5 Days Hiking & Wild Camping on Britains Oldest Road
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2022
- Used for over 5000 years by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers I thought I'd follow in their footsteps.
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Filmed & Edited by Liam.
No fluff, not loads of chatter, no annoying music ---- just good honest walking and camping in beautiful England. Cheers for making this Liam.
Agreed, the vibes and editing are so good!
Hi Liam. I grew up in Swindon, and spent so much of my younger years walking and enjoying the ridgeway. I recently lost one of my best friends to cancer, and his last wish was to have his ashes scattered up there. At 6:30 in your video is the exact place we scattered them, and we planted a tree in the small patch of woodland there to remember him. We spent many evenings sat on the bunker drinking, listening to music and enjoying life. He was only 25 when he passed. It’s quite emotional to see one of my favourite TH-camrs at that exact spot, only a week or two after his ashes were scattered there. Thank you so much for this video.
That’s lovely mate - I lived in West Overton and my grandparents in Aldbourne. I used to walk this all the time
Where is that bunker located ?
Alex, a very moving comment. At 25, that;s too young - may his soul rest in peace. It seems as if you shared a common appreciation of Nature and the outdoors.
@@danwright7779 Liddington Clump, Liddington, Swindon SN4 0HR, nice views of Swindon aswell tbf
@@bertramclement6702 my guy thankyou
No annoying music, no drama, no product promotions….. proper down to earth no nonsense video with astounding content. Thanks Liam. Bloody superb mate.
I live in the Appalachian foothills of America (in southern Ohio) but I've always been drawn to the English countryside ever since I was a kid. Watching your videos just reinforces my opinion that you live in one of the most beautiful places on earth--- I don't care what anyone says lol. We have a lot of cool places over here too, but the vast majority of the trails where I live go through woodlands & not open country like in the UK. You're awesome dude, please keep making these!
Us and uk are two beautiful countries
the uk is quite a small country and it's been inhabited for thousands of years so all the ground has been trodden in, old growth cut down long ago. when i'm in american countryside it feels like an untouched wilderness. you can stray 200 feet off the trail, get lost and die
I’m thinking about doing walks through my beautiful state of Wisconsin. But southern Ohio is a very beautiful place that many people may not know about! Let’s get walking, talking and recording!
What about Scotland?
Don’t limit yourself to England, even though it’s stunning. Wales, Scotland and Ireland are utterly stunning too.
Another incredible journey, you young man are an inspiration to your generation, well done and thanks for taking us along.
I find it funny that this road is older than some people think the world is.
Good point, and they also think the world is flatter than this road which has a steep escalation when heading west from the Thames.
It's so great seeing this. I attempted (and spectacularly failed) to walk the Ridgeway in 2010. I had the exact same first-day experience as you. Went to that small village and then panicked because there was absolutely nowhere to camp. I ended up accidentally camping on top of a badger's set in a bit of wood next to a farmer's field and was woken by a family of badgers snuffling through my pack at 4am 😂 I was a complete novice, and had massively overpacked. The extra weight caused my feet to blister up so bad that I could only manage a few miles the next day and had to give up. Couldn't walk properly for about a week afterwards. I'd done multiple-day hikes before, but always with someone sharing the load (shared tent, cooking utensils for one etc.). Doing it on my own was a completely different situation, and I'm impressed with anyone who manages it.
Who else is in awe of the creative details that Liam puts into his videos? Two of my favorite scenes from this video are: @9:40, the way that the comforting sound of each footstep is in sync with the drone's video, and @15:21, when the hues of the wheat field darken as the drone moves over them. Attention to details like this is what makes Liam a master videographer. Please keep up the great work!
i can only say the same, no annoying and often too loud music. good photography and a young man walking instead of blogging on instagram. good for you
Another class video Liam! I'd never heard of this route before, looks like an an absolute belter!! That footage of the Deer at 6:23 was totally awesome 😀
I had a whole load of Deer follow me up a beach in the UK. I got a picture but all you can see are the eyes.
Thanks Liam. We watch all your inspirational videos. You never get downbeat no matter how tough it gets. Keep smiling and walking. Have a coffee on us.
