Sleepbound Nights

Sleepbound Nights · Ian & Alex
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Original bedtime stories for grown-ups: cosy serial fiction, written and narrated by us, slow enough to fall asleep to. Quiet villages and kitchen tables: a toast maker on a Sunday, a bookshop cat who won't settle, a family farm in 1953, a garden almanac kept through the year. Low stakes on purpose: the worst thing that happens is a burnt pan. Most episodes run a whole evening (four hours or so), so you can put it on, settle in, and not be woken by the end of it. Every series has its own writer: Eliza Hartley writes The Toast Maker, Margery Cole writes Green Hollow, Cecily Ash keeps the Elderwick Almanac. More of it, ad-free, with new members-only episodes every week: → Join on Patreon (part one is free on a selection of our series, always): https://www.patreon.com/c/SleepBound Just me and Ian and the writers. Recorded gently, for sleep.

  1. Sep 25

    The Toast Maker – Part 1: A Rainy Thursday

    The Toast Maker — Episode 1 By Eliza Hartley Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts Welcome to a very special evening, dear listeners. Tonight marks the beginning of something wonderfully gentle—our first episode of The Toast Maker by Eliza Hartley, a British writer who understands that the most profound stories often unfold over cups of tea and buttered toast. We're traveling to Little Darlow, a village softened by October rain, where Iris Harland has just settled into Elder Cottage with her suspicious orange cat, Moss, and a collection of umbrellas left by the previous owner. It's a story about new beginnings in old places, about the careful kindness of neighbors, and the small rituals that help us find our footing in unfamiliar territory. Tonight, you'll meet Mr. Pritchard from number twelve, who arrives at Iris's door with misdirected mail and stays for unexpected toast and marmalade. You'll discover recipe cards hidden in drawers, learn about fences that need mending, and understand why Thursday evenings at the King's Head might matter more than you'd think. So settle in with your own cup of tea, perhaps a piece of toast if you're feeling inspired, and let's step through the rain-spotted door of Elder Cottage together. The kettle's just boiled, and there's always room for one more at the table. Includes mentions of: Food, Beverages, Weather, Animals, Mention of Loss.

    The Toast Maker – Part 1: A Rainy Thursday

  2. Trailer

    What Sleepbound Nights Is

    A short introduction to Sleepbound Nights: original cosy serial fiction, written for sleep. The full catalogue is at https://sleepbound.net, and part one is free on a selection of our series. Join on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SleepBound

  3. Jul 29

    Elderwick Almanac — High Summer: The Evening Entry

    The Elderwick Almanac: High Summer — A Cosy Story By Cecily Ash Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts Cecily Ash has kept the walled garden at Elderwick most of her life, and writes its almanac by lamplight at each day's end. Tonight we follow her in from the garden — lamp first, then the stove, then the green ledger with its ribbon at the summer pages. Moss the cat has claimed the sacks, one white ear turned toward the door, while outside the brick walls hold the day's warmth long into the dark. This one is a quiet, unhurried sit by lamplight: shallots drying on the frames, the first codlins gone into a pie, swifts screaming round the chimneys at dusk. Then out into the blue evening for the watering, can by can from the sun-warmed tank, while Ned's whistling fades up the lane. It's less a story than an evening you're allowed to borrow — one cultivated place, turning gently through its longest days. Perfect company for drifting off. Thanks for keeping this open for all of us. Sweet dreams.— Ian & Alex Includes mentions of: Food, Animals, Weather, Beverages.

    Elderwick Almanac — High Summer: The Evening Entry

  4. Jul 21

    Green Hollow – Episode 1: The Long Meadow

    Green Hollow — Episode 1 By Margery Cole Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts The hay in the Long Meadow is ripe, the dew is heavy on the gate, and before first light Green Hollow Farm is already stirring. Tonight, Captain the old shire horse goes down the field in harness alongside the new grey Ferguson, and everyone finds their place in the longest, warmest day of the farming year. This is the first evening at Green Hollow — the Weavers, their two live-in hands, a long breakfast at the scrubbed deal table before the work begins, tea carried out to the field in the afternoon heat, a far rumble of thunder that keeps its distance, and the farm settling to sleep at last as soft rain comes down on the shorn meadow. Thank you for being here at the very start of this. We hope you drift off somewhere in the middle of the day's long, quiet work. Take care, everybody. And I'll see you soon.

    Green Hollow – Episode 1: The Long Meadow

  5. Apr 26

    Downton Abbey: The Thirties – Episode 1: A July Morning

    Downton Abbey: The Thirties — Episode 1 By Hugo Ashcombe Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts Habits are the refuge of the unimaginative, Mary. I have always preferred rituals — they require better shoes. Welcome to Episode 1 of Downton Abbey: The Thirties — an original fan fiction continuation, written and produced independently. Not affiliated with the official Downton Abbey franchise. It is July 1930, three weeks since Robert and Cora retreated to the Dower House, and Mary wakes to a quieter Downton — and a solicitor's letter she is not quite ready to open. She and Tom work through troubled estate accounts, confronting dairy prices that are quietly devastating the tenantry, while word arrives that the neighbouring Broughton Park has sold to an unknown London buyer. At the Dower House, Robert invents reasons to visit his old home; Cora quietly dispatches £2,400 to rescue her brother Harold from an old scandal; and Anna, visibly pregnant and due in August, settles into the garden while Bates reads childcare books in terrified silence. This episode is yours to download and keep — one of the perks of supporting on Patreon. And if you love Downton, our sister channel Sleepbound carries an original prequel series set in the earlier years of the Abbey. Content Timing 00:00 – Welcome and settling in 0:39 – High Summer 40:56 – Soft music to drift away Support the show: Patreon Watch on YouTube: Sleepbound Nights Full audiobook library: sleepbound.net Includes mentions of: Food, Beverages, Animals, History, Mention of Loss, Weather.

