Not sure why seeing a bloke in a three piece suit sitting in a wet field in cooking a handful of dried ingredients on a BCB stove, in the rain, cheers me so. But it does! You and your silly tent really cheer me up. I can call it a silly tent because I have one too. Mine is the next size up. So it’s not quite as silly as yours 🤣 Please keep sharing your adventures with us, you’re a tonic for the soul.
Oh my that was wonderful. Never get bored of the shots of the ridgeway. I loved the timing of you finishing your glass, slight pause, and then the camera collapsing slowly backwards as if in a drunken stupor. Much respect for persevering in the rain and thank you for all that you do to bring us joy.
Thanks Chris! The Ridgeway is indeed very special and definitely deserves multiple visits to see it in different weather and different seasons. I sometimes think that camera has a mind of its own - I certainly spend a lot of time talking to it!
Agreed…Gevery Chambertin under ANY conditions is “brilliant.” I recently abandoned a week long trek in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee on day #4 due to heavy rains. After watching you, I feel like a bit of a drip. Shame on me. Another delightful Tweedy Outdoors…thanks so much for sharing…Cheers!!! 🍻
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed the countryside views, the light, sun and cloud formations and colours, the history, the narration, the stone monuments, your enjoyment of being out in nature, the cooking and wine drinking in the rain. It's so good to be out in nature, the fresh air, birds tweeting, no other people. Being in the moment. Lovely.
I drank my Gevrey-Chambertin out in the rain… subtle Donna Summer reference there. Oh wait, as you were. Nice little wild camp, although I fear that a few flattened buttercups excludes you from the hard core (corps?) Leave No Trace fraternity. Thanks for taking us along. Note to self: extra socks.
Never get bored with such beautiful views! When i started backpacking 50 year ago, we used to rely on things called Vesta Curries, a sort of primitive dehydrated food. We could have done with you to join us, and to educate us to the possibilities of cooking al fresco!
Good morning, Tweedy Enjoyed that video 😁 👍 The first time seeing you having "to don" the full waterproofs !! 🌧🌧 I'm glad "mother nature" relented a little for you to eat your meal The morning looked calm and serene - great sky colours and cloud formations ☁️⛅️ P.S soggy wet cold socks - not great 😣😫. I could imagine my mum, long back in the days of my youth saying "always carry a clean pair of socks and underwear, you never know !!" 🤣🤣 She was right !! 🤣🤣
Thanks Lee! Yes I've always resisted donning the waterproofs until I absolutely have to because they're plastic and very unsightly - but I have to admit they were very practical. I really liked being able to sit out in the rain without a tarp overhead (or a groundsheet beneath me) for several hours and just enjoy being immersed in it.
Enjoyed this especially as i was there, wild camping on the Ridgeway last month, next to the path overlooking the Devils punchbowl. I had such a starry sky that night I lay in tent with my head out so could see them. I hope you get the stars next time. Like the look of those freeze dried meat substitutes and the soup as an alternative to those dehydrated camp meals.
Kudos to you Tweedy for braving such inclement weather. Rain, rain, rain. Will we ever get a prolonged dry spell. A lovely stretch of the Ridgeway. It does look like it’s been “improved” since I last walked that stretch. Waylands Smithy is a gem. 👌 Another delicious looking outdoor meal. Do you take reservations?😋 Hope you dried off ……… eventually and had your veggie fry up! 😂 The morning shots on day two were sublime. 👏👏👍😀
Thanks Andrew! It was one of those situations where I had a window of opportunity and I was determined to take advantage of it regardless of the weather! Yes I think some of the Ridgeway featured here seemed to be "improved" even since last time I walked the whole thing, which was only four or five years ago. My guess is they've had problems with motor vehicles driving along it or something. Alas I couldn't find a fry-up in the short time I had in Wantage, the only place which seemed to serve English breakfasts didn't open until later on in the morning... so I had to settle for a trendy avocado on toast. Any port in a storm!
Absolutely lovely, if invoking a substantial bit of home-sickness on my side. The way you can make cooking a solitary meal in the rain in the middle of nowhere so attractive, you really want to be there is truly stunning! I love the way you've filmed Wayland's Smithy, as it was one my favourites as well...
Thanks Matt! The waterproofs helped but I found to my surprise I loved sitting out in the rain there in the evening, not far from Uffington Castle and the white horse. Even in those conditions it was a magical location! I originally recorded a piece talking to camera at Waylands Smithy, but when I watched it back I felt like I wasn't really getting across the point I wanted to get across, so I ended up re-recording the audio at home and just using the B-roll for the video. Maybe that worked better as there was more focus on the monument and less on me! I feel like it's a really important site for the dating of the Ridgeway. If you just have one long barrow next to an old track it could be a coincidence, but once you have two there's a strong suggestion of the route between them existing at the time they were built.
