Hoad Hill - The Sir John Barrow Monument and Morecambe Bay - Also Dry Stone Walls
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Join us for a walk up a steep hill, to a landmark monument near Ulverston, and then for a ramble along the beach on the north side of Morecambe Bay.
This is one of several videos recorded during a week-long visit to Cumbria in September 2023
Here's a map link to Hoad Hill: www.google.com...
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For people who are unfamiliar with the cockle pickers disaster, Mike's referring to this en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morecambe_Bay_cockling_disaster
One positive out of the story is it spurred the government to introduce new laws surrounding gangmasters and the people who 'work' for them
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangmasters_and_Labour_Abuse_Authority
Thank you so much! The history is one of the most fascinating aspects of these videos to me :)
Hold on, this only happened in 2004? When Mike told the story, I was expecting it to have happened decades, if not a century or more ago.
@@rolfs2165 It sounds like it should have been a long time ago. But it was less than 20 years.
@@rolfs2165 To be fair, 2004 is almost 20 years ago 😳 Man time flies...
@@rolfs2165 Sadly it's something that could happen in 2023. It seems most of the migrants crossing the channel are picked up by Border Patrol and put in camps or hotels. But there are still some that make it undetected. Where do you think they end up?
Shrimp pointing at a bloke and saying confidently “The old man of Conniston” made me chuckle, it just lined up well 🤭🤣😂
when you mentioned quicksand it reminded me of my first visit to the UK. it would have been... around '88-'90, my parents took me bed&breakfasting through the south of England and Wales. One day they took me on a walk through a bog, telling me about how anything that sinks into a bog stays remarkably preserved for a really long time, be it wood or bodies, and some of the ground was a bit soft and springy, oooh careful, you're going to fall in... playing up the spookiness a bit for the little one, but mostly I just thought it looked like wet grasslands, like after it had rained. not impressed, me. eventually we'd had enough of the walking and were looking around to locate the straightest way to the car park when my dad took one step to the right and suddenly I was taller than him - his right leg had gone down into bog water all the way up to the hip instantly, he was basically sitting on his left leg, up on grass, with his right leg plunged into the depths and no bottom to be felt. that's how immediate and steep the delineation between ground and bog water was. my mom immediately ran over, helped him up, back on safe land, and his jeans had changed color - left side denim blue, right side tea brown with decomposing plant matter clung all over it. better believe that on the way back to the car I felt a whole lot more impressed with the area than I had been on the way in.
I,m from Yorkshire but visit Lancashire a lot, Morecambe bay is a sight to behold. Years ago in the early 1980's I had a job as a dry stone wall repairer. We were driven in groups of about 8 out into the countryside around Yorkshire with the experts (who all seemed like very old men to me in my 20's ) when we arrived at the wall that need to be repaired we all piled out of the van and the old men would show us young uns how to repair the wall. As a woman, I was not allowed to do the repairs, I was only allowed to watch and or break up rocks deemed unsuitable for the repairs into 'filler' which was put in the middle of the wall to help make it sturdy. The stones on the the top were called 'toppers' (of course!) Interestingly some of the older walls were great places to find all kinds of objects of interest as it was common practice back in the day to use the house hold rubbish to fill in the middle of the walls and I found lead toy soldiers, old bottles, parts of clogs (shoes) and horsehoes!
Great video as always. Ulverstone, the birthplace of the brilliant Stan Laurel.
I just love how excited Eva gets just to run back and forth or dig for something only she seems to be aware of.
The 8am Saturday morning Shrimp drop is one of the highlights of the week, along with the coffee I drink while watching it.
I love all these videos: its like having a tour guide along while you explore :)
and the nice, calm pacing. Reminds me of Joe Pera
Lovely walk. Thanks Mike. My father used to do dry stone walling back in the day. Apparently the secret was once you picked up a stone it had to go into the wall, if you searched for the 'perfect' stone the thing would never get built...
Thank you so much for showing us things that we may never have the privilege to see in person. So beautiful. That spring, the sound, the history. I feel like I was there with you.
If you ever find a way to create VR videos, you will make a killing sir. Your exploration videos feel so interactive and I’ll mirror the statements of others, I love the added touches of the information points being brought up on screen and a timer added for us to digest it. So many people who can’t venture outdoors in this capacity can thoroughly enjoy these videos. Absolutely well done 👏🏻
We lost our much-loved pet last week and your lovely uplifting videos have really helped us these past few days. Thank you Mike.
PS We love Eva so much. That little dog is living her best life chasing rocks
I sorrow for your loss. Love to you during this time. ❤️🩹
@@ivechang6720 thank you so much. That's lovely x
"...and there's the old man of coniston" *points to a man enjoying the view* . Made me chuckle. Thank you as always Mike, your videos feel more and more needed in this current time.