What a beautiful country we live in and you get to show us some of it. Well done on the walk. Another awesome video 👍👍
Another belter of an adventure Liam 👏🏻 Thanks for taking us along with you.
Best thing I discovered this year, is this channel
You never fail to inspire me to get back out and hike, keep it up
"Trust your elders. They're more experienced". Bravo young Shaman. Great film. Thank you.
The shot at 12:21 is incredible. Your videos help many to see the beauty of the UK and the way you film is so refreshing in what is an overly cheap content era of TH-cam. Keep doing what you love, because we love watching that transcend through the videos.
Love your vids pal. So different from the TH-cam videos you see today trying to make them viral. They are so chilled and peaceful to watch. Credit to ya
Great video. I think the ridges were always transit routes because before England was drained for agriculture the lowlands were mostly bog and not walkable. Keep it up Liam it's very inspirational.
What a great trip. Absolutely beautiful countryside. I’m about to be 60 years old and live in Madison Wisconsin in the U.S. I am so inspired to buy a new tent and start walking my own beautiful place. Your videos are a joy to watch.
All the best with your walking Wendy and take care . Duncan.
You'll probably get shot for trespassing
Thanks, Wendy! Get yourself a new tent & enjoy the outdoors, you won't regret it.
Get that tent!! Have a look at Tarptent's range, I'm sure there will be something to suit you and they are properly lightweight. And as you're in the US, they're easier and cheaper for you to buy than they are for us Brits across the Pond
@@LiamBrown
Hi Liam,
What maps do you use in your hikes.
I really like your style of filming, nothing getting in the way of enjoying the walk with you, and excellent film work. Thank you.
I’m currently working a 12 hour shift in a remote railroad signal box, it has 360 degree panoramic views. In front of me is the ocean and the sun is glinting on calm waters, behind me are mountains, I can see tiny white specs moving up and down the mountains (sheep). Either side are lush green meadows which produce vibrant beautiful colours from wild flowers in the summer time.
The signal box is an old Victorian wooden building. The old pendulum clock is tick tocking in a very mediative rhythm on the wall.
My dog is curled up asleep next to the old log burning stove . The wind is trying to make its way through the thin panes of glass which makes a beautiful haunting sound
The resident Robin is outside on the steps eagerly pecking at the bread & biscuits crumbs I’ve thrown out for him.
It’s a far cry from my last career in the city , I was well groomed and sharp suits , nice car and big house until one day ( 3 years ago) I saw the light after being forced to lay off some people at my company. It hit me hard & I just couldn’t live with myself anymore. I handed in my notice and walked out . The Universe came to my rescue and found this job for me,
now I have long hair & beard and look like Grizzly Adams . I’ve taken up painting with water colours and I’m regularly bringing my paint pads here to work.
I regularly have this channel playing in the background.
The only person I see occasionally is an old farmer who drives by on an old open top tractor, he’s an old man with a flat cap, bright red face, his sheep dog between his legs with its front paws placed on the steering wheel .
I call him “ Farmer Jones” although I’ve actually no idea what his real name is.
He acknowledges me by raising his index finger off the steering wheel of his 1950’s tractor that has seen many many years of extreme mountain winters.
Both Farmer Jones & his old sheep dog stare straight ahead without flinching.
Where they go is a mystery as the the old drovers track goes on for miles way up into the mountains, they normally drive back past about 5.30pm and disappear back into the mountains in the opposite direction.
He’s a tall man with 1970’s hair cut , kind of reminds me of an old Clint Eastwood stature . I’m sure he must have been a very handsome man in his day . I imagine the local girls hoping to catch his eye on a Saturday night at the old village hall dance.
I’m guessing that there was once a Mrs farmer Jones but judging from the vacant stare of both him and his dog that they both experienced “ THE DAY !“ that life for them stood still” .
Mrs Jones was getting ready to leave their old white washed mountain top farm to do the weekly shop in the local town , she’d been looking at a fancy catalog which had arrived in the post and had been looking at a beautiful summer dress that she wanted to buy for their daughter who’d got married some years before and had moved to the city suburbs with her husband and had recently had a child.
As she was leaving she noticed a dead rat laying under the kitchen table . She thought oh thank god ‘Dylan’ the sheep dog finally killed that damn thing, it’s been raiding the pantry for months , he’s such a good dog considering his young age, I do love him .