Terrible entertainment! Only kidding of course, great to see you on my local stretch of The Ridgeway and thanks for the shout out. The Green Road, I believe, is an ex Roman Road, and a fairly significant one if Mr Whitewick was right in one of his videos. A fair old slog from Liddington to Wantage, even with an overnight stop, so well done! Great video, one of your best.
Thanks Hedley! I didn't know Paul had covered that Green Road leading into Wantage, I shall have to go and seek that out now. My phone tells me I covered about 19 miles in total - I said I was dropped off at Liddington, but it was actually more like the Great Western Hospital, just off the A419. Liddington was just the first place where it seemed like it was worth turning the camera on! With the exception of the usual bottle of wine I packed extremely lightly on this trip and I think I might have got my total pack weight down to under 10kg, even with food and water... but still my shoulders were aching by the end!
@@tweedyoutdoors 10kg is very light for such an adventure, especially considering the wine and water. I am struggling to pack sub 13kg for a wild camp on Table Mountain soon (Crickhowell). I will try and find Paul’s video, it is an older one. I once lay in the Great Western Hospital, broken and in pain, staring at Liddington Clump and promising myself that reaching that would be my prize for recovery!
Didn't wax one's boots! Most remiss of you sir. I miss British summers. A posh Pot noodle sounds a wonderful thing. A nice red, accompanied by a sausage roll is more my caper🤣. An absolutely wonderful vid Mr Tweedy...I gave up camping many moons ago...and have been reminded why I prefer glamping.
Thanks Phil! Yes the gaps between my camping expeditions seem to have been getting longer, and I am wondering how many more I have left in me! I've never really been able to get a decent night's sleep when camping, and the effort of the whole thing - particularly cleaning and drying out all the kit when I get back home - often makes me wonder why I bother! I do still find the sense of freedom very appealing though, and being up and about at sunrise in a landscape like this - when I have it all to myself - is also pretty special.
@@tweedyoutdoors I hope you keep making these splendid vids for many years to come dear sir. My comment was in no way intended to deter you. Your most civilised camping adventures, despite the inclement weather merely reminded me of my not so pleasant endeavours from the last and final time I would ever embark upon such a venture. We were camping in the highlands of Tasmania in a small tent. My nose was pressed against the canvass and some critter on the outside was scratching away trying to get at my schnoz. We took our large and nervous Staffordshire bull terrier with us. Sadly his bottom exploded in the middle of the night, given I'm squeamish about such things I was stood outside of the tent in a howling gale, sleet flying at me sideways for an hour while my stronger stomached wife tackled the clean up. Oh, and the weather had put our fire out 🤣. In comparison, your camping evening was a night at the Ritz ...But still gave me a touch of PTSD. 😱
Brilliant as always, love the ridge way, love Japanese food and cooking outdoors, love wine too! Most of all love your videos! Hope you dried off! Carry an emergency pringle can lid, it'll keep the wine less wet! Or foil works too!
The Devil's punchbowl (21:05) is where I am planning our little camp - maybe with a walk up from the village of Letcombe Bassett, or we could just park near the top (but the former makes for a better video!).
I have taken my hat off to you. That looked like an awful night! What do you do with your soaking waterproofs overnight, so they don't drench the inside of the tent? Plastic bag outside? Incredibly impressed you managed to cook a meal in that rain too! This video raises so many questions! Glad you got a sunrise and it did look like a good spot to spend the night. Were you far from Uffington Castle?
Thank you Mr WC21! The waterproof trousers were a revelation - you may have seen me (reluctantly) wearing that waterproof jacket in previous videos, but I could never previously be bothered with the trousers because I have to take my boots off to get them on and it all seemed like too much of a faff... However thanks to the benches dotted around near Uffington Castle / White Horse it was easier to sit for a minute and put the trousers on, then I realised I could sit out in the rain for as long as I wanted with near impunity! I didn't even need to bother with having anything to sit on - once I had those waterproof trousers on I could just plonk myself on the soggy grass but not get wet. It was a fun challenge to cook in the (at times) pouring rain. I was helped by the fact this was a very simple meal: no chopping involved and no open pans. If there had been any they would have filled up with water! My tiny tent has a sort of vestibule area at the side and all the wet stuff stayed in there. I think if it hadn't been for the constant wind that probably would have ensured the inner compartment was absolutely dripping wet with condensation. So in a strange way at least some aspect of the "bad" weather actually helped there. The camping spot wasn't far from Uffington Castle. After past run-ins with busybodies on the internet, just to be on the safe side I checked the extents of the ancient monuments on the Historic England website and found a spot as far away from their boundaries as possible whilst still being within open access land and on relatively flat ground. Being near the fence posts also helped to make it a bit more discreet so I hopefully wasn't spoiling the view for anyone. As always I didn't sleep at all well, but the walk at sunrise in the morning was magical!