I got a good chuckle out of that, too 😄
Made me laugh as well
❤😂 me too 😂❤
Having grown up in this region but long since moved away it's delightful but also a little surreal to see you exploring the places of my childhood. When driving back to Barrow as kids in the back of the car my sister and I always had a competition, the winner being the first one to spot the Hoad.
My brother's and I would have the same style of competition. Except living in a rural area of the Midwest US, it was usually power transformers on specific poles that marked which gravel road to turn down, or distinct peaks we gave names to in the hills that we could see in the distance, but never actually got very close to. Seeing "Vulture Peak" on the road to grandparents' house meant we only had about one hour worth of driving left to go. Prominent landmarks were in short supply where we traveled, I guess 😂
We used to do the same when driving up from the South to visit grandparents in Ulverston.
We all always did the same when returning to Ulverston, the winner being the first to spot 'the pepper pot'.
I can see why England has had so many outstanding landscape artists. Very inspiring!!
It's amazing how fractal natural formations are, when you showed the sand canyon on the beach, it could have easily been footage from an aircraft a few thousand feet above a "normal" sized canyon in Arizona or similar landscape area. (Timestamp 31:06) it looks exactly the same minus any vegetation
Laid up with a foot, injured and booted, but enjoying a walk anyway. Thank you!
Please continue to spoil us! 2 videos in one day is always such a pleasure, I do wish that YT's notification system would work the way its intended to. I hope all 3 of you enjoyed the walk :) Seeing Eva getting out for walks like this brings me a high level of joy, also thanks for taking us along with you, its a great pleasure.
I'm glad we can hear you breathing, I would be very worried if we couldn't.
Lovely walk.
Honestly, the number of weird comments I get to the effect 'OMG you're out of breath and the video is only 3 minutes long!' - you wouldn't believe it.
Interesting video, as always.
You can see a couple of rabbits running on the other side of the wall at 19:15 (between the wall and those small bushes).
I do enjoy your walks, it almost feels like I've done something when in reality my lazy ass hasn't left my sofa.
I'm always surprised by what amazing vantage points even modest hills provide.
I went to Ulverston Victoria High School lower school at the bottom of the hill (before it was sold and knocked down). On sports day we run up and down the hill. It is such a beautiful part of the world.
Me too. I love the place but the cross country course was a nightmare; i'd usually had more than enough by the time I reached Little Hoad!
What's amazing to me is how similar the area seems to be to Nova Scotia. In the Valley here in NS, you can go to the Minas Basin and see the tidal bore rush in and cover a huge sand bar just like this one. You also can't outrun it, the tides are deadly. I guess that's why the French call it Nouvelle-Ecosse, or "New Scotland" as NS and much of England and Scotland have so much in common.
Eva and the perfect running surface. I totally get that.
My father has leg problems (insufficient blood flow), so he has to stop walking about every furlong (or about 10 London double decker buses). He can walk way longer on the beach or tidal flats.
The tide is similar to what we get on the north sea coast behind the barrier islands, along with people trying to walk to the islands without a guide and getting trapped by the incoming tide. The island do look close, I admit. We also have the worms (32 minute mark-ish), telling kids they are walking on worm poo is always fun 😂
Sorry I can't understand what you meant unless you can give me the measurement in blue whales
Seriously, that thing you did showing how much time we had left to pause is the best youtube thing I've ever seen.
I always enjoy your walking tours. Thank you! And what do you mean, you didn't bring anything to dig with? Eva does
a smashing job!! Best wishes to you!
What a great video content ,really love your work,all it but especially your walk about visits and giving us some history along the way,relaxing cosy content,keep up the good work ❤
I love the way you talk to Eva. It always makes me laugh becuase she does seem to understand what your saying.
What a lovely walk and day at the beach! Sounds like a Uncle showing off a place to their nephew.
You certainly did capture the extent of the bay. Some of your photography in this video was excellent. Thank you so much.
The timer for people to read the sign is an absolutely fantastic idea.
It's little touches like this that make AS videos so uniquely special, beyond the fascinating content, of course.
Yes, definitely, touches like this make the video feel really interactive!
I'm rather stunned right now.
I discovered your sublime scambaiting videos only yesterday (great work) and was just browsing to find the final chapter of the John Warosa/Barosa saga.
Imagine my surprise at seeing a thumbnail showing my home town of Ulverston.
Now living on an entirely different continent - having not visited home in nearly a decade - it was a heart-warming if somewhat bittersweet experience to watch your video.
Thanks very much!
P.S. If you ever return to the sands of Morecambe bay take some salt with you. As you walk look for small pinholes in the surface of the sand and pour some salt into it. Wait a minute and (more often than not) a razor clam will pop out, thinking the tide has come in.