Mrs J got into the old car which took a few turns to start and slowly made her way down the old drovers track towards what can be loosely called a road , she glanced up at the mountains opposite her and saw Mr J and Dylan as specs in the distance rounding up sheep. She loved them both with all the love of a woman’s heart.
She made her way along the road until arriving at a T junction of a main road , to the left was the local town however Mrs J turned right . ( if you asked her why she turned right on that particular day, all she could tell you is that …. All intention , meaning, thought , feelings just evaporated, “ I was a whispy summer cloud that drifts with absolutely no control , it came out of nowhere and yet I was connected to everything in the universe!! I just kept on driving , I wasn’t aware I was driving!!).
Mr J & Dylan had arrived back many hours ago from the mountains as it was getting dark , he knew something was wrong as did Dylan , both fearing the worst . The phone line was down as usual but he’d managed to get the word out that Mrs J was missing.
3 days go by and Mr J looks at the open page in the catalog and think … You stupid man, I should have bought her something fancy !! I should have noticed, he wipes away a tear .
Dylan noticed the rat he killed for his mama and had left it there so she could see she didn’t have to fret no more about it eating food from the parlour. Dylan thought .. it’s my fault she left I should never have left that rat in the kitchen.
THE DAY !!
Fast forward many years and that vacant stare is still there as they both go over that day forever
. Mrs J found herself in the suburbs of a City she’d only visited once and followed a vaguely familiar road until she arrived and parked outside a vaguely familiar house.
Marie her daughter was playing in the front garden with her new 1 year old child , something made her look up and notice an old beat up car parked on the road just in front of the gate. A female telepathy kicks in “ She knew “
she walks to the car and opens the driver door . The Female glance of eyes meeting for a split second carries more information than any Male could ever comprehend nor fathom.
No words required, Marie took her mother by the hand sat her down at the kitchen table whilst she prepared the spare guest portion of the house .
Mrs J stayed for a month until she left with a note to her Daughter “ Thank you “ !!
. Mrs J these days is still with us but not with us . THAT DAY she dissolved back into the universe !!
so Anyway, I’ve another train coming so I’d better go and pull a signal lever !!!
I Look at the passengers faces as the train passes by, some have their heads in their phones , some stare emotionless out of the window , lost in their thoughts as life takes them on an individual journey of lost lioves, love, despair, anger , worry , contentment.
It’s a journey we all must make …God speed to you all ❤️🙏🙏
I've been an anglophile my whole life, but have never heard of the Ridgeway before. I'll have to add this to my bucket list!
Another great journey, Liam. Thanks for taking us along with you.. 👍
Just watched this again & brought back memories of playing cricket in many of the villages u walked through when I younger. Amazed your pumps held out. Super vid. Thx again for post 🙏
I love your walks Liam, they always convey peace and serenity wherever you go. Nice one young man.
Stayed in High Wycombe and didn’t realize that path was so close to there, at least it seemed it was. Where I stayed was right across from an ancient common. Oh my, I was enchanted and spent as much time as I could wandering through it. So much beauty, the light was amazing, and it was a magical experience. Can’t wait to get back to the UK, I think in Spring. Thanks for showing us the beauty of my homeland, missing it!
great stuff! I walked the Ridgeway in May 2022, but going in the opposite direction, such a difference in colour though! It was late spring and absolutely blooming, so many shades of green, all of the life poking through and bursting with fresh energy, an absolute contrast to the washed out lazy southern summer palate on display here. Great capture of the Ridgeway vibes, I've just finished editing and uploading my own Ridgeway video on my channel actually lol
Just love catching up with your videos Liam, so glad for TH-cam and what you do on here, I bounce between Hazy n Messner and Robinet but always pop back for yours, keep up the good work mate, another spot on video... much rather watch these then anything TV offer.
I live at the bottom of fox hill. Used to sit up there for years as a young man and 20 years later I bought the house at the bottom of the hill. Now I'm a hiker but I still haven't walked more than 12miles of it.
Thanks for reminding me to do it and thanks for showing me how easy it is to follow.