That was quite a walk John, I know this section of the Ridgeway well as it's closest to my home. These days I prefer to travel by cycle and generally am along a part of the Ridgeway a couple of times a month. In the past I have hiked the route from Overton hill to Ivinghoe beacon 4 times wild camping all the way. I'm sure the early settlers favoured these higher routes as they would have probably been easier to navigate compared to the valleys which would have been a tangled mess and quite boggy, so the route came first then the barrows, then the hillforts then the villages, then the towns then the motorways and the train lines then the cities and the factories and the offices and the internet and lastly a man dressed in a tweed suit escaping the rat race for a short while:)
Thanks Sandy! I am envious you live so close to this bit of the Ridgeway - with the exception of that crossing of the M4 I think it might be the best bit! I've never managed more than a two day hike if I'm wild camping - by the end of the second day's walk I'm usually exhausted and desperate for home comforts (a hot shower, a proper bed, etc). I did really enjoy this short trip though. I know our ancestors were probably built of stronger stuff than modern wimps like me but I think that tiny bit of hardship I experienced is illustrative of the importance of having comparatively easy routes to follow back in ancient times. I'm sure the chalk ridges would have provided that.
I'm really looking forward to watching this. The Ridgeway is one of those things on my bucketlist. I've only seen one little bit, woefully inadequate to satisfy a proper bucketlist tick. I've got a mini obsession with drove roads too 🤫
I hope it doesn't disappoint! I think it would be fair to say, like any long distance trail, that some bits of the Ridgeway can seem a bit dull, particularly if the weather isn't great, or if you're not in the right mood.... but I think this section around Wayland's Smithy and Uffington Castle has a lot to offer in terms of scenery and ancient history. The bit where it crosses the M4 is perhaps a bit less evocative!
@@tweedyoutdoors Superb effort on your part to remain cheerful, despite the circumstances. I wonder how tough it must have been for the people who used these ways. Imagine getting yourself and a flock of sheep from The Cotswolds to London 😳 Remarkable when you consider. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Thanks again for a great video, much appreciated.
Absolutely massive respect for persevering with the cook & camp, regardless of your waterproof clothing's capabilities...would've hated for the tweed to absorb dampness 😂 You mention that you found the 'horsebox parking' *odd*...as a horsebox (and horse) owner I'm always delighted to find a dedicated area for us to safely load and unload...although it is sadly extremely rare that some nob in a BMW X5 or Ford Ranger Raptor hasn't inconsiderately accidentally ignored the signage 🤬...
I don't think I've ever seen a designated horsebox parking space before! Well perhaps I have but i just wasn't paying attention...? Is there a map of these published somewhere? Otherwise you might be driving around for hours I can imagine...
@tweedyoutdoors If only there were a centralised resource! That said, Forestry Commission, National Trust, English Heritage and the Water Companies do tend to publish the location of these when they remember...
We were amused by your culinary exploits. So appropriate, Asian cuisine cooked in the great outdoors. Just like natives would done in 700 BC. I have traversed the Ridgeway I remember there were copses you could have sheltered under. That tent is rather coffin like in shape. 10 points for being a plucky Englishman,
I don't think I've ever cooked historically or geographically appropriate food in any of these videos! Perhaps the closest was the Cacio e Pepe (a "Roman" dish) at Hadrian's Wall, but that required a bit of a leap of faith to imagine it might have been something cooked in the days of ancient Rome. There is a little wood opposite Wayland's Smithy and I get the sense that's often used for people to camp when they're walking the Ridgeway. I often end up in the woods when camping - at least partly to be discreet - but on this occasion I really wanted a view!
Thank you, and glad you found the channel. I can be so irrational about weight when packing for one of these trips - I leave out the spare pair of socks but keep in the bottle of wine!
That part between the bacon sandwich farm shop and (just beyond) Waylands’s Smithy has had a upgrade. They got the status of the right of way changed (to restricted byway) and put in the blocks to stop four-wheeled off-roaders. The surface had a chance to stabilise and its had some kind of surface put on it. Notice that where you go from Wiltshire to new Oxfordshire (just beyond the bacon shop, at the point where the path starts to rise towards the ‘interesting dwelling’ on the north verge) the nature of the surface changes. Presumably different contractors for different local authorities.
Blocks don’t stop motorbikes though - last year on a Sunday afternoon (when doing the whole Ridgeway in pieces) a whole horde of them rode past on the Waylands Smithy stretch.
