Climbing Colmer's Hill 

I love it how it never feels like Mike is doing anything for views. He's just living his interesting life and taking us along for the ride.

Making a tiny felt sheep out of sheep wool bits collected from thorns would be some top shelf content

I havent been in school in 4 years, yet I feel like I always learn something new when I watch an Atomic Shrimp video. Keep up the awesome content.

Thank you for bringing me on this walk.

Your comment about "awe and wonder" reminds me of an experience as a young boy on holiday in Austria. Outside the chalet where we were staying, in a mountain village called Igls, was a steep forested hillside. One day I went exploring and decided to clamber up the hill over occasional spiky trunks of trees that had been felled. (In the 60s, children were given a lot more freedom.) When I eventually reached the top I was met with the most breathtaking view over the valley and Innsbruck to the gleaming Nordkette mountain range. Encountering this sudden, unexpected vista was utterly magical and something I will never forget. For me, I think it was the change in scale - one moment being in an enclosed forest, the next standing in front of a vast panorama where you could see for miles and miles - that created the awe and wonder. Watching your video there was a bit of that same feeling.

I live just a stones throw away from colmers It is a brilliant walk and beautiful

Wood ear is sold a lot in Asian markets in dried form in the USA in Michigan. There are a few popular Chinese Szechuan dishes with wood ear. My father and I used to order ox kidney with wood ear in spicy chili oil. 😀 very tasty combination when made with the right tastes. Wood ear would have a soft crunch but be jelly-like. The kidney was actually very tender. I believe it was served cold. Szechuan cooking can be very technical with the techniques so as to create very particular textures and tastes, which makes it very delicious. Seeing you forage wood ear brought that memory to mind. Great video!

These videos are just so wholesome and fun. I know it will come off as weird, but in a way this is a glimpse into a life that I would maybe like to have when I'm your age, and I'm grateful to have this little "guide" for inspiration. Thanks for giving us this little window into your life and mind.

If anyone's curious, the footpath gate at the start has such a big handle on so that it's accessible to horse riders!

The first tree that you commented on possibly being part of a hedge may have been hedged, but equally it might have been trained to a shape to provide timber that would go to a ship builder to carve into the ribs or knees of a naval vessel. Back in the Tudor period this was a common practice for a master carpenter/ shipbuilder to go out into the countryside to find and reserve such trees and sometimes he would encourage the tree to grow in certain shapes by trimming and tying them while still young. Those trees that were selected became property of the Crown and nobody else could fell them but they could be rejected by the ship yard if they grew out of the desired form.(Hearts of Oak are our ships, Hearts of Oak are our men.).

As someone who has been hedge laying for around 10 years really happy to see you covering this, you can tell the abandoned hedge is quite old as it's been lain almost horizontal whilst hedgerows now are almost always (depending on style) lain diagonally allowing sap to grow that could be a reason that the recent lay failed.

5:44 A fun little Atomic Shrimp style challenge would be to challenge yourself to use the trig point (concrete pillar) on this hill with 2 other trig points in sight of it (there will be at least 2 within vision of this one, on nearby hills, but bushes and trees may have grown to obscure the view) to determine the distance between them by calculating their angles to eachother and using triangulation. This would blend nature and hiking into history and technology.

Your videos are so relaxing, calming, informative, adventure, delicious, and with laughs. Thank you. Also I laughing when you trailed off saying I don’t know what y’all want me to do (about hearing you breathe), I finished your sentence with “I breathe!”

Seeing this I can experience the life I left behind. I'm currently on a Caribbean island owned by Nicaragua. It's bloody hot all the time, the shops don't have things like milk, cheese and tea, it's nice here in its way but I miss England. Please continue to make your stuff, even watching you make Fray Bentos pies makes me shed a tear. Seeing yiour shadow in this video reminds me of me

This gives me such an innocent type of joy. It feels like being on a hike in Utah with my Grandpa

14:40 please come back here in 3 or 4 months and show us the green growth of the hedge -- would love to see a before and after

I have to say Mike you did exceptionally well in keeping up the commentary while climbing that hill.. I'd have been puffing like a steam train! 😤.... Thanks for another great video mate, very informative 👍

I'm usually just a scambaiter viewer, but you have made these other videos so interesting that I enjoy these just as much. Your uploads are appreciated AS

Ah thank you for this Mr Shrimp. I felt like I was walking along with you thanks to your informative commentary, reminded me of a walk we took up Roseberry Topping in the days when i could walk.

I do appreciate how you've found other reasons to break out the mini skillets. A small but lovely reminder that sometimes, you don't necessarily need a specialist tool to perform a job when you already have something on hand.

I had just seen the bit about hedge laying on Clarksons Farm the other day, which I had never even heard of before, and here I stumble across it right away again. Interesting stuff.

The other Hill you didn’t manage to get to is Quarry Hill which has some stunning views and lots of earthworks. You can walk the hollow way where you saw the rope swing, it leads to the A35 and across to Eype Down. If you had stayed walking up the first track that takes you up an impressive hollow way to Hell Lane which lives up to its name as it’s very steep, rutted and wet almost all year round. Great to watch your videos at places I know well.