8.06. Swine Hill, (swindon) 2mins to mine
Send me ya PayPal Liam, I wanna send ya something.
Breathtaking golden farmland as far as you can see. Loved all the beautiful scenery on this hike. Great job! 🙋🏼♀️👍🏻🇺🇸
Love your videos - I lived in the UK for over 30 years and walked on some of the routes you've travelled on. The Ridgeway was the one I walked most frequently because of its proximity to London and because I have friends who live near the path. I feel so nostalgic!. How about a series of hikes on other historical routes in the UK and Europe - Hadrian's Wall, Saxon Shore Way, Camino de Santiago,etc?
I grew up a few miles away from Ivinghoe in the little village of Totternhoe and am now questioning my sanity. We always pronounced it as eye-ven-hoe. 🤷♂️
Great video as always, love how chill you are just making your way across the uk’s amazing countryside and enjoying taking it all in.
That pronunciation is correct. It comes from the Viking king Ivan, he had a lot of hoes (concubines) and he lived a good life.
Great job Liam - I have lived at various points along the ridgeway (the start in Wiltshire and later on near the Thames) and I’m now up in Manchester. Made me nostalgic for walking along there with my grandad as a kid!
love these vids so much mate, have started camping in the woods where i live in sweden because of your videos and it's done wonders for my mental health. so a massive thank you and keep it up!!
@15mins.40seconds “It’s a long hot day and nature finds a way to put you in a good mood” - Liam Brown. Beautiful words. ❤ You may save that for your tombstone Liam 😅 love from Ireland 🇮🇪 Andrew. Love the channel.
Such a peaceful vibe about your videos which showcase the beauty of our countryside. Looking forward to autumnal videos already, hope you have some good adventures planned to take advantage of the season
Great video Liam 👌🏻. What a wonderful walk and achievement. Thank you for sharing xx
Great video Liam. Nothing better than freshly picked fruit - I've been loving the summer and everything the countryside had to offer. Thanks for sharing - not heard of this trail but it had some beautiful scenery.
Love the way you do your videos Liam. They're really well done. Appreciate them so much. 👍
Used to walk part of the Ridgeway when I was living in Reading, there's a superb pub near Goring. Thanks for this video, brings back some really good memories
I couldn't believe they'd built a road through the stones at Avebury when I visited there!
Great to see your latest adventure, I was wondering where you were. I love a walk with some really old history mixed in. Well done and thank you for sharing.
They didn't just built a road, a they built a village and a church. It's normal for churches to built on top of older sacred sites all across Europe. It's a way of them showing dominance and crushing anything that isn't Christian.
@@alexanderinsubordinate1861 I know what you are saying but to have cars driving through it!
@@dawnross2514 yeah I know.
@@dawnross2514 The road has been there hundreds of years and pre dates automobiles.
Great video Liam love the mixture of A and B roll and commentary to tell the story! Something I need to get better at with my own videos! Look forwards to see what’s up next! 🙌🏼
Great video once again Liam! You may be interested the Icknield Way, which is also said to be one of Britain’s oldest road. Tom Scott has a great introductory video on youtube about it, but I highly recommend Robert Macfarlane’s book ‘The Old Ways’. Here, Macfarlane traces the documentary-footfall of poet Edward Thomas around the great historic paths, and his chapter on the Icknield Way is just beautiful.
It's the same road! Ridgeway continues onto Icknield Way. Also continues SW to Dorset from overton
Sitting here drinking a long espresso, between household chores, as the rain drizzles down outside and my cat snoozes peacefully on her chair. Great watch, Thanks Liam 🙏
I've been walking parts of the Ridgeway my whole life, I have been waiting for this video a long time. you really captured the beauty of our little patch of nature
Breathtaking farmland. There is nothing better than freshly picked fruit - I love autumn and everything the countryside has to offer.
If you ever want to do one in belgium, try the GR routes. We walked from Melreux-Hotton to Gouvy. You cross so many different habitats and biomes in quick but seamless succesion, that trail will never cease to amaze me. Also great for taking swimming breaks :D
I've loved watching your videos recently and was excited when I saw this one pop up! I live near Avebury and regularly run along the Ridgeway - it's just such a beautiful trail to explore!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the Ridgeway, a beautiful and yet not widely spoken about area of our country. I am from the Vale of the White Horse in Oxfordshire and live just ten minutes from the trail. After completing the route myself bikepacking, I certainly recall many of the wonderful sights you have shared with us in this video.