I thought I was mental! I would've had a massive strop and then abandoned the walk very, very quickly under those conditions. But I'm glad you did it to show the correct level of manliness for UA-cam antiquarians everywhere. As for Why Ridgeway?--for me the ridge is an ideal location for multiple uses: to bury grandad, to be able to see your enemies coming, to force your enemies to wear themselves out running uphill, to display your tribal greatness for a dozen or so miles. Oh, and it, er, is a great way to, er, keep your feet--cough--dry while going from one district to another. I would expect people have been walking the ridge for a hundred thousand years but if game is what you seek being downhill with the water is what you want. Though saying that there is a magnificent herd of Fallow deer up above Woolstone.
I'm not sure if it's manliness as much as just bloody mindedness! I had a window of opportunity where my presence was apparently neither required nor expected at home and I was determined to spend it under the stars (whether or not I could actually see them) regardless of the weather. I think your broader interpretation of the usefulness of the ridge (with or without the "way") makes a lot of sense... and it does seem to be a running theme that I end up with very wet feet whenever I do a walk along one of these ancient hilltop routes which were supposed to solve that exact problem!
Great one John. Hardcore wild camping and cooking - having fun despite those conditions. We were there only a few weeks ago which added interest as well. And I agree with your logic re chicken or egg / ridgeway or monuments 😄👍
Thanks Giles! The waterproofs worked surprisingly well, it wasn't too cold, and for most of the time it was actually a delight sitting out in the rain! Great to hear you were in this neck of the woods recently - it's a very special area in my opinion, with lots of ancient things to contemplate.
Hi John, Excellent video showing just how it is. You managed well despite the rain, the audio was perfect too and I think it is important to know the state of your socks, perhaps some kind of textile moisture meter is required. Such a device can be brought but looks a tad expensive. Soaking wet will do I think. Maybe Capabilty Brown did some work on the ridgeway between jobs, I'm surprised he had time, wiki tells me he had 8 children. The sunrise was a perfect break, it seems so early at 5am, I don't get the sun until about 7:30 mainly because its hiding behind the mountains. You have me wondering what would you have in a full English breakfast? As always very enjoyable to watch, well done!!
Thanks David - you know me, "keeping it real" (as the young folk like to say... Or perhaps they did 20 years ago). Presumably a simple solution to measure the water content of my socks would be to weigh them? I vaguely recall seeing a device for weighing things which has a hook beneath it - perhaps that would work? I would quite like to know what my backpack weighs which would be another useful application of that gadget. Alas the fryup never materialised! The one place in Wantage which seemed to serve them didn't open until later in the morning and I felt compelled to curtail the many glorious hours of solitude I had enjoyed and go to meet my family. For what it's worth my favourite "greasy spoon" is the famous Regency Cafe in Pimlico / Westminster wherein my standard order is beans, bubble (and squeak), mushrooms and hash browns.
I think you're right about things springing up along the routes from one place to another; it's pretty much what happens anywhere in the world; the question is, what was at the beginning and end of the route?
I like the theory that the landscape around Avebury and Stonehenge is a natural hub which these chalk ridges lead to, and at a time when chalk ridges were the only practical long distance routes, settlements gained prominence from proximity to them, and the most prominent settlements were those which were best connected - i.e. at the hub.
If you have wet socks wring them out before you sleep. Roll them inside each other and put thrm in uour sleeping bag if you have one. They will be lretty much d5y by moring ftom the heat in the slerping bag.
You need a drone, Tweedy, though I know the Luddite in you is loathe to acquire one, you are, however, inescapably, after all, a UA-camr, in the year 2024.
Not sure why seeing a bloke in a three piece suit sitting in a wet field in cooking a handful of dried ingredients on a BCB stove, in the rain, cheers me so. But it does! You and your silly tent really cheer me up.
I can call it a silly tent because I have one too. Mine is the next size up. So it’s not quite as silly as yours 🤣
Please keep sharing your adventures with us, you’re a tonic for the soul.
Oh my that was wonderful. Never get bored of the shots of the ridgeway. I loved the timing of you finishing your glass, slight pause, and then the camera collapsing slowly backwards as if in a drunken stupor. Much respect for persevering in the rain and thank you for all that you do to bring us joy.
Thanks Chris! The Ridgeway is indeed very special and definitely deserves multiple visits to see it in different weather and different seasons. I sometimes think that camera has a mind of its own - I certainly spend a lot of time talking to it!
Agreed…Gevery Chambertin under ANY conditions is “brilliant.” I recently abandoned a week long trek in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee on day #4 due to heavy rains. After watching you, I feel like a bit of a drip. Shame on me. Another delightful Tweedy Outdoors…thanks so much for sharing…Cheers!!! 🍻
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed the countryside views, the light, sun and cloud formations and colours, the history, the narration, the stone monuments, your enjoyment of being out in nature, the cooking and wine drinking in the rain. It's so good to be out in nature, the fresh air, birds tweeting, no other people. Being in the moment. Lovely.
