Great video Susanna. I particularly liked the reference to the Woolwich gunpowder barge. My Mother worked in the Woolwich armourmounts factory making shells for the WWII war effort. Her occupation on Her marriage certificate states "oxy accetiline welder". 😊
UA-cam is grand, allowing us to experience a country through a traveler's camera lens. Happy to subscribe. Kindest Regards Tony ( Cape Town, South Africa)
I recently stumbled upon your captivating videos and have been binge-watching ever since. Your sense of adventure is truly enthralling, and your remarkable endurance serves as a great inspiration to me. Keep up the good work.
Hi Susanna, thank you for sharing another mini adventure. The format of your videos is excellent, we get to see different parts of the country with a history lesson thrown in too, but for me it's seeing all the friendly people you meet along the way, that's great! Keep those pedals turning. Kind regards, Peter
Hi Jason! Aw thanks yes lots of car-free paths and tracks on this one. And wild apples!! they were good! I should have filmed myself eating them as well, but I forgot. Thanks for writing! Hope you are well! How did you big ride go??
Hi Helen! aw that is a nice way of putting it, surprises! Lots of surprises and lots of things to enjoy, just pottering around the local area. Thanks for writing!
Thanks for this video Susanna, it took me back 50 plus years. I grew up overlooking Bow Locks until they build Bow School there, I must revisit its so changed and I never realised the Lee was so beautiful further up.
Hi Les, aw thanks for the lovely comment. Yeh I was surprised how lovely the whole thing was, I mean I know the bottom but I had never been beyond where IKEA is (or was) in Edmonton before. About the Upper Lea, I think there are lots more gorgeous bits up there, actually, but they are accessible only by footpaths really. Funnily enough the other day I was just randomly standing by a gate in Primrose Hill, and a guy on a bike asked me for directions, and it turned out he'd just ridden down from Luton, along the Lea, so we had a natter. It sounded like he'd done some lovely sections further up, that I'd missed. Anyway, thanks for writing and glad you like the film. Best wishes!
Thank you Susanna for sharing this journey. It is incredible that there is such a green 'corridor' running out of London and for a lot of the way the path by the river Lea seemed like a good tow path. I love your photography, your unhurried style and also the people you meet along the route - the couple on the Triumph bikes, the man who talked about the Levellers and the woman with the dog and grandchildren - all add that extra bit to the journey. As does your resourcefulness in not letting a closed campsite interfere with your journey. It is such a change from those who are only interested in their average MPH and worrying about the weight of their bikes.
" Enjoy the journey" Could not agree more! I enjoy the the chance encounters with people along the way, as much as the riding on my own travels. Take care and have a good summer.
What a lovely, lovely film I do look forward to seeing them. Also nice to read Mirriam's comment, I watch her films too. Its so uplifting to see you getting out there into nature, not worrying about the weather, doing it anyway.
Love your micro adventures. This is one of my favorites: The soundtrack, the videography, the people you meet, the river-source hunting and of course your wild camping. You are indeed an inspiration.
Gosh! That was a good trip. The pargeting on the hotel was wonderful. Thank you again, Susanna, for sharing your journeys - it's fascinating to see the places you visit. Best wishes.
Hi there Emma! Hope you are well! Thanks for writing! Yes wasn't Hertford lovely. I had no idea. And it was so lovely that that local man just came over and said hello and chatted with me about it all too.
Seems to me you could have your own travel show with your professional photography and presentation. I always get excited to see another of your wonderful videos. Thankyou so very much for sharing !
Hi Susanna! I hope you are well and planning your next trip. Waiting so long to have an opportunity to buy the Brompton, I have decided to venture with a Canadian brand (SoloRock, Dash model in aluminum). It is my first folding bike and to tell the truth I am not complaining at all. I've already started running a little and I have three friends who were also motivated, they bought a folding bike to and we run in the afternoons through Old San Juan. In the next outing I will send you photos. In September I am going to Portugal and I will take my bike with me to do some route from Lisbon. Next year we will be in London. You can't imagine how much I admire and respect all the citizens of your country for the respect they have towards cyclists, for me it's impressive! I see your videos and I only feel peace and an immense desire to go running on those beautiful routes. Maybe we will meet in one of them and share a coffee hahaha and I invite the Puerto Rican coffee😉. Thank you for motivating me to ride a bike again!
Hi Karmenkin! Oh that sounds fantastic. How lovely. I just looked up Old San Juan, looks lovely, hopefully there are lots of nice cafes where you guys can stop and sit there, sounds so nice all of you there pedalling around in the afternoons 😎😎😎😎🚲🚲🚲🚲🌞☕☕☕☕
Thank you for sharing we agree it is the journey and the appreciation of those important every day things that matters more than the destination - thank you - so relaxing! Russell and Jennifer 🙏🙏
Hi Carol! Thanks for the lovely comment. Yeh I do like it, cycling from the middle of London all the way out to the edge of the city, to see what is there. And then when I am back in the middle again, I can look at the sky in the distance in different directions, and I know what is under it
Another fabulous adventure and video. Brings back memories for me of sailing at Cheshunt when I was at school. Hertfordshire schools had an active sailing programme in the 1970’s. It never occurred to any of us that sailing was a posh thing to do. 🤓
Susanna a fascinating ride. Back in the 1960s I used to play in the Lea in Wardown Park, Luton. My two brothers were born in Leagrave. I now ride an electric Brompton. My tent is a Hilleberg Akto. I cook using the same Trangia. All in Qld Australia, now! Great video. Thanks.
Hi Natalya! oh how amazing - what was the Lea like there in the 1960s? Sounds great with the electric Brompton - and your Akto! and Trangia! haha how lovely
@@natalyaclaire5655 Oh how nice that it was clear like that. Hope they can make the rivers cleaner again. Grateful to all the people lobbying and working on things like that
Lovely ride, I have put in my mental book to do next time | visit my son who lives in Shadwell. I have ridden along a little bit of the R.Lea at Straford so thats where I'll start. Thanks for sharing, you have inspired me to use my newly aquired brompton for proper mini adventures. I like all the information you provide en route, please keep it up. Stay strong!
Hi Shawn! thanks for writing! Before I did this ride, I had ridden along only small parts of the Lea, as far as Tottenham IKEA basically, and never seen the mouth of the river. It was lovely to ride up it and see what it is like. Happy cycling!
Always fun to see film of our local cycle routes. The good news (if you come back this way again) is the resurfacing works on the Cole Green Way are finished, so the muddy bit is now tarmac and the rest of the route good compacted surfacing. There's also a brand new tarmac section at Hertford Football Club. Perhaps you could do the Stort next, starting back in Hatfield to see the mill at Mill Green (open Sundays with the wheel and grinding wheels working) and then heading north at Rye House (go and see the building there too.)?
Hi Adam! oh that is good news about Cole Green Way and so on. Thanks for the tips! Actually about the Stort yes I did have a go at that too another day - I thought it would be nice to ride to the watershed of rivers flowing into the Thames and water flowing north into East Anglia, and camp there... really enjoyed it just as you thought! here is the film studio.ua-cam.com/users/video45Q2V-Z1VkQ/edit
@@susannathornton I will have a look. Just been watching you cycling through Derbyshire via Wirksworth. The hills either side of the valley are killers as we found walking up from the railway to the Crich Tramway Museum several years ago!
Hi Susanna, I have to say I love your video's very much and what I would love to do is to watch one of your videos once a month at least so no pressure, though I am aware you unfortunately are not able to be always available to go on an adventure. I find you inspiring and would love have a Bromton one day for myself. I was wondering if you had contemplated doing the King Alfred Way at all which would be great to watch you do that and bike packing aswell, but I'm keeping a look out for your next video anyway so many thanks 👌👏👋
Hi David! Aw this was an easy one really - because there was a towpath all the way to Hertford, all I really had to do was stick to the river and keep pedalling!
