Hello Grumps! Despite your low mood the video was a delight to watch, not only the interesting landscape but also your cooking and drinking in the wild. When my wife and I next go “rambling” we will be sure to keep a look out for that “man in his tweed” cooking in a hedge. 😮 John, please never change. 👏👏👍😀🍷
Good point! I probably should have engaged them in conversation rather just saying a sheepish hello. I couldn't say for certain they were Ramblers but they were a large-ish group, they seemed well prepared (backpacks, maps, raincoats), and there appeared to be a chap at the front guiding them. I should clarify I have nothing but good feelings towards the Ramblers' Association! It was just that on this particular occasion I wanted some time alone, and this group showed up one by one atop the embankment immediately above the ditch where I was sitting and took it in turns to peer down at me in a very quizzical fashion, then they all lingered there for a few minutes. Obviously I have no legitimate basis for grumbling - Open Access Land means exactly that and they had just as much right as me to be there!
@@tweedyoutdoors I know exactly what you mean by wanting time alone. When ever I need a pee there always seems to be a school trip organised by nuns that turns up.
You're welcome! Probably not the most inspiring or uplifting video on RU-vid but I think there's something honest and worthwhile now and again about just admitting a trip was actually a bit crap!
You’ve got good instincts, the pond is very significant to the site. The early English settlers called it Pond Camp (Meres Byrige) because of that pond. I think it is the receding daylight making me grumpy, I have to run everywhere and I make mistakes. Plus the blinking wind. Soon it shall be Spring. Vernal (-ise) is used by gardeners getting their garlic to grow right. I got a really good insoght into how you work with this video.
Thank you, that's really good to hear! The pond did really stand out to me, and the trees around it suggested it wasn't modern. I think you might be right about the receding daylight as a cause of my grumpiness, I remember feeling even more gloomy this time last year. October's not so bad because of the artificial effect of British summer time, and then December of course has the winter solstice so things start to get better again, but November often feels like freefall as far as daylight hours are concerned. Thanks by the way, not sure if you read the description (does anyone ever?) but one of your videos was the inspiration for this video - even if this particular outing was a bit of a grumpfest, I'm looking forward to exploring more of this ancient track and others in the book.
I'm rather fond of that area, but not the barriers to open access. The Sydmonton Estate is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, so it may have been under his instruction that the access point to Watership Down was blocked up. Interestingly, Richard Adams presents that landscape as a hostile place in Watership Down. The experts love Ladle Hill because the hillfort was never finished. So the bungs of earth are as it was left, providing an insight into the construction process. I can relate to your lunch stop experience. You find a great spot and there's always something unpleasant in it! Great video and fine to get grumpy - you'd never get that on mainstream media! Keeping it real, as they say.
Wow - normally I think of "the landowner" as a faceless entity so it's fascinating to think in this case it's actually a very well known face! I thought I had read Richard Adams was very fond of the down after which he named his novel. To be honest on this occasion the appeal was a bit lost on me, but that may well be down to these access issues, the glum weather, and my general grumpiness on this occasion.
So - Here's the thing: I just spent weeks of editing, days of AirBnb-ing, months of research, fortune's on 400-years-old books to produce something that is likely to get almost as many views as this - And I find myself, as always watching it to the end and loving every bit. You just have a way of getting it right!!
Thank you! Your efforts are definitely not in vain and I'm sure others who watch your videos recognise the professionalism and dedication that goes into them, as I do! ...but I know what you mean, RU-vid is a curious beast, and sometimes videos you have poured your heart and soul into seem to fall a bit flat with the audience, whereas other times videos where your heart wasn't really in it do surprisingly well... Even videos like this one where I was actually a bit grumpy for a lot of it, and things didn't really go to plan, still managed to get a positive reception because I suppose it's relatable - or maybe it's just schadenfreude? 😁
Thanks Clark, that's a great expression! Yes I think there's a tendency in outdoorsy videos on RU-vid for everything to be a bit too perfect all the time. Obviously I wouldn't want to put anyone off from getting outdoors but you have to be realistic - most of the time I love it, but sometimes it's just a bit rubbish!
Hiya, Tweedy. Welp, looks like 1000 is on its way for Christmas. I've just finished a 7 camping wild month trip from Lithuania and ended up in SW Spain and now here in Exeter. Anyways, I'm on a new site now, but I hope that you remember me as the man that went over to Chambertin.