    Downton Abbey: The Thirties – Episode 1: A July Morning

  6. Apr 12

    Howl’s Moving Castle – Part 1: The Cottage That Walked

    Howl's Moving Castle: The Series – Part 1 By Harriet Pennick. Fan fiction based on the books by Diana Wynne Jones Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts Tonight, we start a new series in the Moving Castle. It's a grey January Tuesday, a few weeks after the Christmas that turned up three centuries late. Sophie is sorting letters addressed to the castle itself when something heavy grinds to a halt outside the front door. It's a cottage. It walked here.Its owner, Tamsin Bell, is a bookkeeper who has followed her grandmother's house on foot for three days. She would very much like it to stop.This picks up from our two fan fiction novels. If you've not heard them, start there: The Winter King and The Witches' Halloween Masquerade.Jamie reads this one, in a warm, calm voice that suits a slow morning in the castle. About forty minutes, then soft music to drift off to. Content Timing 00:00 – Welcome and settling in 00:07 – The House That Walked 40:25 – Soft music to drift away Thanks for keeping this open for all of us. Sweet dreams.— Ian & Alex Includes mentions of: Mention of loss, Weather, Food, Beverages, Animals, Magic.

    Howl’s Moving Castle – Part 1: The Cottage That Walked

  7. Jan 14

    The Platform Kettle

    The Platform Kettle — A Sleep Story By Evelyn Marroway Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts We're thrilled to feature Evelyn Marroway — a writer whose career began crafting audio stories for late-night listeners. Tonight we're stepping onto a quiet, rain-washed platform in Wales for something a little special — a standalone short story, written entirely for the Sleepbound Nights community. The Platform Kettle follows Mair, a retired railway signalwoman who arrives at a deserted Welsh junction to find the waiting room closed, the train delayed, and — inexplicably — a warm copper kettle waiting beneath a platform bench. What begins as a quiet study in patience slowly gathers into something more: a small group of strangers sharing a bench, a tin of saffron buns, and the particular kind of kindness that only arrives when people have nowhere else to be. Over about forty minutes, Marroway draws something luminous from the most ordinary of settings — a story that feels, by the end, like being handed a cup of tea by someone who was always expecting you. There was always a kettle somewhere. Always someone who knew where to find hot water when you needed it. Settle in, let the platform rain carry you somewhere soft, and let this one find you exactly where you need to be. Thank you for being part of the Sleepbound Nights community — your support is what brings stories like this to life. Find more on our website, browse the full library on YouTube, or share the Patreon page with anyone who needs a quiet place to land. Includes mentions of: Mention of Loss, Food, Beverages, Weather, Animals, Light Peril, Travel.

    The Platform Kettle

  8. Jan 8

    The Toast Maker – Part 5: Church, Chutney & Dinner with Tom

    Tonight's reading is free — and part one is free on a selection of our series, always. Over 500 more, and every new one first, are on Sleepbound Premium.→ patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts The church in Little Darlow is cold on a November morning — honest cold, coming up through stone floors and old pews. Iris slips into a back row with no firm plan. By the time she gets home, she's somehow agreed to scones, learned something tender about Tom, and eaten biscuits with Mr Pritchard in the rain. Includes mentions of: Religious traditions, Mention of loss, Food, Beverages, Animals, Weather, Illness. Thanks for being here. Sweet dreams. — Ian

    The Toast Maker – Part 5: Church, Chutney & Dinner with Tom
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Trailer

About

Original bedtime stories for grown-ups: cosy serial fiction, written and narrated by us, slow enough to fall asleep to. Quiet villages and kitchen tables: a toast maker on a Sunday, a bookshop cat who won't settle, a family farm in 1953, a garden almanac kept through the year. Low stakes on purpose: the worst thing that happens is a burnt pan. Most episodes run a whole evening (four hours or so), so you can put it on, settle in, and not be woken by the end of it. Every series has its own writer: Eliza Hartley writes The Toast Maker, Margery Cole writes Green Hollow, Cecily Ash keeps the Elderwick Almanac. More of it, ad-free, with new members-only episodes every week: → Join on Patreon (part one is free on a selection of our series, always): https://www.patreon.com/c/SleepBound Just me and Ian and the writers. Recorded gently, for sleep.

Information

  • Creator
    Sleepbound Nights · Ian & Alex
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sleepbound Studios
  • Show Website
    Sleepbound Nights