I only found your channel recently Susanna whilst researching Brompton cycles, I love the quality of the filming, which makes me wonder of you are a professional. I live in the Eastern Scottish Borders and we have miles of very quiet lanes with unlimited wild camping which is legal as you probably know. You are an inspiration and I intend getting back on my bike after a near 30 year hiatus. I look forward to working through the back catalogue and future vids ATB Big Dave Scotland
Hi Big Dave! Thanks for the comment! glad you like my films! aw that is nice of you no I am not a professional but yes I have worked as an AP in TV documentary production, which means I have seen how top pro crews work and seen pros doing all the different roles, director, director of photography, sound, editors etc etc, and it is lovely to try for myself jack of all trades like this on youtube. Eastern Scottish borders sounds so nice. We used to go on holiday in Northumberland when I was little, and I really liked it in that part of the world. Hope you enjoy getting back on the bike! Happy cycling! Thanks for watching!
Another wonderful mini adventure, Susannah. As usual, your pace and observational style is heartwarming. Thank you for continuing to show how wonderfully versatile Bromptons are and that they are not just for image-conscious hipsters, parking outside fashionable coffee shops in the City.
Thanks John! Glad you liked the film! yes, Bromptons are wonderful and can do all sorts. Actually, bikes in general are wonderful haha, amazing how far you can get, as the nice lady with the Triumph bike said
Hia, Just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for inspiring me to get back in to my cycling shorts! I've been watching your videos from about the middle of 2021 and bought my new mountain bike in November 21.... since then its been a joy to discover my local canal and cycle networks. Been a keen camper all my life but never thought of combining the two in to bike packing. Currently trying to build my ideal setup to be lightweight but comfortable and then plan my first trip. think I'll keep it simple and stay on a campsite for my first one... I'm not as brave as you yet! The mental health benefits of these cycling trips is just amazing! so a big thank you from Russ (45) in Manchester
Hi Russ! Aw that sounds great, exploring round your neck of the woods there on your bike. Great that you're getting the stuff together to do an overnight trip too. Woo! So cool. I find the same, about the mental health benefits being amazing. Don't know what it is really but just getting outside and tootling along and looking at things and moving around and being independent and feeling the air and the weather and being connected and smiling at people and they smile back, things like that, just feels good, to me. Big thank you to you too! for watching and for writing what you wrote. Best wishes! x
Thankyou Susanna for the lovely video. I grew up in Tottenham long ago! So that was a trip down memory lane, or is that towpath! Been up and down that stretch near the boathouse, rowing, in my teens. My Uncles ran the Rowing Club there. They were Jimmy and Terry O'Neill. That Boathouse is named after Jimmy. Terry went on to be coach for the British Olympic team in the Barcelona games. Makes me feel a little nostalgic and sad to see Englands green and pleasant land now that I live in Australia, might never see it again. But that was great to see! I laughed when you said "There's always something" That's something I often say! Cheers from Oz!
Hi Peter! Aw thanks for the lovely comment. How lovely that you wrote and told me about your uncles. It seems such a great club, tons of stuff going on, so many people of different ages round the boathouse and on the water, and it was just on a normal late autumn weekday when I was there. Best wishes to you there in Oz! Thanks so much for writing!
That was a very pleasant half hour's watching. I don't know this part of the South of England but my wife does. She had a weekend in London with an old school friend and they visited Lea Valley Country Park. They enjoyed it so much they planned to walk the length of the river Lea but then unfortunately Covid struck. I hope she manages to do it one day. It's strange how the sound of rain on a tent can be either very relaxing or not. During night hours I love the sound but in the morning it lowers my spirit. Thinking 'Oh dear a wet start to the day'. Once up and about the mood brightens even if the weather doesn't. Thanks so much for sharing your journey.
Hi Colin! Oh that's nice your wife enjoyed the Lea Valley Country Park. There seems to be loads of things to look at there. I hope she gets to do more of the river, yeh I can imagine walking could be lovely, lots of nice looking paths on the map. Ah yes that is true about rain on the tent. Yes I like listening to the rain in the evening or the middle of the night. So cosy. But yeh, discouraging in the morning when you know you have to get up and go out into it! I don't like packing up a wet tent, the whole thing is obviously more heavy, and I get myself wet and dirty and everything is more difficult. But yes once everything is packed, and I pedal quietly away, even if it is still raining, it feels good. Thanks for watching and for writing! Nice to share thoughts. Best wishes!
Hello Susanna! Your videos are so inspiring. I live on a narrowboat in London and know the Lea very well. Lovely to recognise some favourite spots. I’ve recently been doing some longer trips on my Brompton rather than just using it for commuting to work - so far just day trips, but I’m inspired to do some overnighters from watching your videos.
Hi Robin! Thanks for the lovely comment! Glad you like the films! I really like the Lea. I wonder which are your favourite spots. I feel like I only made a start of exploring it on this ride really - lots of bits I didn't see eg inside the M25 I skipped lots of stretches of the Old Lea, and beyond Hertford I missed loads of bits of the Upper Lea that look brilliant on the map. Each ride I have to choose a route and I see some bits of a river and miss others. It is a nice thing to do. Hope you get to do an overnighter. It is a nice thing to do. Thanks for watching!
@@susannathornton My favourite bits are around Cheshunt and Broxbourne. There are some lovely nature reserves, lakes and wildlife. It was great to see beyond Hertford in your video as I’ve never been further north - it’s the end of the line for boats. An idea for you for another trip - the River Stort joins the Lea just before Rye House. It is a beautiful meandering river that goes all the way to Bishops Stortford and beyond. It doesn’t look much on the map but has a tow path along its length, which is easily cyclable, and is surrounded by gorgeous countryside, wild swimming spots and some lovely little villages.
@@RobinSummerhill Oh yes that sounds lovely, about the Stort. And re Cheshunt and Broxbourne, you make me want to go back and do the Lea again actually. After my failed idea of going up a hill near Cheshunt - I was aiming for the trig point near Monkhams Hall - I was slightly short of time, so headed up to Ware without any other meanders along that bit but it would have been lovely to spend more time. Mmm, hope I can get out there again soon. Anyway, thanks for watching! and for the lovely comment
Another great adventure Susanna 😎 Beautiful light for the start of your trip, so lovely! Really nice to see life on the water - what a nice way of life it must be on a barge. Your apple hunting success was seriously impressive 😂 and as usual I loved seeing your stealth camping negotiations! Your Brompton was brought through tough and mucky conditions at times and still it performs….go the Brompton!! Another great trip 🤗
Hi Miriam!! Aw thanks for the super comment. Haha I nearly toppled myself into the water with that barge pole, you don't realise how much swinging a weight around like that makes you overbalance haha. What a nice guy, to think of lending it to me. About wild camping, oh that is nice that you liked that bit. Actually my favourite shot in the film is the shot just after I pitched the tent and I'm sitting in the tent door and it's going dark and I am talking but I stop and am still and I'm listening and watching, still kind of alert to everything, hoping that my little spot was going to be OK, and the wind is getting up and roaring in the poplars. I really like that shot. Anyway! Thanks for watching and for writing!! So lovely to hear from you x
Hi Susanna. What another cracking trip along the river and canals out of London . Amazing to have it within relatively easy reach. Incredible to see how London's docklands have transformed over the years with so many nooks and crannies to explore. I was based at Canary Wharf before my move out here and there were so many hidden places to explore in just that area alone. Good to see you out enjoying yourself and the quality of your filming goes from strength to strength with each new video. Keep up the good work. ATVB from sunny - and wet all day today - Malaysia. Stay safe 😷🇲🇾
Hi Razif! aw thanks for the super comment. Yes I agree it's super interesting, docklands and east London generally, so many interesting bits, nooks and crannies... All the best to you there in Malaysia!