For my sins i used to have to travel to Crazy Basi as it was ironically known. Despite my genuine efforts i couldnt find anything to commend it. I dont know the country around that area, but loved your review. On being grumpy - thats just life mate and most will appreciate that. Your reviews are genuine and not Instagram fodder. Look forward to the next review.
Thanks Rob! I felt a little bit guilty about picking on Basingstoke in this video as I've only ever passed through the place en route to somewhere else, but that said those brief glimpses of it never gave me a desire to linger there either. I suspect it's the sort of place that might have had some charm half a century ago, but it has had so much concrete development since then that if any of that charm remains it's not easy to find.
Another You Tube I subscribe to also noted that there was no access to Watership Down . That was about 18 months ago, I recall he found this very disappointing.
Thanks Garry, it's useful to know it wasn't just me misreading the map / landscape! It seems rather self defeating to me - it's a famous location and some people will likely have made a special trip to visit. Some of them are likely to have ended up climbing over fences and maybe damaging them by doing so or worse still may have been injured in the process. It really doesn't seem unreasonable to just make a small corridor to get to it with corresponding signage.
@@thedartmoorpodcast I continue to be baffled about the relative success of the channel (i.e. any number of subscribers greater than zero) considering the terrible camera work, sloppy editing, and worst of all the absolute prat who presents it! I can only conclude that the audience only sticks with it for the vicarious boozing.
Next time, wire cutters 😉, perfectly legal to do so, IF an area of O.A.L is blocked off unnecessarily 👍 (well, in MY opinion anyway 😁) I can understand why that may have started the "grumpiness". An some days it can "just be like that", - Not as enjoyable as one would like, one thing after another, even if minute (not "minute", but "mi-noot", you know?) all builds up and spoils the time you had planned. Still entertaining though and hope your mood's improved since. Take care All the best D & B 👍 (Edited for spelling mistake)
Thanks D&B! Yes I heard somewhere it's OK to climb a fence to get into an area of Open Access Land if necessary but not sure whether the landowner would have received that memo. My mood has definitely improved since! Just seemed to be a random one day grump-a-thon.
Have you read it? I only got it a week or so ago and still working my way through it bit by bit... I wonder how sure they can be about these routes in some cases, but they do make it clear when they're unsure. The maps are particularly good! I wanted to include some shots of them in the video but I thought that might be a copyright issue.
It's made by a German company called Westmark. Other brands are available but I have another one from a different manufacturer which came free with a case of wine and they're a bit flimsy by comparison. They're sold on Amazon and elsewhere. I think they're sometimes called an "Ah-So" opener, but I'd just call them wine prongs. Here's a link in case it helps (I think mine is the "satin finish" rather than chrome plated, not sure what difference that makes): www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00154JJMK It's really only meant for old wines (particularly 15 years or older) where there's a risk of the cork disintegrating with a regular corkscrew, but once I got the knack for using it I actually started to find it easier than a corkscrew, and they're nice and compact to carry around.
I fell in love with Watership Down without actually having been there after reading the book because I was a bit of a Melt in my early teens. So no sign of Hazel?😢
I am sure it must somehow be possible to get onto that bit of land and if you spent long enough there I'm pretty sure you'd see rabbits! I don't think this video really showed it in its best light, the weather was glum and I didn't get very close... but I read that Richard Adams found that landscape really inspiring, and I think there probably is something quite special about it.
Oh dear! It just didn't really go right at all did it? It almost feels like a waste of good wine! I am limited to the local parks etc (anywhere with mobility scooter access). Practically impossible to get some 'alone time'. I do miss the night out videos.
Thanks AFT, yes I saw that video on these bizarre Open Access Land "islands" and I suppose that was in the back of my mind when filming this. I believe they said it's OK to climb a fence if necessary to get into them but I wasn't entirely convinced whether the landowner would see it the same way...
@@tweedyoutdoors I believe it is ok to climb over a fence that is illegally obstructing a footpath (if it is still a legal right of way), but I don't know how this would work out if someone was moving "sideways", so to speak. One could possibly find oneself liable for something or other. Possibly damage?
Yes - nearly there! The progress has been a bit on and off, and despite all my apparent free time these days I don't seem to be getting out into the countryside nearly as much as I'd like... but I'm sure I'll make it eventually!
I'm not sure I'd ever personally go that far but I do understand the sentiment! I assume the fairest/nicest way to deal with issues like this is to have a dialogue with the relevant landowner to understand their side of it, possibly in a public forum like a local parish council meeting and/or with the support of an organisation like the Ramblers who have experience in these matters.