I look forward to lunch as well.
Thanks. I can barely stand the brightness of this with filters on my phone, actually walking it is out of the question. So *you* have made these views and experiences remotely accessable to me. Thank you.
Thanks for taking us on so many adventures with you!
Thank you for this video. As kids we used to holiday around this area as my Dad came from Morecambe and it brought back many memories.
Coming from the Midlands we were disappointed that we did not see the sea that often, and I am sure my Dad got fed up with three kids saying ‘can we see the sea yet Dad?’
What a nice tour with some amazing views. I love it!
Seeing Eva being Eva is great too; she's such a wonderful energetic dog.
Beautiful. It is great to see the north of England. Thank you
One of these videos genuinely makes me feel like I'm a tourist going round a museum. 'The great museum of the British countryside narrated by Atomic Shrimp'. Love it after a stressful week at work with a cuppa
Love the walk up Hoad, locally it's known as the pepper pot!
Indeed it is. I still recall buying mivvis from Dennis Garrett's ice-cream van upon reaching the summit...
I like how you include a timer on things like plaque overlays so people know how much time they have to read and pause if necessary. Its a little thing, but a good thing.
Your dog is a hoot . How charming . What fun .
My father was from Ulverston.
He invented the UK 13amp 3 pin plug!!
Amazing!
Fascinating video of your travels with Jenny and the joyful Eva who really does love digging and chasing her ball where thee is sand 🤣😂🤣. Thanks Mike, Jenny and Eva.
Made me chuckle when you said "the old man of Coniston" while pointing at an old man in the foreground 😆
Love these i lean alot about the surroundings and monuments there
Always love to watch and listen to your videos especially at the moment whilst i am currently off work and really not feeling well. I've learned so much and i always feel like I'm on a journey with you. I feel inspired to travel to Morecambe bay now (that's say a lot for a Yorkie) when I'm back to full health 😊 keep being awesome ❤
I'd like to just say that I love these videos, especially when you bring Eva along and she adds to your commentary with her little happy barks to let you know she'd found something interesting. I don't have a dog now, but it reminds me of walking with my family down South Gare and Redcar beach with our border collie who would join in our chats with her own happy little barks.
That Shell walking ASMR was pleasant!
I really loved the dry stone wall bit. Especially the part about how frost can affect it and for some reason I am just really happy to have learned that😊
been subscribed for a long time, I'm blown away that you are exploring my home town, something I could never see happening! It would have been an honour bumping into you while you were here
I'm equally blown away; I came for the scambaiting, stayed for the visit to my home-town!
23:55 half expected to see a Mudcrab there :D
I think the area around Whiterun in Skyrim, especially the west has similiar water features and they're full of Mudcrabs.
Its cool to see something i've seen in a game before in a reallife example :)
What an amazing landscape...
Very enjoyable, entertaining and informative. Thank you.
Eva at full speed, gee whiz, little dog zooms. Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.
Another beautiful video. Thank you for sharing.
I really love these videos because I probably will never be able to travel so it is nice to experience a sliver of your country through your adventures. Even if I get the chance to go to England I doubt I'll have the time to check out cool sites like this.
❤ I always love the variety of videos and I am yet to watch one that I haven’t enjoyed, however, may I say that this was probably one of my favourites. The creek at Morecambe bay with the cockle shell bed was beautiful. This video has made me want to visit the area, so thank you for sharing ❤❤❤
Lovely walk, thank you!
Mr & Mrs Shrimp & Eva, that was just lovely. Thank you so much.
You might be interested to know that in the grounds of Shibden Hall near Halifax (West Yorks) is an outdoor, dry stone wall (so-called) 'museum'. From memory, it is good fun and showcases some of the various construction methods used over time.
Nice to get out in this mild autumn weather whilst you have the chance.
having lived in the area my whole life its so surreal to see anything about the area posted online. especially atomic shrimp who I've followed for like 2 years now
Loved the history the moment is fascinating I like looking at old buildings and trying to picture what it was like back then.
Thanks for the brilliant tour, l love the countryside & really miss it 😢 Thanks Atomic shrimp 🦐
Beautiful scenery
Hope you and your family are in the pink of health, thank you for the wonderful videos :D
Thank you
Aah 😌 some nice relaxing Saturday morning 🦐
Delightful video as always.😊
I followed along on google maps where you where walking and what you where looking at. A suprisingly fun little excercise.
I love hear and love the scenery
I haven't been to Morecambe bay for years, so this was a lovely revisit. I am utterly taken with the concept of living on a remote island often cut off by the tide, running a pub and being a monarch though. That's a dream life right there! Perhaps not enough rocks for Eva to bark at though, too much sand to stone ratio.