Excellent video and accompanying sound track. I always get inspired to create a riding adventure, after watching your videos. Thank you for all your creative style. Cheers
Often, you can see a beautiful world close to home. It's about opening your eyes, and ears, and paying attention. Excellent film, Susanna... as ever. You motivated me to do a mini adventure this week. Thanks for that. :)
Another lovely film Susanna. Had me smiling from beginning to end. Love the soundtrack and the history snippets... Keep on rolling and looking forward to the next one already! xxx
Hi Richella! aw thanks, glad you liked the film. Yeh it was lovely to just tootle upstream like that and follow the river, all the way out of the city... I loved it
Hello Susanna, another informative video, shame it came on wet for the second day. Looking forward to the next mini adventure, take care and Best Wishes. A. R.
Another great trip Susanna , really enjoyed the route out of London and into the countryside . Typical the camp site being closed the night you wanted to stay , still you found a nice little spot tucked away for the night ⛺️👍 TFS atb Dave 🚲👍
Hi Dave! yeh I should have checked the campsite really by ringing them or something. But it said "open all year round" so I assumed it would be fine haha. No worries - as you say, that little spot was really nice. All the best to you too! 👍
Susanna, Another great video. Im off tomorrow on my own two day mini adventure, testing out a new sleeping mat and sleeping bag. Your videos are always entertaining and informative. Im even going to take a flask with me as one seems to appear in most of your trips!!
Hi Jeff! Oh that's brilliant. Hope you have a fantastic time! And so glad you have got a flask haha! Coffee stops, whenever and wherever you want! Yay! 😎☕🚲🌞
Wow Susanna I can't stop watching your inspirational videos! It makes me want to get a Brompton and go wild camping!! Always wanted to do it but always felt so nervous, you've inspired me to be brave, thank you x
Hi Hannah! Oh thanks for watching! Glad you like the films! I hope you can enjoy cycling and wild camping, and pinpoint what makes you nervous and work out how to deal with it. To me the hardest thing is deciding a date to set off. Like OK next Saturday, I am doing it. Once that is decided, the rest just follows and, if it is a local one-night ride, by Sunday evening I am home again, and have had a whole amazing experience in between, sun and rain and whatever else. It makes time feel long, in a good way. Anyway, thanks for writing! Happy cycling!
The view of the source slightly marred by the obligatory shopping trolley! Looks like you had a great trip Susanna. I felt for you when the campsite was closed, but relieved you found some water! The scrumping with a barge pole was so funny 😂. Looking forward to the next trip.
Hi Lynne! aw I know, the shopping trolley. Hey ho. Yeh, getting water - that was my first thought when I saw the campsite was closed. How to get water... It was quite late, going dark... I rode back to a place where there were houses, and saw a gardener who was doing someone's front garden, and talked with him, and he said the people were away so the house was locked but they had an outside tap. Perfect. So that fixed that. He was very nice. It all turned out really well in the end. Haha scrumping! Yes, I forgot it is called that. That guy who lent me a barge pole was really nice too haha. Anyway, thanks for watching and for writing! Hope you enjoyed the river you did!! Best wishes!
@@susannathornton I have to confess I’ve not done it yet. Life happened and I’ve not been home much, but I’ve done some research and I’m really looking forward to it.
Such a privilege to ride with Susanna... I wish I could do it for real... ... but I think she likes the solitary cyclist mode of travel. Good job she posts here. Thanks, Susanna.
Hi Susanna, thank you very much again for such a nice video. It is very nice to see how friendly the people are and how much you can discover not so far from home. I like also how you cook food and the moment when you are trying to set your tent... I can´t wait to see your next video !! congratulations.
Another wonderful video and a very interesting one. I love your choice of music and the little bits of history that you point out on your travels. Also, the little chats you have with the camera, very enjoyable. Long may you continue. I look forward to the next, mini adventure. good luck!
Aw thanks Al, glad you liked the film, including the music and whatnot. It is such a nice thing to do, putting the film together, I enjoy it. Actually the whole thing is nice - planning a ride, doing it, then putting the film together, and then chatting like this. Thanks for watching and for writing!
Your travels are a source of inspiration for me and i really like your approach to the people you meet along your way. nice idea the subtitles: useful for those who do not speak English, but can understand it. Greetings from southern Italy.
Hi Pino! Thanks for the lovely comment! Yes I really enjoy meeting people along the way and having a chat and a laugh. Oh that is good that you like the subtitles I put on. My husband thought they could be helpful. Greetings to you in Italy!
Thanks for taking us with you. Your vids are always intresting and the scenery shots in them are stunning. I find them very calming. Thanks again, Stay safe Jack
Un bellissimo video molto rilassante e con un una musica veramente riuscita. Con i sottotitoli riesco anche a studiare un po' di inglese. Anche se non sono più ciclista adoro guardare i tuoi video nelle periferie della città. Grazie da Genova, Italia
Hi Wolf Rider! Glad you enjoyed the films. It is nice that as a non cycling person these days you enjoy the films. I think my films are actually not really about cycling. Haha. That probably sounds strange but when I think about it, my films are just about looking around and enjoying life. Cycling is just a means to an end. Anyway, hello to you there in Genova and thank you for writing!
I enjoyed the video, Susanna. It’s a beautiful ride. I did it to Ware and turned east into the hills, camping next to a little stream. I’ve thought of using your route and following the green road, eventually linking up to the Grand Union and avoiding riding the canal through London.
Hi Pete C! oh that sounds nice, heading east from Ware. From the map it looks nice round there. Actually, doing this ride and then looking at maps and things makes me see that there are tons of great options cycling along the Lea (or walking it actually). I think there would be some lovely bits in the Upper Lea. I skirted north of the river, and enjoyed it, but south looks good too. Maybe I'll do it again one day and try another route
great stuff. Very interesting waeving the historical, geographical and touring narrative together. I've visited/ camped at many of the proposed last stands of Caradoc/Caratacus...all of which are awesome locations. Shopping trolley ditched in the pond is so urban England !
Hi k c! Oh what a wonderful idea and brilliant thing to do, to go on the trail of last stands and camp like that. Did you write about it or made films or anything? Yeh that shopping trolley... Actually the author of the 1964 book that I found, Thirteen Rivers to the Thames, wrote that when he came to the source of the Lea he found "parts of bicycles, children's tricycles, saucepans and tins" had been tipped in that spot. I suppose shopping trolleys didn't exist then. Anyway! Thanks so much for writing!
@@susannathornton well, that qualifies as a spring of ritual deposition then, a most holy site utilised by generations for their offferings ! The only recording of my journies are the odd rubbish poem, mental maps and photos, i'm not geared for convivial consumption, due to autism. I did on one stay at a hillfort in the marches have a most vivid dream of a staunch but tattered blackbird being savaged by a flock of wagtails, so that it sought refuge with me. Upon waking I took it as metaphor for the desperate events that I was somewhat romantically entertaining . Being a man of limited science, a dream is but a dream, but it did lead me into researching ritual incubation an ancient and cross cultural phenomena.
@@kc3718 Haha yes perhaps these things are some kind of offering...!! Your hillfort dream sounded scary. I just looked up ritual incubation and I see it means - "sleeping in a sacred area with the intention of experiencing a divinely inspired dream or cure". Wow, interesting
Hi Susanna, really lovely adventure, thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you plan your routes, you seem to be able to find really lovely quiet roads and tracks.
Hi Una! thanks for writing! About planning routes, before I set off, I plan quite carefully. For the UK, I use Ordnance Survey maps, open street map, and sometimes I check things on google maps streetview, and I use Bikemaps which is an online app and website. I just look for small roads and avoid big roads as much as I can. That's it really. I love maps and enjoy doing the planning so I spend time on it if I have time. If I don't have time and want to plan a route fast, I use Bikemaps. Its route finder function seems good to me - a point to point planner. It finds little underpasses and all sorts of cycle paths which I would otherwise not know about. Google maps has a similar thing but it has sent me wrong quite a few times, down roads that don't actually go through etc. So I don't trust it. Anyways, there are a few things. Hope that helps!
@@susannathornton Thank you Susana, that's great information. I will have to be more vigilant with my planning as there is nothing worse than finding yourself on a busy road stressed out by traffic.