I drank my Gevrey-Chambertin out in the rain… subtle Donna Summer reference there. Oh wait, as you were.
Nice little wild camp, although I fear that a few flattened buttercups excludes you from the hard core (corps?) Leave No Trace fraternity.
Thanks for taking us along. Note to self: extra socks.
Never get bored with such beautiful views! When i started backpacking 50 year ago, we used to rely on things called Vesta Curries, a sort of primitive dehydrated food. We could have done with you to join us, and to educate us to the possibilities of cooking al fresco!
Good morning, Tweedy
Enjoyed that video 😁 👍
The first time seeing you having "to don" the full waterproofs !! 🌧🌧
I'm glad "mother nature" relented a little for you to eat your meal
The morning looked calm and serene - great sky colours and cloud formations ☁️⛅️
P.S soggy wet cold socks - not great 😣😫.
I could imagine my mum, long back in the days of my youth saying "always carry a clean pair of socks and underwear, you never know !!" 🤣🤣 She was right !! 🤣🤣
Thanks Lee!
Yes I've always resisted donning the waterproofs until I absolutely have to because they're plastic and very unsightly - but I have to admit they were very practical. I really liked being able to sit out in the rain without a tarp overhead (or a groundsheet beneath me) for several hours and just enjoy being immersed in it.
Enjoyed this especially as i was there, wild camping on the Ridgeway last month, next to the path overlooking the Devils punchbowl. I had such a starry sky that night I lay in tent with my head out so could see them. I hope you get the stars next time.
Like the look of those freeze dried meat substitutes and the soup as an alternative to those dehydrated camp meals.
Japanese food ,fine French wine and sausage rolls ...you always keep it classy......!! 🍷
Thank you! It's an odd combination but it all worked together really well. Everything tastes better in the great outdoors!
Kudos to you Tweedy for braving such inclement weather. Rain, rain, rain. Will we ever get a prolonged dry spell.
A lovely stretch of the Ridgeway. It does look like it’s been “improved” since I last walked that stretch. Waylands Smithy is a gem. 👌
Another delicious looking outdoor meal. Do you take reservations?😋
Hope you dried off ……… eventually and had your veggie fry up! 😂
The morning shots on day two were sublime. 👏👏👍😀
Thanks Andrew! It was one of those situations where I had a window of opportunity and I was determined to take advantage of it regardless of the weather!
Yes I think some of the Ridgeway featured here seemed to be "improved" even since last time I walked the whole thing, which was only four or five years ago. My guess is they've had problems with motor vehicles driving along it or something.
Alas I couldn't find a fry-up in the short time I had in Wantage, the only place which seemed to serve English breakfasts didn't open until later on in the morning... so I had to settle for a trendy avocado on toast. Any port in a storm!
@@tweedyoutdoors Where is the Wetherspoons when you need one! 🥴
Absolutely lovely, if invoking a substantial bit of home-sickness on my side. The way you can make cooking a solitary meal in the rain in the middle of nowhere so attractive, you really want to be there is truly stunning! I love the way you've filmed Wayland's Smithy, as it was one my favourites as well...
Thanks Matt! The waterproofs helped but I found to my surprise I loved sitting out in the rain there in the evening, not far from Uffington Castle and the white horse. Even in those conditions it was a magical location!
I originally recorded a piece talking to camera at Waylands Smithy, but when I watched it back I felt like I wasn't really getting across the point I wanted to get across, so I ended up re-recording the audio at home and just using the B-roll for the video. Maybe that worked better as there was more focus on the monument and less on me! I feel like it's a really important site for the dating of the Ridgeway. If you just have one long barrow next to an old track it could be a coincidence, but once you have two there's a strong suggestion of the route between them existing at the time they were built.
That "hot dog van or some such" does a very welcome bacon butty. Also, good to see some evidence of how the Lofoten bears up in the wet. Thanks.
Terrible entertainment! Only kidding of course, great to see you on my local stretch of The Ridgeway and thanks for the shout out. The Green Road, I believe, is an ex Roman Road, and a fairly significant one if Mr Whitewick was right in one of his videos. A fair old slog from Liddington to Wantage, even with an overnight stop, so well done! Great video, one of your best.
Thanks Hedley! I didn't know Paul had covered that Green Road leading into Wantage, I shall have to go and seek that out now.
My phone tells me I covered about 19 miles in total - I said I was dropped off at Liddington, but it was actually more like the Great Western Hospital, just off the A419. Liddington was just the first place where it seemed like it was worth turning the camera on!
With the exception of the usual bottle of wine I packed extremely lightly on this trip and I think I might have got my total pack weight down to under 10kg, even with food and water... but still my shoulders were aching by the end!