Wonderful little place, that.
We used to stay at Middleton Sands near the Pontins at Morecambe bay, when the tide was out, the beach was huge, but when the tide came in , oh boy! It came in fast too. At the time there was a burnt out Hillman Hunter on the sands, that was submerged in high tide. That incident involving the pickers was horrific, and revealed a huge scandal.
Morecambe is a beautiful place. I visit every summer to see my step-mum. I've not visited hoad Hill however. I think I might have to make a trip next summer.
Clamming is a lot of fun, but one needs to know where the clam beds are, local regulations, and the tide times. I recommend learning about how to clam safely, because claiming is a very enjoyable foraging hobby. It would fit well with your other foraging activities. It's wonderful to bring a bag of cockles home to fry or make chowder from.
Pretty sheep! 😍
Hoping there is a piel island video coming!! Thanks for these videos they're great
My 20 week lab pup has just been intently watching Eva digging on the beach.
Eva is just having a blast!
Yes, there's no point competing over mountain height. For one thing they grow so slowly that it's quite boring. And Mars always wins in the end.
I always find it weird when people are competitive over things they had no hand in.
Lovely video, Mike - there's a definite 'Jack Hargreaves' vibe to it in places. And that's a good thing. I've been to Morecambe Bay once, and it's incredibly beautiful, but I did find the utter silence of the place, somewhat eerie.
I think that you can pick Cockles (use a rake with short wooden tines), if they are for your own use: a small amount to have for your tea, perhaps - I don't think a small basketful would deplete the stocks much.
If you do gather some, don't throw them into your receptacle, as the shells are brittle, and can break, leading to a dead cockle which would not be safe to eat. Richard Mabey's classic book 'Food For Free' has full details on preparation. I like Cockles as part of a fry up, cooked in hot bacon fat.
At the 30 minute mark, Eva digging sounds like a little steam engine. It's wonderful.
Eva is like you and Jenny - loving life, and every bit of it. I'm somewhat loath to ascribe emotions to animals, but Eva really is the happiest little dog I have ever seen.
Thanks again. Your videos are the perfect start to my weekend. 👍👍👍
Fantastic video. Morecambe bay is 310 square kilometres, the island of Malta is 316, so that is a good size comparison. You can find significant Samphire growth further into the bay especially on the marsh near Flookburgh.
Edit. The country of Malta, not just the main island is 316 square km. So that adds the islands of Gozo and Comino to the comparative size. Apologies.
13:59 - Atomic Shrimp: "The old man of Coniston." Dennis: "I'm 37."
Well I didn't know you were called Dennis........ etc.
My favorite FPS (First Person Shrimp) game is back!
The wire fence is often to stop cows rubbing against the wall. I believe they enjoy scratching themselves against the wall, but in the process they damage them.
A monument of that scale to the 2nd secretary of the admiralty, not even the number 1 guy. The staggering wealth of Victorian England, and how much that wealth depended on the sea. Thanks for the content.
The energy and speed of Eva is incredible-doesn’t she ever get tired?!
Have you ever thought about catching and cooking American Signal Crayfish? Invasive in the UK and they taste great.
I grew up near here and we always called this "The Pepperpot"
As you drive towards Ulverston on the A590 theres a weird illusion that makes it look like the tower is lowering down into the hill the closer you get. My grandad told me there were gnomes that lived in there and would hide their tower if they caught you looking at it, I believed him for years lol
I noticed this effect - also my unfamiliarity with the terrain played interesting tricks on me, especially on clear days. Down here in Dorset, we have a lot of hills, but generally you only see the next one. There were a few times, driving from Furness toward Ulverston where I thought 'hey, that looks like an interesting local hill we could climb', only to realise it's more of a mountain, and it's a long way off.
Eva continuing her holiday . . . Are you and Jenny enjoying accompanying? 🤣🥰🤗
A beach forage collab vid with The Fish Locker would be neat
Not a beautiful structure the monument but another very interesting Shrimp's walk . Thanks so very much for showing us places that many of us will never get to.
I love the beach videos.....Carla H.
13:51 I love how you said 'The Old Man of Coniston' then pointed at an elderly gentleman in a field 🤣
Walking on those cockle shells made for amazing ASMR.
There's a guided walk across the bay, led by a royally appointed guide - been going since the 1500's, you might have been up there a bit late in the year to join one though
im not through with this one yet but I love seeing stuff like this. im in the US and unless I have to, I'm not gonna ever fly again except in certain situations. So i will never see any of this stuff in person. seeing the coast looking so different from my own coast is so cool! of course i have many wonderful places close by i can walk or bike in, but there is something awesome about seeing a country you're never going to see.