Hi wow so amazing 👏 love it love watching your video came across them two days ago hook lol ps what type of brompton bicycle are you riding very inspiring wow thank you
That was fun, as usual. It's good of you to tell us enough place names that I can follow along (at least approximately) on Google Maps. I'm curious as to how it is known, or supposed, where a last stand may have been made against Julius Caesar (if it's not too complicated to explain in a UA-cam comment).
Ah well I was reading about the river before I set off, and found a nice old book from 1991 by Margaret Ashby, The Book of the River Lea, and she mentioned the British camp and Julius Caesar, so I researched it a bit more, eg these web pages about local history and Wheathampstead had the story quite simply. I wish I had gone to look at the ditches and things really catuvellauni.wordpress.com/wheathampstead/
@@susannathornton Thanks. It's fascinating that such a level of detail is known. I wouldn't have guessed. Of course, I suppose the ordinary school children in the U.S. don't get such a head start on this history as you do.
Hi Susana, thank you for another inspirational video! I’m really envious of your ability to chat to people en route! When you are planning to wild camp, what do you say if/when people ask where you will sleep or what your plans are? I enjoy wild camping and always ensure that I leave no trace but as it’s technically breaking the rules I am apprehensive about telling people which makes me avoid conversations… I guess being a bit vague is always good. How do you do it? Sorry for the ramble! Wish I had your style!
Hi Jo! Thanks for the lovely comment!! Style and me are not often mentioned in the same breath haha 😆 About what to say if people ask about where I am planning to stay, actually not many people ask. The lovely cycling couple in this film did, but that's quite unusual in my experience. So I don't worry too much about it, and mostly chat about what the other people are doing and other things, rather than focus on what I am doing. If I have to say something, I'll say 'oh I'll just borrow a little corner of a field somewhere' or soemthing like that. Noone has ever been nasty about it. Sort of on a similar topic, I sometimes do avoid saying where I am heading for, to minimise giving any help to any nutter who has an idea about robbing me or whatever. I don't worry if the road network is dense I disappear and am hard to find, but in places where there is just one road to where I am going, and I am very obvious and findable, I take care about it. I was very conscious of this on the long ride I did from Hong Kong to London. For safety's sake would just say I am heading west or something else vague. Your comment reminded me. Anyway, lovely to hear that you cycle and wild camp too! Gorgeous isn't it. Thanks for watching my channel and for writing! Best wishes!
@@susannathornton Thank you so much! Your reply has made my day! I really appreciate your insight. Thank you so much for sharing what you say. The social aspect of your rides is so lovely, I will give this talking thing a go, hahaha. Keep on rocking it!
Hi Jozef, aw thanks, that nice of you. Actually lots of what I try to do with filming goes wrong, so then the editing takes ages, if you know what I mean, sifting through bad shots haha. I use with a Gopro 9 black mainly, for both image and sound, and I also use my phone sometimes, which is a quite old Sony Xperia. I have a small old tripod I bought in 2006 in Hong Kong. Should get a new one really. I often just perch the camera on street signs and posts and tree branches etc instead of using my tripod to make it quicker to do. Your street photography stuff is so cool, btw, love what you do!
Hello Susanna, I noticed you relaxing in your folding chair again on this trip. Would you recommend? If so which brand is it? Thoroughly enjoying your trips and your films. 😀
Hi Rick! thanks for the lovely comment. Haha yeh I love my folding chair... It's one of the best things I've ever bought. It is a Helinox Zero, which is the lightest and smallest (when folded) camp chair on the market, as far as I know. Before I got it I would always be riding along hoping for a bench or hunting for a wall etc to sit on, and you can never find one or it would be in the sun too hot or in the shade or facing the wrong way no view etc. Now I just flip out my chair and sit comfortably wherever I want, sip coffee, lean back, shoes off etc. Not cheap, but a brilliant thing. I tested the much cheaper Decathlon one, and the Decathlon was equally comfy compard to the Helinox, but packs down super bulky in comparison, and is much heavier, and I basically wouldn't be able to carry it on my bike, too big. But the Helinox just slots under a strap. I use it all the time, even just on like walks to the park etc cos it's so nice. Glad you enjoy the films! Thanks so much for watching!
Oh thank you so much Susanna for sharing your experience. I will take a look at one. You certainly look very comfortable when you are enjoying the view. Wishing you all the best for your next adventure / trip.
Great video Susanna. I particularly liked the reference to the Woolwich gunpowder barge. My Mother worked in the Woolwich armourmounts factory making shells for the WWII war effort. Her occupation on Her marriage certificate states "oxy accetiline welder". 😊
Oh that is terrific about your Mother. Bravo her. And I love how they didnt just say "welder" but what specifically she did.
UA-cam is grand, allowing us to experience a country through a traveler's camera lens.
Happy to subscribe.
Kindest Regards
Tony ( Cape Town, South Africa)
Hi Tony! Welcome! Glad you like the films! Thanks for subscribing! Best wishes!
It's a very nice film! Thanks Susanna! Keep on going strongly! 💪
I recently stumbled upon your captivating videos and have been binge-watching ever since. Your sense of adventure is truly enthralling, and your remarkable endurance serves as a great inspiration to me. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Mel! oh it is nice of you to write such a lovely comment! Glad you like the videos!
Hi Susanna, thank you for sharing another mini adventure. The format of your videos is excellent, we get to see different parts of the country with a history lesson thrown in too, but for me it's seeing all the friendly people you meet along the way, that's great! Keep those pedals turning. Kind regards, Peter
Hi Peter! Aw thank you so much! What a lovely comment. Glad you enjoy the films x
I’ll do this next time o rise to london. Nice route.
Yes, you've got lots of narrow country paths to explore. And even wild apples! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jason! Aw thanks yes lots of car-free paths and tracks on this one. And wild apples!! they were good! I should have filmed myself eating them as well, but I forgot. Thanks for writing! Hope you are well! How did you big ride go??
@@susannathornton Yes, important that they are car-free and few e-scooters. Cheers!
22:49 Greetings, you always make it seem so easy. Thank you for sharing your travels.
Hello Susanna, excellent trip, excellent video, excellent views, thank you very much, greetings 😊💫✨☘️
Hi Mithu! Thanks for the excellent comment haha! Greetings to you too and thank you for watching!
whenever I see your clip, i'm impressed and think of you. Thank you.
Hello! Oh that is kind of you but I am just doing easy slow cycling haha nothing difficult🚲🌞😎 Thank you for watching!
Oh no, the capsized shopping trolley, such a shame! Fabulous work, thank you once again.
Hi John haha yes, wonder why people do that. Thanks for the lovely comment!
Wonderful to see, that other people likes folding bikes too !😀Greetings from Germany
Haha I could say the same to you 😁 thanks for watching!
Absolutely love watching these thoughtful and inspirational videos. A thousand thanks for sharing
Aw thanks Sunburn! glad you like the films
hey, it was a pleasure again to be with you on this trip. Thx for sharing.
Hi Martina! thanks to you, for coming along! x
I look forward each one. Thank you
Another fab trip Susanna, I enjoy your short trips and the surprises they deliver.
Hi Helen! aw that is a nice way of putting it, surprises! Lots of surprises and lots of things to enjoy, just pottering around the local area. Thanks for writing!
I am french. I don't understand english speaking. Thank you for your writing on the screen. London, a little town for a Brompton.
Thanks for watching Francis! Glad you like the film including the subtitles. It was my husband's idea that I should put them in
Thanks for this video Susanna, it took me back 50 plus years. I grew up overlooking Bow Locks until they build Bow School there, I must revisit its so changed and I never realised the Lee was so beautiful further up.
Hi Les, aw thanks for the lovely comment. Yeh I was surprised how lovely the whole thing was, I mean I know the bottom but I had never been beyond where IKEA is (or was) in Edmonton before. About the Upper Lea, I think there are lots more gorgeous bits up there, actually, but they are accessible only by footpaths really. Funnily enough the other day I was just randomly standing by a gate in Primrose Hill, and a guy on a bike asked me for directions, and it turned out he'd just ridden down from Luton, along the Lea, so we had a natter. It sounded like he'd done some lovely sections further up, that I'd missed. Anyway, thanks for writing and glad you like the film. Best wishes!