@@tweedyoutdoors 10kg is very light for such an adventure, especially considering the wine and water. I am struggling to pack sub 13kg for a wild camp on Table Mountain soon (Crickhowell). I will try and find Paul’s video, it is an older one.
I once lay in the Great Western Hospital, broken and in pain, staring at Liddington Clump and promising myself that reaching that would be my prize for recovery!
Didn't wax one's boots! Most remiss of you sir. I miss British summers. A posh Pot noodle sounds a wonderful thing. A nice red, accompanied by a sausage roll is more my caper🤣. An absolutely wonderful vid Mr Tweedy...I gave up camping many moons ago...and have been reminded why I prefer glamping.
Thanks Phil! Yes the gaps between my camping expeditions seem to have been getting longer, and I am wondering how many more I have left in me! I've never really been able to get a decent night's sleep when camping, and the effort of the whole thing - particularly cleaning and drying out all the kit when I get back home - often makes me wonder why I bother! I do still find the sense of freedom very appealing though, and being up and about at sunrise in a landscape like this - when I have it all to myself - is also pretty special.
@@tweedyoutdoors I hope you keep making these splendid vids for many years to come dear sir. My comment was in no way intended to deter you. Your most civilised camping adventures, despite the inclement weather merely reminded me of my not so pleasant endeavours from the last and final time I would ever embark upon such a venture. We were camping in the highlands of Tasmania in a small tent. My nose was pressed against the canvass and some critter on the outside was scratching away trying to get at my schnoz. We took our large and nervous Staffordshire bull terrier with us. Sadly his bottom exploded in the middle of the night, given I'm squeamish about such things I was stood outside of the tent in a howling gale, sleet flying at me sideways for an hour while my stronger stomached wife tackled the clean up. Oh, and the weather had put our fire out 🤣. In comparison, your camping evening was a night at the Ritz ...But still gave me a touch of PTSD. 😱
Brilliant as always, love the ridge way, love Japanese food and cooking outdoors, love wine too! Most of all love your videos! Hope you dried off! Carry an emergency pringle can lid, it'll keep the wine less wet! Or foil works too!
Oh my you are a hardy fellow for smiling and filming through all of that rain and wind!
Thanks Kevin! What can I say, I just love being in the great outdoors - even when it's bad it's good!
Quite fascinating Tweedy. And lovely walkway 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
The Devil's punchbowl (21:05) is where I am planning our little camp - maybe with a walk up from the village of Letcombe Bassett, or we could just park near the top (but the former makes for a better video!).
…couple of sausage rolls… 😂
Couldn’t help but see the funny side of that.
😂😂😂
Who doesn't love a sausage roll?
I have taken my hat off to you. That looked like an awful night!
What do you do with your soaking waterproofs overnight, so they don't drench the inside of the tent? Plastic bag outside? Incredibly impressed you managed to cook a meal in that rain too! This video raises so many questions!
Glad you got a sunrise and it did look like a good spot to spend the night. Were you far from Uffington Castle?
Thank you Mr WC21! The waterproof trousers were a revelation - you may have seen me (reluctantly) wearing that waterproof jacket in previous videos, but I could never previously be bothered with the trousers because I have to take my boots off to get them on and it all seemed like too much of a faff... However thanks to the benches dotted around near Uffington Castle / White Horse it was easier to sit for a minute and put the trousers on, then I realised I could sit out in the rain for as long as I wanted with near impunity! I didn't even need to bother with having anything to sit on - once I had those waterproof trousers on I could just plonk myself on the soggy grass but not get wet.
It was a fun challenge to cook in the (at times) pouring rain. I was helped by the fact this was a very simple meal: no chopping involved and no open pans. If there had been any they would have filled up with water!
My tiny tent has a sort of vestibule area at the side and all the wet stuff stayed in there. I think if it hadn't been for the constant wind that probably would have ensured the inner compartment was absolutely dripping wet with condensation. So in a strange way at least some aspect of the "bad" weather actually helped there.
The camping spot wasn't far from Uffington Castle. After past run-ins with busybodies on the internet, just to be on the safe side I checked the extents of the ancient monuments on the Historic England website and found a spot as far away from their boundaries as possible whilst still being within open access land and on relatively flat ground. Being near the fence posts also helped to make it a bit more discreet so I hopefully wasn't spoiling the view for anyone.
As always I didn't sleep at all well, but the walk at sunrise in the morning was magical!
That was quite a walk John, I know this section of the Ridgeway well as it's closest to my home. These days I prefer to travel by cycle and generally am along a part of the Ridgeway a couple of times a month. In the past I have hiked the route from Overton hill to Ivinghoe beacon 4 times wild camping all the way.