Awesome video Liam! Very professional, well made and produced! Looks like a great route to hike and it looks like you had fantastic weather for your journey! 😊
Another great video Liam. I moved away from England 5 years ago and your videos always made me homesick (in a good way of course). I've always been very in touch with the countryside and am pleased to say that I plan to move back to North Yorkshire in the next few months. I will take some time to appreciate the amazing countryside, that I all too often took for granted (without realising), before I start working again. I will definitely be exploring some areas that you have been fortunate enough to experience. Peace brother and keep these videos coming 🙂
This channel is brilliant 😁
Amazing Liam. Absolutely stunning hike and expertly filmed. I feel reinvigorated. Cheers buddy 🙂
Another fabulous video and one that my little boy (7) who watched for the first time really enjoyed. There is so many people who go and travel the world to explore and see nature when they don't appreciate they've got the best out there on their doorstep.
Absolutely beautiful landscapes! Merry old England!
I walked it 23 / 24 years ago, it was my first long distance trail as my home town is not far from Ivinghoe, I've never heard it pronounced the way you did! Great video, enjoyed watching that
Ah, Liam Brown, what a super video in every sense. Having joined you for so many of your TH-cam since your army days, we feel like old friends but it is very heartening to see you evolve both personally and professionally. Wow, what spectacular footage, and your expert editing. England, lovely, England. I have been very invested in the Queen's passing and the awesome traditions and coverage of the crowds (may she rest in peace and rise in glory), so my affection for England is particularly strong right now. You as a person and in your videos portray England in such a positive light. So grateful for each of your videos. But, it seems you did not cook for yourself this time. Not drinking tea out of your famous glass or brushing your teeth. So many expectations!! Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa.
Liam I live 5 miles away from Hackpen/Avebury. Keep up the good content you have a really relaxing vibe which we love to watch on a chilled out evening. We have been subscribed since 5k. TH-cam needs more channels like this ❤️ Love from me and my boy Roley
I really like you channel. You’re so humble and easy going. Thanks for sharing your adventures :)
First path I ever did as a 12 year old with a mate, totally unprepared even for that!
Next year, better planning and the Pembrokeshire coast path which was glorious and still remains my favourite path in Britain. Some tough walking on that some days, up and down and in and out of cliffs and coves, thoroughly recommend it.
Just planning a thousand miler for when I retire next year. Viking way from the Humber bridge, Hereward way to Grimes graves, Great chalk way to Lyme Regis, up to Chepstow, Offas dyke then across to York.
Great videos. No nonsense, calm, relaxing footage. Great overlapping of foot steps with drone shots. Would be cool to see you walk the South Downs Way.
Really enjoyed that, having walked The Ridgeway myself a few years ago. Your wild camping and those drone shots really stood out for me. Thanks for creating and sharing.
Hello from Australia. Love your walks in beautiful England. Thanks for taking us.
Love the Ridgeway. I live in Wigginton, so it passes through towards the eastern edge. I feel very lucky to have it on the doorstep.
Love these videos, especially when I can recognise the trails. Watching this and looking out of my lounge window at Ivinghoe Beacon about a mile and a half away. The final steep climb up the Beacon is the sting in the Ridgeways tail, especially when it’s wet. Great vid!
Liam you passed my house on that walk.. lol I live on the outskirts of chilton. I wild camped and walked the ridgeway 6 weeks ago but I did it the opposite way from ivanghoe beacon to Avebury. More water taps the first 40 miles going from that direction and a nice little water tap you probably used on the side of a church near Watlington. Was a heat wave when I done it also. Plenty of places to wild camp which is good and I must have passed about 10 people the whole journey. I'm glad you enjoyed the walk. P.s i Been thinking for the future why don't you give yourself "the great munroe challenge" that will cover you for a long time. Do all off Scotlands mountain munroe peaks and camp out on them?? Just an idea. Love the videos man been following you from the beginning and best of luck, see you on the road man 👍
Stu
Hi Liam , I’m from Swindon and you passed liddington hill where that pillar box was situated.. lovely countryside along the route ❤ what great weather to walk along the great ridgeway hills
Cracking video Liam - your editing skills are superb mate.