Lovely video and beautiful Pargeting on the pub
😁 Always a pleasure.
Another lovely video. Impressed with the flame from that Trianga stove.
Hi Ian! thanks for watching my channel! Yeh the Trangia flame goes quite high. I just use neat meths and that is how it is
Thank you Susanna for sharing this journey. It is incredible that there is such a green 'corridor' running out of London and for a lot of the way the path by the river Lea seemed like a good tow path. I love your photography, your unhurried style and also the people you meet along the route - the couple on the Triumph bikes, the man who talked about the Levellers and the woman with the dog and grandchildren - all add that extra bit to the journey. As does your resourcefulness in not letting a closed campsite interfere with your journey. It is such a change from those who are only interested in their average MPH and worrying about the weight of their bikes.
Haven’t heard from you in awhile- missing your beautiful videos. I hope all is well and you are healthy/happy.
" Enjoy the journey" Could not agree more! I enjoy the the chance encounters with people along the way, as much as the riding on my own travels. Take care and have a good summer.
Hi Julian! thanks for the lovely comment! Yes people are interesting aren't they and it's just nice to say hello and chat a bit
Hello Susanna,
Sorry I am late to the party on this video... Enjoyable viewing, thank you.
Take care.
Paul,,
Fantastic video. Really enjoyed it. I've actually cycled most of what you did, i lived in Cheshunt many years ago. Now living in Sweden.
What a lovely, lovely film I do look forward to seeing them. Also nice to read Mirriam's comment, I watch her films too. Its so uplifting to see you getting out there into nature, not worrying about the weather, doing it anyway.
Aw thanks Janie, glad you like the film! And I agree Miriam's films are super. I enjoy her adventures too 😊🚲🏕
Love your micro adventures. This is one of my favorites: The soundtrack, the videography, the people you meet, the river-source hunting and of course your wild camping. You are indeed an inspiration.
Hi Peter! Aw thanks for the lovely comment x
Gosh! That was a good trip. The pargeting on the hotel was wonderful. Thank you again, Susanna, for sharing your journeys - it's fascinating to see the places you visit. Best wishes.
Hi there Emma! Hope you are well! Thanks for writing! Yes wasn't Hertford lovely. I had no idea. And it was so lovely that that local man just came over and said hello and chatted with me about it all too.
Seems to me you could have your own travel show with your professional photography and presentation. I always get excited to see another of your wonderful videos. Thankyou so very much for sharing !
Hi Susanna!
I hope you are well and planning your next trip. Waiting so long to have an opportunity to buy the Brompton, I have decided to venture with a Canadian brand (SoloRock, Dash model in aluminum). It is my first folding bike and to tell the truth I am not complaining at all. I've already started running a little and I have three friends who were also motivated, they bought a folding bike to and we run in the afternoons through Old San Juan. In the next outing I will send you photos.
In September I am going to Portugal and I will take my bike with me to do some route from Lisbon. Next year we will be in London. You can't imagine how much I admire and respect all the citizens of your country for the respect they have towards cyclists, for me it's impressive! I see your videos and I only feel peace and an immense desire to go running on those beautiful routes. Maybe we will meet in one of them and share a coffee hahaha and I invite the Puerto Rican coffee😉.
Thank you for motivating me to ride a bike again!
Hi Karmenkin! Oh that sounds fantastic. How lovely. I just looked up Old San Juan, looks lovely, hopefully there are lots of nice cafes where you guys can stop and sit there, sounds so nice all of you there pedalling around in the afternoons 😎😎😎😎🚲🚲🚲🚲🌞☕☕☕☕
There are many cafes, the reality is that we only exercise to lose a few kilos😂🤣😂. Then we make the trip. we like the country better
Thank you for sharing we agree it is the journey and the appreciation of those important every day things that matters more than the destination - thank you - so relaxing! Russell and Jennifer 🙏🙏
Hi Russell and Jennifer! Aw thanks for the lovely comment x what you wrote was so nice. Glad you enjoy the films
How wonderful that there are so much rural areas so close to London. You do have some amazing trips under your belt. Thankyou for sharing. ❤️
Hi Carol! Thanks for the lovely comment. Yeh I do like it, cycling from the middle of London all the way out to the edge of the city, to see what is there. And then when I am back in the middle again, I can look at the sky in the distance in different directions, and I know what is under it
Another fabulous adventure and video. Brings back memories for me of sailing at Cheshunt when I was at school. Hertfordshire schools had an active sailing programme in the 1970’s. It never occurred to any of us that sailing was a posh thing to do. 🤓
Susanna a fascinating ride. Back in the 1960s I used to play in the Lea in Wardown Park, Luton. My two brothers were born in Leagrave. I now ride an electric Brompton. My tent is a Hilleberg Akto. I cook using the same Trangia. All in Qld Australia, now! Great video. Thanks.
Hi Natalya! oh how amazing - what was the Lea like there in the 1960s? Sounds great with the electric Brompton - and your Akto! and Trangia! haha how lovely
The Lea water in Luton was clear and clean enough to play in, if you avoided the occasional broken glass bottle. But it was cold 🥶.
@@natalyaclaire5655 Oh how nice that it was clear like that. Hope they can make the rivers cleaner again. Grateful to all the people lobbying and working on things like that
Hi Susanna, lovely trip and nice conversations on the way.
Thanks Michael! yeh it's nice to meet people like that, so interesting, everyone doing their thing, chat a bit, and carry on
Lovely ride, I have put in my mental book to do next time | visit my son who lives in Shadwell. I have ridden along a little bit of the R.Lea at Straford so thats where I'll start. Thanks for sharing, you have inspired me to use my newly aquired brompton for proper mini adventures. I like all the information you provide en route, please keep it up. Stay strong!
Hi Shawn! thanks for writing! Before I did this ride, I had ridden along only small parts of the Lea, as far as Tottenham IKEA basically, and never seen the mouth of the river. It was lovely to ride up it and see what it is like. Happy cycling!
Always fun to see film of our local cycle routes. The good news (if you come back this way again) is the resurfacing works on the Cole Green Way are finished, so the muddy bit is now tarmac and the rest of the route good compacted surfacing. There's also a brand new tarmac section at Hertford Football Club. Perhaps you could do the Stort next, starting back in Hatfield to see the mill at Mill Green (open Sundays with the wheel and grinding wheels working) and then heading north at Rye House (go and see the building there too.)?
Hi Adam! oh that is good news about Cole Green Way and so on. Thanks for the tips! Actually about the Stort yes I did have a go at that too another day - I thought it would be nice to ride to the watershed of rivers flowing into the Thames and water flowing north into East Anglia, and camp there... really enjoyed it just as you thought! here is the film studio.ua-cam.com/users/video45Q2V-Z1VkQ/edit
@@susannathornton I will have a look. Just been watching you cycling through Derbyshire via Wirksworth. The hills either side of the valley are killers as we found walking up from the railway to the Crich Tramway Museum several years ago!
I love these fun little journeys. =)
Hi Keeley! Thanks so much! Glad you like the films! I love doing them
Thanks Susanna 😊👌
Hi Carmel! thanks for watching!! Hope you are doing OK there!
Hi Susanna, I have to say I love your video's very much and what I would love to do is to watch one of your videos once a month at least so no pressure, though I am aware you unfortunately are not able to be always available to go on an adventure. I find you inspiring and would love have a Bromton one day for myself. I was wondering if you had contemplated doing the King Alfred Way at all which would be great to watch you do that and bike packing aswell, but I'm keeping a look out for your next video anyway so many thanks 👌👏👋
I hope you are doing wel. Greetings from Holland.
Another cracking film about how easy it is to make a little adventure out to the countryside from the city on a bicycle. As always thanks for sharing.
