’s books The Heart of Pixieland: West-country Faeries & Their Haunts Volume I & II are out now!