I'm sure the early settlers favoured these higher routes as they would have probably been easier to navigate compared to the valleys which would have been a tangled mess and quite boggy, so the route came first then the barrows, then the hillforts then the villages, then the towns then the motorways and the train lines then the cities and the factories and the offices and the internet and lastly a man dressed in a tweed suit escaping the rat race for a short while:)
Thanks Sandy! I am envious you live so close to this bit of the Ridgeway - with the exception of that crossing of the M4 I think it might be the best bit! I've never managed more than a two day hike if I'm wild camping - by the end of the second day's walk I'm usually exhausted and desperate for home comforts (a hot shower, a proper bed, etc). I did really enjoy this short trip though.
I know our ancestors were probably built of stronger stuff than modern wimps like me but I think that tiny bit of hardship I experienced is illustrative of the importance of having comparatively easy routes to follow back in ancient times. I'm sure the chalk ridges would have provided that.
I'm really looking forward to watching this. The Ridgeway is one of those things on my bucketlist. I've only seen one little bit, woefully inadequate to satisfy a proper bucketlist tick.
I've got a mini obsession with drove roads too 🤫
I hope it doesn't disappoint! I think it would be fair to say, like any long distance trail, that some bits of the Ridgeway can seem a bit dull, particularly if the weather isn't great, or if you're not in the right mood.... but I think this section around Wayland's Smithy and Uffington Castle has a lot to offer in terms of scenery and ancient history. The bit where it crosses the M4 is perhaps a bit less evocative!
@@tweedyoutdoors Superb effort on your part to remain cheerful, despite the circumstances.
I wonder how tough it must have been for the people who used these ways. Imagine getting yourself and a flock of sheep from The Cotswolds to London 😳 Remarkable when you consider.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings.
Thanks again for a great video, much appreciated.
Absolutely massive respect for persevering with the cook & camp, regardless of your waterproof clothing's capabilities...would've hated for the tweed to absorb dampness 😂
You mention that you found the 'horsebox parking' *odd*...as a horsebox (and horse) owner I'm always delighted to find a dedicated area for us to safely load and unload...although it is sadly extremely rare that some nob in a BMW X5 or Ford Ranger Raptor hasn't inconsiderately accidentally ignored the signage 🤬...
I don't think I've ever seen a designated horsebox parking space before! Well perhaps I have but i just wasn't paying attention...? Is there a map of these published somewhere? Otherwise you might be driving around for hours I can imagine...
@tweedyoutdoors If only there were a centralised resource! That said, Forestry Commission, National Trust, English Heritage and the Water Companies do tend to publish the location of these when they remember...
We were amused by your culinary exploits. So appropriate, Asian cuisine cooked in the great outdoors. Just like natives would done in 700 BC. I have traversed the Ridgeway I remember there were copses you could have sheltered under. That tent is rather coffin like in shape. 10 points for being a plucky Englishman,
I don't think I've ever cooked historically or geographically appropriate food in any of these videos! Perhaps the closest was the Cacio e Pepe (a "Roman" dish) at Hadrian's Wall, but that required a bit of a leap of faith to imagine it might have been something cooked in the days of ancient Rome.
There is a little wood opposite Wayland's Smithy and I get the sense that's often used for people to camp when they're walking the Ridgeway. I often end up in the woods when camping - at least partly to be discreet - but on this occasion I really wanted a view!
Drawing the line at sleeping IN Waylands Smithy? Having read the fog on the barrow downs chapter of LOTR, I wouldn't sleep a wink lol.
I've only just found your channel! Its brilliant 😊 a spare pair of socks is a must.
Thank you, and glad you found the channel. I can be so irrational about weight when packing for one of these trips - I leave out the spare pair of socks but keep in the bottle of wine!
Well done! I would have given up due to weather, but the next day was beautiful 🎉
Thanks L&J - yes that sunrise definitely made it all worthwhile!
That part between the bacon sandwich farm shop and (just beyond) Waylands’s Smithy has had a upgrade. They got the status of the right of way changed (to restricted byway) and put in the blocks to stop four-wheeled off-roaders. The surface had a chance to stabilise and its had some kind of surface put on it. Notice that where you go from Wiltshire to new Oxfordshire (just beyond the bacon shop, at the point where the path starts to rise towards the ‘interesting dwelling’ on the north verge) the nature of the surface changes. Presumably different contractors for different local authorities.
Blocks don’t stop motorbikes though - last year on a Sunday afternoon (when doing the whole Ridgeway in pieces) a whole horde of them rode past on the Waylands Smithy stretch.
I thought I was mental! I would've had a massive strop and then abandoned the walk very, very quickly under those conditions. But I'm glad you did it to show the correct level of manliness for UA-cam antiquarians everywhere. As for Why Ridgeway?--for me the ridge is an ideal location for multiple uses: to bury grandad, to be able to see your enemies coming, to force your enemies to wear themselves out running uphill, to display your tribal greatness for a dozen or so miles. Oh, and it, er, is a great way to, er, keep your feet--cough--dry while going from one district to another. I would expect people have been walking the ridge for a hundred thousand years but if game is what you seek being downhill with the water is what you want. Though saying that there is a magnificent herd of Fallow deer up above Woolstone.