Thanks Stuart, what a lovely comment yes it is basically a simple and very nice thing to do xx
Impressive route finding yet again 😁
Hi David! Aw this was an easy one really - because there was a towpath all the way to Hertford, all I really had to do was stick to the river and keep pedalling!
Lovely video Susanna
Awesome to see you back on your Brompton teasing us with great video content 👌
Hi Craig! Hope you are well! thanks for the lovely comment! haha teasing, not sure if I meant to do that!
I only found your channel recently Susanna whilst researching Brompton cycles, I love the quality of the filming, which makes me wonder of you are a professional. I live in the Eastern Scottish Borders and we have miles of very quiet lanes with unlimited wild camping which is legal as you probably know. You are an inspiration and I intend getting back on my bike after a near 30 year hiatus. I look forward to working through the back catalogue and future vids ATB Big Dave Scotland
Hi Big Dave! Thanks for the comment! glad you like my films! aw that is nice of you no I am not a professional but yes I have worked as an AP in TV documentary production, which means I have seen how top pro crews work and seen pros doing all the different roles, director, director of photography, sound, editors etc etc, and it is lovely to try for myself jack of all trades like this on youtube. Eastern Scottish borders sounds so nice. We used to go on holiday in Northumberland when I was little, and I really liked it in that part of the world. Hope you enjoy getting back on the bike! Happy cycling! Thanks for watching!
Another wonderful mini adventure, Susannah. As usual, your pace and observational style is heartwarming. Thank you for continuing to show how wonderfully versatile Bromptons are and that they are not just for image-conscious hipsters, parking outside fashionable coffee shops in the City.
Thanks John! Glad you liked the film! yes, Bromptons are wonderful and can do all sorts. Actually, bikes in general are wonderful haha, amazing how far you can get, as the nice lady with the Triumph bike said
Lovely as always .
Hi ascot104! thank you!
15:50 indeed there is always something!
So nice 😍
Hia, Just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for inspiring me to get back in to my cycling shorts! I've been watching your videos from about the middle of 2021 and bought my new mountain bike in November 21.... since then its been a joy to discover my local canal and cycle networks. Been a keen camper all my life but never thought of combining the two in to bike packing.
Currently trying to build my ideal setup to be lightweight but comfortable and then plan my first trip. think I'll keep it simple and stay on a campsite for my first one... I'm not as brave as you yet! The mental health benefits of these cycling trips is just amazing! so a big thank you from Russ (45) in Manchester
Hi Russ! Aw that sounds great, exploring round your neck of the woods there on your bike. Great that you're getting the stuff together to do an overnight trip too. Woo! So cool. I find the same, about the mental health benefits being amazing. Don't know what it is really but just getting outside and tootling along and looking at things and moving around and being independent and feeling the air and the weather and being connected and smiling at people and they smile back, things like that, just feels good, to me. Big thank you to you too! for watching and for writing what you wrote. Best wishes! x
Another great little video
Hi Roseyrunning! thanks! glad you liked the film
Thankyou Susanna for the lovely video. I grew up in Tottenham long ago! So that was a trip down memory lane, or is that towpath!
Been up and down that stretch near the boathouse, rowing, in my teens. My Uncles ran the Rowing Club there.
They were Jimmy and Terry O'Neill. That Boathouse is named after Jimmy. Terry went on to be coach for the British
Olympic team in the Barcelona games. Makes me feel a little nostalgic and sad to see Englands green and pleasant land
now that I live in Australia, might never see it again. But that was great to see! I laughed when you said "There's always something"
That's something I often say! Cheers from Oz!
Hi Peter! Aw thanks for the lovely comment. How lovely that you wrote and told me about your uncles. It seems such a great club, tons of stuff going on, so many people
of different ages round the boathouse and on the water, and it was just on a normal late autumn weekday when I was there. Best wishes to you there in Oz! Thanks so much for writing!
That was a very pleasant half hour's watching.
I don't know this part of the South of England but my wife does. She had a weekend in London with an old school friend and they visited Lea Valley Country Park. They enjoyed it so much they planned to walk the length of the river Lea but then unfortunately Covid struck. I hope she manages to do it one day.
It's strange how the sound of rain on a tent can be either very relaxing or not. During night hours I love the sound but in the morning it lowers my spirit. Thinking 'Oh dear a wet start to the day'.
Once up and about the mood brightens even if the weather doesn't.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey.
Hi Colin! Oh that's nice your wife enjoyed the Lea Valley Country Park. There seems to be loads of things to look at there. I hope she gets to do more of the river, yeh I can imagine walking could be lovely, lots of nice looking paths on the map. Ah yes that is true about rain on the tent. Yes I like listening to the rain in the evening or the middle of the night. So cosy. But yeh, discouraging in the morning when you know you have to get up and go out into it! I don't like packing up a wet tent, the whole thing is obviously more heavy, and I get myself wet and dirty and everything is more difficult. But yes once everything is packed, and I pedal quietly away, even if it is still raining, it feels good. Thanks for watching and for writing! Nice to share thoughts. Best wishes!
Hi Rick from the park don’t forget to add to Strava. Great videos by the way.
Hello Susanna! Your videos are so inspiring. I live on a narrowboat in London and know the Lea very well. Lovely to recognise some favourite spots. I’ve recently been doing some longer trips on my Brompton rather than just using it for commuting to work - so far just day trips, but I’m inspired to do some overnighters from watching your videos.
Hi Robin! Thanks for the lovely comment! Glad you like the films! I really like the Lea. I wonder which are your favourite spots. I feel like I only made a start of exploring it on this ride really - lots of bits I didn't see eg inside the M25 I skipped lots of stretches of the Old Lea, and beyond Hertford I missed loads of bits of the Upper Lea that look brilliant on the map. Each ride I have to choose a route and I see some bits of a river and miss others. It is a nice thing to do. Hope you get to do an overnighter. It is a nice thing to do. Thanks for watching!
@@susannathornton My favourite bits are around Cheshunt and Broxbourne. There are some lovely nature reserves, lakes and wildlife. It was great to see beyond Hertford in your video as I’ve never been further north - it’s the end of the line for boats. An idea for you for another trip - the River Stort joins the Lea just before Rye House. It is a beautiful meandering river that goes all the way to Bishops Stortford and beyond. It doesn’t look much on the map but has a tow path along its length, which is easily cyclable, and is surrounded by gorgeous countryside, wild swimming spots and some lovely little villages.
@@RobinSummerhill Oh yes that sounds lovely, about the Stort. And re Cheshunt and Broxbourne, you make me want to go back and do the Lea again actually. After my failed idea of going up a hill near Cheshunt - I was aiming for the trig point near Monkhams Hall - I was slightly short of time, so headed up to Ware without any other meanders along that bit but it would have been lovely to spend more time. Mmm, hope I can get out there again soon. Anyway, thanks for watching! and for the lovely comment
Another great adventure Susanna 😎 Beautiful light for the start of your trip, so lovely! Really nice to see life on the water - what a nice way of life it must be on a barge. Your apple hunting success was seriously impressive 😂 and as usual I loved seeing your stealth camping negotiations! Your Brompton was brought through tough and mucky conditions at times and still it performs….go the Brompton!! Another great trip 🤗
Hi Miriam!! Aw thanks for the super comment. Haha I nearly toppled myself into the water with that barge pole, you don't realise how much swinging a weight around like that makes you overbalance haha. What a nice guy, to think of lending it to me. About wild camping, oh that is nice that you liked that bit. Actually my favourite shot in the film is the shot just after I pitched the tent and I'm sitting in the tent door and it's going dark and I am talking but I stop and am still and I'm listening and watching, still kind of alert to everything, hoping that my little spot was going to be OK, and the wind is getting up and roaring in the poplars. I really like that shot. Anyway! Thanks for watching and for writing!! So lovely to hear from you x
That shot is a great capture of the special experience of what it’s like for sure Susanna 😊 Take care and happy planning for the next trip x
美好的旅行分享。
谢谢你的评价, songqi zhang😁🙏
Hi Susanna. What another cracking trip along the river and canals out of London . Amazing to have it within relatively easy reach. Incredible to see how London's docklands have transformed over the years with so many nooks and crannies to explore. I was based at Canary Wharf before my move out here and there were so many hidden places to explore in just that area alone. Good to see you out enjoying yourself and the quality of your filming goes from strength to strength with each new video. Keep up the good work. ATVB from sunny - and wet all day today - Malaysia. Stay safe 😷🇲🇾
Hi Razif! aw thanks for the super comment. Yes I agree it's super interesting, docklands and east London generally, so many interesting bits, nooks and crannies... All the best to you there in Malaysia!