That view is definitely worth the hike.

The hills of Dorset are way steeper than what they look like on camera. I also "breathe" when I climb them 😂

Oh wow I live in Bridport and see the hill every day!

I'm always envious of your spoon walking stick my friend. It's truly a masterpiece of awesomeness 😁👍

I think the nature walk videos are now my favorite. I let out a gasp of delight this morning when I saw it was a nature walk 🍻. Cheers from Toronto

Could you imagine the quality sledging on this hill when it snows?

God, I got exhaused just watching you climb that hill as I'm currently down with the flu and just going to the kitchen makes me lose my breath.

Hearing you talk about the signs of old hedgelaying reminded me of a video series I watched/listened to a while ago by Tom Wessels called Reading the Forested Landscape. There's something relaxing to me about hearing people talk about the history of the land like that; the way something as simple as a mound of dirt or distinctively-shaped tree can remind us of the generations who've walked before us, and give us some sort of insight into the way they might've lived.

Thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, but your breaking the ice for the birds particularly gave me the warm fuzzies. ❤

Haha, I've done the same climbing Roseberry Topping, headed straight up only to reach the top to find a nice gradual path winding it's way from the back. But it does make it feel like you earned a bite to eat at the top.

I think that feeling you feel when you see those views is something in philosophy called the sublime or "An agreeable kind of horror". It refers a quality of greatness, in this case being a vast space, beauty, history and future. It can make you feel good because whilst we can feel very small in the face of such vast beauty and scope it also makes all of our big problems feel a little bit smaller, it makes it feel like maybe everything will be alright. For me that brings a peace to the heart.

We went up Colmer's Hill the exact same way and only upon getting to the top, did we see the 'easy route'. It was a lovely day and the views are amazing. Love this video, makes me want to go back there.

I love going along on your walks. Really beautiful. Thank you.

this sort of reason is why i love this channel. full of england vibes

Thanks for posting this winter adventure! The view from the top is breath taking. I live in the U.S., a relatively new country, and I can't imagine what it is to live where you live where there is so much history all around you. Please continue posting outings like this!

You know so much interesting stuff,.. am sitting here getting over Covid feeling very sorry for myself and your videos are such a ray of sunshine

Such a calming video. Your videos really help after I’ve had a bad mental health day. Thank you.

I like the Extra Long spoon as your staff. Adds a layer of superiority.

Also nearby, I highly recommend a walk starting at Langdon Hill car park, through the woods and across to the coast at Golden Cap. Did that walk just after going up Colmer's Hill a few years ago, and it was beautiful.

Love the views and the lights pointing up the trees and flagpole

That pathway you walked up at the beginning that is sunken into the ground - I remember walking up that and speculating whether it was so below the ground around it due to thousands of years of feet eroding the earth along it.

walking will keep you alive longer than anything else, i walk 15 miles a day rain or shine listening to audio books.

What a lovely view! Thank you for sharing this with us. Very much respect all the unique views on the world you provide.

Wonderful way to start our Sunday, we are stuck in with terrible colds and coughs and would usually be walking along the seafront in West Wales, thanks Mike,Jenny and Eva for making the day better

When you visit Bridport, go have a meal at Long's Fish and Chips restaurant on King St. Just a short walk from the South St car park. To work up your appetite, try a visit to the Alleyways Antiques Centre. Even if you don't find anything you want to buy, it's a fascinating place.

Those views were stunning, well worth the vertical climb.

I watched a video about the origins of Yin and Yang (by ReligionForBreakfast). Yin was originally a word for the shaded side of a hill and Yang the sunny side before the concept became expanded to represent opposites more broadly. I find it interesting that the yin you ascended was steep while the yang you descended was gradual. Looking at the two routes you walked, I can see how the concept of polarities was broadened.

I'm so proud that I was able to identify the Wood Ear fungus before you said what it was today. I am learning genuinely useful and interesting stuff from your videos and that's why you're my favourite RU-vidr! ❤

My mind is thinking....if that was snowy climb on a slegde quickest and most fun way down!! Also amazing view. Loved it.

Love seeing the ole trusty walking spoon!

Thanks so much for taking me along on your beautiful trek. I'll never get to see England in person but this is the next best thing. ❤️

Nice to catch a glimpse of the hiking spoon!

The whole living fence thing has just been covered on clarksons farm, so strange to learn about something twice in 24 hours

I learn so much from your videos. Thank you for all the work you put into them.

Lovely scenic video! Dorset has some spectacular landscapes. I bet Eva's little paws were frozen after that!

watching this on the treadmill so i feel like i'm going for a walk with you makes my daily workout a bit more fun

Such a beautiful countryside to explore!

I hope you enjoy those mushrooms at least half as much as I'm lookin forward to them! Boy those jars sure are useful except for when your ands are a bit wet or oily

Oh how I wish I could wander along the English countryside whimsically with a walking spoon myself

Stunning views. I'd also suggest Kelston Round Hill near Bath, a bit out of your way but the views are similarly spectacular, and there's a lovely pub in the village at the bottom!