I'm not sure if it's manliness as much as just bloody mindedness! I had a window of opportunity where my presence was apparently neither required nor expected at home and I was determined to spend it under the stars (whether or not I could actually see them) regardless of the weather.
I think your broader interpretation of the usefulness of the ridge (with or without the "way") makes a lot of sense... and it does seem to be a running theme that I end up with very wet feet whenever I do a walk along one of these ancient hilltop routes which were supposed to solve that exact problem!
Great one John. Hardcore wild camping and cooking - having fun despite those conditions. We were there only a few weeks ago which added interest as well. And I agree with your logic re chicken or egg / ridgeway or monuments 😄👍
Thanks Giles! The waterproofs worked surprisingly well, it wasn't too cold, and for most of the time it was actually a delight sitting out in the rain! Great to hear you were in this neck of the woods recently - it's a very special area in my opinion, with lots of ancient things to contemplate.
Enjoyed this one after a long day on the corporate treadmill, fantastic 👏
Thanks Ken, very glad to hear it provided a bit of an antidote to the weary world of work!
Hi John, Excellent video showing just how it is.
You managed well despite the rain, the audio was perfect too and I think it is important to know the state of your socks, perhaps some kind of textile moisture meter is required. Such a device can be brought but looks a tad expensive. Soaking wet will do I think.
Maybe Capabilty Brown did some work on the ridgeway between jobs, I'm surprised he had time, wiki tells me he had 8 children.
The sunrise was a perfect break, it seems so early at 5am, I don't get the sun until about 7:30 mainly because its hiding behind the mountains.
You have me wondering what would you have in a full English breakfast?
As always very enjoyable to watch, well done!!
Thanks David - you know me, "keeping it real" (as the young folk like to say... Or perhaps they did 20 years ago).
Presumably a simple solution to measure the water content of my socks would be to weigh them? I vaguely recall seeing a device for weighing things which has a hook beneath it - perhaps that would work? I would quite like to know what my backpack weighs which would be another useful application of that gadget.
Alas the fryup never materialised! The one place in Wantage which seemed to serve them didn't open until later in the morning and I felt compelled to curtail the many glorious hours of solitude I had enjoyed and go to meet my family.
For what it's worth my favourite "greasy spoon" is the famous Regency Cafe in Pimlico / Westminster wherein my standard order is beans, bubble (and squeak), mushrooms and hash browns.
@@tweedyoutdoors The Regency looks just like a greasy spoon should do!! complete with vegetarian options and competively priced too. Good reviews too.
Sausage roll, glass of wine, a meadow, England is your Kingdom.
Such relaxing videos
Thanks Deborah! ...and there I was thinking I was making a high octane thrill ride of a video! 😁
A most excellent adventure.
Thank you! I had a great time (albeit perhaps a tiny bit tired and grumpy towards the end).
I think you're right about things springing up along the routes from one place to another; it's pretty much what happens anywhere in the world; the question is, what was at the beginning and end of the route?
I like the theory that the landscape around Avebury and Stonehenge is a natural hub which these chalk ridges lead to, and at a time when chalk ridges were the only practical long distance routes, settlements gained prominence from proximity to them, and the most prominent settlements were those which were best connected - i.e. at the hub.
Love it tweedy!
Thank you!
Love your videos..hoping to bump into you on the pub ones..historical ones are our thing.
\Great sunrise. Where do you get that instant rice you just add water too? Ideal for camping.
Alas this was bought in Japan, and I haven't yet found one quite like it here in the UK. I will keep searching!
Lovely! Thanks!
Thank you!
I always took that road sign to mean "no stunt riding on a Honda C90"
The Honda C90 being the most indomitable of motorcycles, of course...
The ambiguity of it is maddening!
If you have wet socks wring them out before you sleep. Roll them inside each other and put thrm in uour sleeping bag if you have one. They will be lretty much d5y by moring ftom the heat in the slerping bag.
Joire de vee vrah ? Ok, Delboy. Petites pois, madam.
Walking on thr wrong side of the road there... Always walk facing traffic
You need a drone, Tweedy, though I know the Luddite in you is loathe to acquire one, you are, however, inescapably, after all, a UA-camr, in the year 2024.
Excellent well done 👏 I watched your morris men and cider video earlier do you ever feel the cold ?? 😁
Thank you! Yes I do feel the cold a bit but the sense of freedom of being in the great outdoors usually wins out over that. The wine also helps!
@@tweedyoutdoors very. True 😁I bet it was nice listening to the wind in your tent throughout the night 😁👍