Excellent video and accompanying sound track. I always get inspired to create a riding adventure, after watching your videos. Thank you for all your creative style. Cheers
Hi Erick! thanks for watching! happy cycling!!
Often, you can see a beautiful world close to home. It's about opening your eyes, and ears, and paying attention. Excellent film, Susanna... as ever. You motivated me to do a mini adventure this week. Thanks for that. :)
Hi Rog! Oh that's great! Happy cycling! Actually I kind of motivated myself too haha watching my own film made me want to go out haha
That was scenic route. I must learn how to camp like a ninja. Thanks for sharing.
Haha thanks for writing! happy ninja camping! 😂😁⛺
Another lovely film Susanna. Had me smiling from beginning to end. Love the soundtrack and the history snippets... Keep on rolling and looking forward to the next one already! xxx
Aw thanks Sally!!!! so nice of you, thanks for the lovely comment! Glad the film made you smile xxxx 😁
A great adventure with history, beautiful scenery and friendly people along the way.
Super video Susanna. What a beautiful way to leave London. The UK tourist board should be paying you!
Hi Richella! aw thanks, glad you liked the film. Yeh it was lovely to just tootle upstream like that and follow the river, all the way out of the city... I loved it
Hello Susanna, another informative video, shame it came on wet for the second day. Looking forward to the next mini adventure, take care and Best Wishes. A. R.
Lovey video Susanna. Some great shots of things that you have seen along the way and shown us. Thank you for making it and sharing your journey.
Thanks to you for watching Alex! and for the lovely comment x
Lovely video as always. A really relaxing enjoyable ride. Thank you. Ray
Another great trip Susanna , really enjoyed the route out of London and into the countryside . Typical the camp site being closed the night you wanted to stay , still you found a nice little spot tucked away for the night ⛺️👍 TFS atb Dave 🚲👍
Hi Dave! yeh I should have checked the campsite really by ringing them or something. But it said "open all year round" so I assumed it would be fine haha. No worries - as you say, that little spot was really nice. All the best to you too! 👍
Susanna,
Another great video. Im off tomorrow on my own two day mini adventure, testing out a new sleeping mat and sleeping bag. Your videos are always entertaining and informative. Im even going to take a flask with me as one seems to appear in most of your trips!!
Hi Jeff! Oh that's brilliant. Hope you have a fantastic time! And so glad you have got a flask haha! Coffee stops, whenever and wherever you want! Yay! 😎☕🚲🌞
Wow Susanna I can't stop watching your inspirational videos! It makes me want to get a Brompton and go wild camping!! Always wanted to do it but always felt so nervous, you've inspired me to be brave, thank you x
Hi Hannah! Oh thanks for watching! Glad you like the films! I hope you can enjoy cycling and wild camping, and pinpoint what makes you nervous and work out how to deal with it. To me the hardest thing is deciding a date to set off. Like OK next Saturday, I am doing it. Once that is decided, the rest just follows and, if it is a local one-night ride, by Sunday evening I am home again, and have had a whole amazing experience in between, sun and rain and whatever else. It makes time feel long, in a good way. Anyway, thanks for writing! Happy cycling!
Great as always! What a nice green video!! And a lot of graffiti too, just like Holland, what a shame. Thanks Susanna
Hi Alex! Yes green, and wild, even close in to the big city. I really like the Lea. Thanks for watching!
The view of the source slightly marred by the obligatory shopping trolley! Looks like you had a great trip Susanna. I felt for you when the campsite was closed, but relieved you found some water! The scrumping with a barge pole was so funny 😂. Looking forward to the next trip.
Hi Lynne! aw I know, the shopping trolley. Hey ho. Yeh, getting water - that was my first thought when I saw the campsite was closed. How to get water... It was quite late, going dark... I rode back to a place where there were houses, and saw a gardener who was doing someone's front garden, and talked with him, and he said the people were away so the house was locked but they had an outside tap. Perfect. So that fixed that. He was very nice. It all turned out really well in the end. Haha scrumping! Yes, I forgot it is called that. That guy who lent me a barge pole was really nice too haha. Anyway, thanks for watching and for writing! Hope you enjoyed the river you did!! Best wishes!
@@susannathornton I have to confess I’ve not done it yet. Life happened and I’ve not been home much, but I’ve done some research and I’m really looking forward to it.
Such a privilege to ride with Susanna... I wish I could do it for real...
... but I think she likes the solitary cyclist mode of travel.
Good job she posts here.
Thanks, Susanna.
Hi Susanna, thank you very much again for such a nice video. It is very nice to see how friendly the people are and how much you can discover not so far from home. I like also how you cook food and the moment when you are trying to set your tent... I can´t wait to see your next video !! congratulations.
Hi Fernando! Thanks so much! I love your comment xx
Great to see you Susanna again missed your adventures lately brilliant video just amazed at your wild camping best regards Andrew
Another wonderful video and a very interesting one. I love your choice of music and the little bits of history that you point out on your travels. Also, the little chats you have with the camera, very enjoyable. Long may you continue. I look forward to the next, mini adventure. good luck!
Aw thanks Al, glad you liked the film, including the music and whatnot. It is such a nice thing to do, putting the film together, I enjoy it. Actually the whole thing is nice - planning a ride, doing it, then putting the film together, and then chatting like this. Thanks for watching and for writing!
Always look forward to another mini adventure with you, thanks for bringing us along.
Hi James! Thanks for coming along for the ride! So nice of people to write with encouragement, I do appreciate it
When is your next Brompton trip? I'm waiting for the next video...
Nice content! Watching from Philippines 🇵🇭
Really great video as always, thank you!
Hi sparkvespa! Thanks for the lovely comment! 😎🚲
Your travels are a source of inspiration for me and i really like your approach to the people you meet along your way. nice idea the subtitles: useful for those who do not speak English, but can understand it. Greetings from southern Italy.
Hi Pino! Thanks for the lovely comment! Yes I really enjoy meeting people along the way and having a chat and a laugh. Oh that is good that you like the subtitles I put on. My husband thought they could be helpful. Greetings to you in Italy!
Thanks for taking us with you. Your vids are always intresting and the scenery shots in them are stunning. I find them very calming. Thanks again, Stay safe Jack
Hi Jack! aw thanks, glad you like the films, and that you find them calming. Best wishes!
Un bellissimo video molto rilassante e con un una musica veramente riuscita. Con i sottotitoli riesco anche a studiare un po' di inglese. Anche se non sono più ciclista adoro guardare i tuoi video nelle periferie della città. Grazie da Genova, Italia
Hi Wolf Rider! Glad you enjoyed the films. It is nice that as a non cycling person these days you enjoy the films. I think my films are actually not really about cycling. Haha. That probably sounds strange but when I think about it, my films are just about looking around and enjoying life. Cycling is just a means to an end. Anyway, hello to you there in Genova and thank you for writing!
Not a country music fan but I made through and enjoyed!
Another great mini adventure. Your 'to camera' segments are growing, its nice to hear your thoughts as you move along. Keep smiling and keep riding 🙏🏽
Hi Bokooda! Aw thanks a lot for the lovely comment. Glad you liked the film!
New subber here, this is absolutely lovely!
Welcome!! Thanks for watching!!
I enjoyed the video, Susanna. It’s a beautiful ride. I did it to Ware and turned east into the hills, camping next to a little stream. I’ve thought of using your route and following the green road, eventually linking up to the Grand Union and avoiding riding the canal through London.