What a delightful place. Thanks for taking us with you. Earth is frosty.

Hilly areas will always be my favorite kind of landscape because in spent the better part of my childhood in such an area (less pastures and more woods, but still quite similar). One thing to remember next time you climb a steep hill on frozen or muddy ground is to never walk straight up the slope, the safest walking path is to zigzag in a roughly 45 degrees pattern (or spiral up if possible, on open ground like that it's a viable option), even if you practically double the distance the physical effort is roughly the same and you minimize the risk of slipping down. On open pastures your "walking spoon" is fine, but if you climb forested hills I recommend something with a (strong enough) hook on the upper end. I use something called a shepherd's axe (look up baltag or valaska / wataszka), it's basically a walking cane with a metal butt on the bottom and a light curved axe head on top, besides allowing you to hook on tree branches for balance it's also a nice utility blade and can serve as a self defense weapon in a pinch (maybe not as relevant today, but still you never know what you can encounter in such remote places).

I just love your videos! It’s so wonderful to be able to slow down and just enjoy your adventures along with you and your family. It’s a nice change of pace compared to what I’ve been doing lately

If you uncover a story during a trek with your walking spoon, would it be called getting a scoop, but the other meaning of scoop?

One of the very few youtube channels (that I follow) where I always feel like I'm learning something :)

I wouldn't have known what you were talking about when you mentioned hedge rows being built but I saw a video just last week about people simulating living in the 1700's on a farm. And it showed them making hedge rows. It was fascinating. Thank you for the walk.

Down south is a beautiful part of the country. I like how I can watch your video's and be educated about things I never knew I needed to learn.

Impromptu Toboggan. .... another shrimp character is born!!

"Hummocks and Bumps" would be a great band name.

Absolutely beautiful. Your sense of awe is appropriate: it's the souls' instinctive response to the handiwork of God. You and your wife are wonderfully fit. (As is the pup.) Thank you so much for taking us along. More, please. 😊

Some absolutely lovely views in this video 🤩😊

These nature videos are some of my favorite that you put out. Your narration is calming and enlightening. As someone from the US, I may never get to see these areas in person. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us

I see you found another use for the tiny cast iron pan! Love the bonus mushroom content at the end :)

I always love your hiking in the countryside videos! As someone from Minnesota it always makes me chuckle a little when they describe "cold" as around freezing lol. It was -25f at my house last week. Its all relative i know. Anyway, great video!

I go to Bridport quite often, I'll have to have a look when I'm next in that neck of the woods

I feel like I learn something new all the time on this channel, I really appreciate that. Didn't know anything about hedging trees.

Winters picnic, quite a neat idea

Thanks for taking us along on this lovely walk.

I came to this channel because of the scam baiting episodes (which I still love). The nature stuff is now my favourite part of this channel.

❤ this video made me so happy, I felt the benefits of being in nature vicariously through you and Jenny…please do keep breathing 😉❤❤❤

Beautiful views! Miss those crisp winter days back home in Blighty 🥲

Been reading The Lord of The Rings for the first time recently. When you got to see the view, the Shire clicked into my mind. How could you not write a story like LoTR when your world is like this. Thanks for the video, Mr. Shrimp

My Sister and I walked up the same path,now named cardiac arrest hill,the other path is much more gentle!

Ulex europaeus! I'm a former Blood Banker and that made me perk right up. Ulex europaeus is used to make a lectin that is sometimes used in Blood Bank testing. I never knew where it came from - so glad you included the scientific name in the graphic. Very cool that you stumbled across it!!

7:25 Maybe you also feel at awe because you get a greater understanding of how things are connected. It's literally a broader perspective on things.

Thanks for taking us with you; you always make me google stuff, lol Hi Jenny, hi Eva, thanks for sharing your day with us. Take care, be well

Wow what a fantastic view & the winter stew looked delicious 😋. Thanks Atomic shrimp 🥶

Another top quality video Mike. Very interesting and informative

A comfy video from you with some food in the morning, theres no better way to start the day really!

Lovely. Thank you.

I think seeing the land denotes a sense of freedom. No restraints of buildings, walls, forests etc

Great day for a hike and a picnic. Sublime.

Very much enjoy watching your Sunday uploads in the morning with a cup of coffee before work. Appreciate the videos keep them coming 😊

yay i was hoping for another adventure video like this some beautifuls views it would be interesting if u did do a project with collected wool bits u find and what youd make from it i loved seeing the walking stick in use

Sunday morning shrimp is always a welcome sight. Keep up the good work fella and, as always, stay safe!

Hi, there are a lot of these barrows, humps or ‘mumps’ around Dorset and Somerset. Another view to recommend is from Winyards Gap Inn over South Somerset on a clear day (with a draught ale)!

Perfect walking conditions, cold and crisp, dry and sunny!

Love these episodes it's become my Sunday morning ritual to watch whilst gently waking getting ready for the day.