Watched The Wiltshire Man hike this route, for me you’re right up there with him, thank you for the gorgeous film ❤️🐚
I wish I had the fitness and confidence to do what you do, I'm not gonna say anymore about your trek, but it was really enjoyable and a great watch, I'll look forward to your next adventure 👍
Love watching these. So relaxing. Keep up the good work. Can’t wait to retire in a few years and spend my days walking these trails
Just the bit of calm and quiet I needed today. Thank you.
Thoroughly enjoyed this Liam. Hope to follow you in your footsteps one day. Thanks very much for sharing your experiences
Good to see you out and about again. Some great views. Take care.
"Nature finds a way to put you in a good mood." Love that, Liam! Very true.
Awesome hiking Liam, the ridgeway is on my to hike list. Not the most scenic of hikes but a lot of history along this route. Great video 👍🏼
This was so nicely put together Liam. Also just watched your Brecons vid when you made welsh rarebit. 🙂 Back to this vid....I recognised many spots on the beginning of your journey around Avebury and Overton hill (my regular walking area) and sat on the same stone @1:42. I'm planning to take the same adventure and walk the entire Ridgeway in the near future. Thanks for sharing buddy. Now subscribed :) Take care Mark 👍
Ahh nice one, this is on my list of routes and I'm looking forward to watching this for tips and clues! You're making great videos, keep it up!
Your vids make me want to visit the UK again, that was a really beautiful looking region you covered there
Well done Liam, great vid. Planning to do Ridgeway at end of March. I've done Wessex Ridgeway from Avebury to Lyme Regis (took 9 days), so good to do the other direction.
Well done young man - the Chilterns (2nd half of your walk) are my local 'hills', but I'd never thought of wildcamping there until I resorted to stealth-camping to preserve my sanity during the Lockdowns occasioned by the Great Unprecedented. Like you, I was pleased to discover that is was feasible in this rural (rather than wild) landscape as long as you used sensible judgement and pitched at sundown. The main challenge was water! There are few natural sources available so I was having to carry 1-2 litres most of the time, replenished from 'urban' sources.
Excellent mate thanks for sharing your journey!. 😎
Lovely relaxing video, though I thought it a little more formal than usual. I missed tho se more intimate moments where you set up the tent, cook some food and happily eat it.; with a local beer , of course. That deer leaping through the landscape was wonderful picture. Look forward to more pleasurable (and maybe more dramatic) walks in our countryside.Or perhaps The Pyrenees.
Brilliant Liam! Thank you for taking us with you :o)
Great work with sound and editing. I love that seamless feeling of the video :-)
Excellent..love all the sounds of the wild
Amazing place ❤️ Looking forward to walking on it on day. And the deers 💜💜
The british countryside is beautiful its one big thing i miss here in dry crispy southern spain.
Just back from 400km over 15 days on Portuguese Camino - highly recommend to all.
Such a good video. Well done Liam. Really felt I was there.
Nice one Liam. I’ll be doing this one next year. If you want a big challenge how about the Southern Upland Way? Not well known but a hell of a trek.
Great video again Liam thanks for sharing
Words of wisdom,trust your elders they have more experience! Great video !
Brilliant video Liam, nice hike!
Brilliant. Used to live in Bucks (Chiltern hills) and fly gliders off Ivinghoe Beacon as a weekend treat when I was a kid. Going up at the end of October. Might have to do this next summer (now living in Cornwall)
nice to have you back mate....keep rollin'
You would love coming over to North America and backpacking around. Such diversity here you can spend decades doing it and still not see and experience everything.
GREAT vid, could have been an hour for me:-) We want more, :-) well done Liam, Great and inspiring , I am putting my boots on and go for a walk myself after seeing you. ✨
Have you ever considered doing the Yorkshire wolds way mate? Similar scenery to this one but likely even more quiet. It’s a proper hidden gem in my opinion, some of the beautiful countryside in Yorkshire in my opinion, worth checking out. Great video again!