Hi Pete C! oh that sounds nice, heading east from Ware. From the map it looks nice round there. Actually, doing this ride and then looking at maps and things makes me see that there are tons of great options cycling along the Lea (or walking it actually). I think there would be some lovely bits in the Upper Lea. I skirted north of the river, and enjoyed it, but south looks good too. Maybe I'll do it again one day and try another route
Hi Susanna, it was so nice to see your adventure. I wish I could also do a similar adventure one day :)
Hi Abu Rashid, thanks for the nice comment! I hope you can get to go on some enjoyable adventures too
great stuff. Very interesting waeving the historical, geographical and touring narrative together. I've visited/ camped at many of the proposed last stands of Caradoc/Caratacus...all of which are awesome locations. Shopping trolley ditched in the pond is so urban England !
Hi k c! Oh what a wonderful idea and brilliant thing to do, to go on the trail of last stands and camp like that. Did you write about it or made films or anything? Yeh that shopping trolley... Actually the author of the 1964 book that I found, Thirteen Rivers to the Thames, wrote that when he came to the source of the Lea he found "parts of bicycles, children's tricycles, saucepans and tins" had been tipped in that spot. I suppose shopping trolleys didn't exist then. Anyway! Thanks so much for writing!
@@susannathornton well, that qualifies as a spring of ritual deposition then, a most holy site utilised by generations for their offferings ! The only recording of my journies are the odd rubbish poem, mental maps and photos, i'm not geared for convivial consumption, due to autism. I did on one stay at a hillfort in the marches have a most vivid dream of a staunch but tattered blackbird being savaged by a flock of wagtails, so that it sought refuge with me. Upon waking I took it as metaphor for the desperate events that I was somewhat romantically entertaining . Being a man of limited science, a dream is but a dream, but it did lead me into researching ritual incubation an ancient and cross cultural phenomena.
@@kc3718 Haha yes perhaps these things are some kind of offering...!! Your hillfort dream sounded scary. I just looked up ritual incubation and I see it means - "sleeping in a sacred area with the intention of experiencing a divinely inspired dream or cure". Wow, interesting
Hi Susanna, really lovely adventure, thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you plan your routes, you seem to be able to find really lovely quiet roads and tracks.
Hi Una! thanks for writing! About planning routes, before I set off, I plan quite carefully. For the UK, I use Ordnance Survey maps, open street map, and sometimes I check things on google maps streetview, and I use Bikemaps which is an online app and website. I just look for small roads and avoid big roads as much as I can. That's it really. I love maps and enjoy doing the planning so I spend time on it if I have time. If I don't have time and want to plan a route fast, I use Bikemaps. Its route finder function seems good to me - a point to point planner. It finds little underpasses and all sorts of cycle paths which I would otherwise not know about. Google maps has a similar thing but it has sent me wrong quite a few times, down roads that don't actually go through etc. So I don't trust it. Anyways, there are a few things. Hope that helps!
@@susannathornton Thank you Susana, that's great information. I will have to be more vigilant with my planning as there is nothing worse than finding yourself on a busy road stressed out by traffic.
Hi wow so amazing 👏 love it love watching your video came across them two days ago hook lol ps what type of brompton bicycle are you riding very inspiring wow thank you
Hi there! Thanks for watching! glad you enjoy the channel. About my Brompton, it is a steel three-speed. Best wishes!
Curious as to what you are using to film your adventures? The video is so beautiful and so enjoyable to watch. Thanks again for sharing.
Hi there! Thanks for watching! I mainly use a Gopro and my phone, which is a Sony Xperia. I use the sound mostly from the Gopro.
That was fun, as usual. It's good of you to tell us enough place names that I can follow along (at least approximately) on Google Maps. I'm curious as to how it is known, or supposed, where a last stand may have been made against Julius Caesar (if it's not too complicated to explain in a UA-cam comment).
Ah well I was reading about the river before I set off, and found a nice old book from 1991 by Margaret Ashby, The Book of the River Lea, and she mentioned the British camp and Julius Caesar, so I researched it a bit more, eg these web pages about local history and Wheathampstead had the story quite simply. I wish I had gone to look at the ditches and things really catuvellauni.wordpress.com/wheathampstead/
@@susannathornton Thanks. It's fascinating that such a level of detail is known. I wouldn't have guessed. Of course, I suppose the ordinary school children in the U.S. don't get such a head start on this history as you do.
Hi Susana, thank you for another inspirational video! I’m really envious of your ability to chat to people en route! When you are planning to wild camp, what do you say if/when people ask where you will sleep or what your plans are? I enjoy wild camping and always ensure that I leave no trace but as it’s technically breaking the rules I am apprehensive about telling people which makes me avoid conversations… I guess being a bit vague is always good. How do you do it? Sorry for the ramble! Wish I had your style!
Hi Jo! Thanks for the lovely comment!! Style and me are not often mentioned in the same breath haha 😆 About what to say if people ask about where I am planning to stay, actually not many people ask. The lovely cycling couple in this film did, but that's quite unusual in my experience. So I don't worry too much about it, and mostly chat about what the other people are doing and other things, rather than focus on what I am doing. If I have to say something, I'll say 'oh I'll just borrow a little corner of a field somewhere' or soemthing like that. Noone has ever been nasty about it. Sort of on a similar topic, I sometimes do avoid saying where I am heading for, to minimise giving any help to any nutter who has an idea about robbing me or whatever. I don't worry if the road network is dense I disappear and am hard to find, but in places where there is just one road to where I am going, and I am very obvious and findable, I take care about it. I was very conscious of this on the long ride I did from Hong Kong to London. For safety's sake would just say I am heading west or something else vague. Your comment reminded me. Anyway, lovely to hear that you cycle and wild camp too! Gorgeous isn't it. Thanks for watching my channel and for writing! Best wishes!
@@susannathornton Thank you so much! Your reply has made my day! I really appreciate your insight. Thank you so much for sharing what you say. The social aspect of your rides is so lovely, I will give this talking thing a go, hahaha. Keep on rocking it!
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Susanna you are an awesome camera and video maker. How do you make it? What equioment do you use? It is so inspirational.
Hi Jozef, aw thanks, that nice of you. Actually lots of what I try to do with filming goes wrong, so then the editing takes ages, if you know what I mean, sifting through bad shots haha. I use with a Gopro 9 black mainly, for both image and sound, and I also use my phone sometimes, which is a quite old Sony Xperia. I have a small old tripod I bought in 2006 in Hong Kong. Should get a new one really. I often just perch the camera on street signs and posts and tree branches etc instead of using my tripod to make it quicker to do. Your street photography stuff is so cool, btw, love what you do!
Hello Susanna, I noticed you relaxing in your folding chair again on this trip. Would you recommend? If so which brand is it? Thoroughly enjoying your trips and your films. 😀
Hi Rick! thanks for the lovely comment. Haha yeh I love my folding chair... It's one of the best things I've ever bought. It is a Helinox Zero, which is the lightest and smallest (when folded) camp chair on the market, as far as I know. Before I got it I would always be riding along hoping for a bench or hunting for a wall etc to sit on, and you can never find one or it would be in the sun too hot or in the shade or facing the wrong way no view etc. Now I just flip out my chair and sit comfortably wherever I want, sip coffee, lean back, shoes off etc. Not cheap, but a brilliant thing. I tested the much cheaper Decathlon one, and the Decathlon was equally comfy compard to the Helinox, but packs down super bulky in comparison, and is much heavier, and I basically wouldn't be able to carry it on my bike, too big. But the Helinox just slots under a strap. I use it all the time, even just on like walks to the park etc cos it's so nice. Glad you enjoy the films! Thanks so much for watching!
Oh thank you so much Susanna for sharing your experience. I will take a look at one. You certainly look very comfortable when you are enjoying the view. Wishing you all the best for your next adventure / trip.
I’ve watched so many of your vids and always wondered that with the amount of miles that you do,, why do you not wear a ‘proper’ cycle helmet.