Charlie on the hunt for more weird and wonderful tales

Charlie Cooper, star of This Country and Myth Country, is coming to Sidmouth Folk Festival to discuss rural traditions. Here he speaks to Kirstie Newton

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WITH its eccentric 'horse trials, Morris dancing round every corner and a ceilidh at the drop of a hat, Sidmouth Folk Festival is a magnet for lovers of all things folklore.

So it’s no surprise to find Charlie Cooper pulling up a chair to discuss his recent BBC TV series, Myth Country, and the weird and wonderful traditions it uncovered.

You will find him in conversation with folk singer-songwriter Jon Wilks in the Arts Centre on Monday afternoon but Charlie is planning to get there nice and early to soak up the atmosphere.

“I'll be mooching around, exploring a little bit - I’m really looking forward to it,” he says. Even on the other end of a phone, he sounds as puppyishly wide-eyed and enthusiastic as he does on his show.

From scarecrow competitions to crop circles via King Arthur, Myth Country delves into Britain’s most mystical tales, from the joyful to the downright dark. You'll find Charlie in Norfolk on the trail of the Black Shuck, a classic case of the demon dog that crops up in so many counties (Devon has the Yeth Hound, a headless creature rumoured to be the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles), and observing the Bonfire Night ritual of running with tar barrels in Ottery St Mary.

While some shows have their presenters getting hands on, Charlie was kept on the sidelines in Ottery. “You can only do it if you were born there - it's a generational thing, like the Royal family, and it was made clear that if I dared to touch a barrel, I'd get my head kicked in,” he chuckles.

“But just being there in the thick of it was one of the most incredible things I've experienced. It’s a different realm - just mad.”