As I discovered about Luton two years ago when i had to stay there for the few nights, you can get a train out of the place at 3am. So there’s a positive. Escape is easy.
Ah, Dunstable - my home for the first 18 years of my life. The great thing about living in a town next to Luton is no matter how shit your town becomes, it still isn't Luton.
I've been for a "fish and chip ride" on the Leighton Buzzard narrow gauge railway. Quite surreal sitting on a little train with open carriages scoffing fish and chips whilst trundling through housing estates, then you stop whilst someone opens a gate across the track and tootle off in to the coutry side.
I’m most impressed with your expanded budget, allowing you to charter aircraft to appear as directed in your videos - well that, or you have a LOT of patience! Amazing content as always, I used the button specifically to show my appreciation for it thank you.
I’m still bemused by how much I enjoy this channel. I waste every minute watching this and enjoy every one of them. So weird. Well done John, you could sell onions to the French.
Episode 10 and it still jars me when he ends with "See you next time for another Great British Road Journey" For Some reason, I still always expect "for another exciting episode of secrets of the motorways" ... I wonder how many times Jon has accidentally almost said the wrong outro out of habit so far 🤔
Great episode John! The depth of subtle dry humour peppered with full-on sarcasm and combined with excellent, well presented information is an absolute winner. The top notch editing, visuals and comedic timing make this a must-watch, like and subscribe edition to any UK motoring YT enjoyer.
The Rules of Luton was an episode of Space1999 (1976). This exotic planet being named after Luton because the imported American producer/writer (Fred Freiberger) saw the name on a road sign. A choice much to the amusement of series creator Gerry Anderson and the rest of the crew.
Dunstable Priory another beautiful building. The Lorry driving down the guided busway 😂😂😂 Jon's Deadpan expression then "thats not a bus that's a Lorry!!" Another excellent and informative Video Jon.
Thanks for mentioning this. Folk heroes or f***ing scum who coshed a bloke going about his job ultimately causing his death? It'll probably have to be the former because the reality doesn't make for cosy Phil Collins films or fit with rebellious sneering punks....
Ah, nice. Spent some summer holidays in Luton with my aunt and uncle back in the 1980s. My uncle used to work at Vauxhall, and one time we went to see the Concorde visiting Luton Airport for display.
Luton Airport - should be a nightmare for me but wasn’t. I left my car n the car park,last October. The car park burnt down with my car. I received a brilliant insurance payout got a great new car!
Market Crosses are generally taken as the centre of a town or village from which distances to and from are measured. The market was held around them and often in a market hall close by for auction of produce other than livestock. Always/were a few pubs close by.
As a previous resident of Dunstable for many years, I can tell you that bus way is fantastic. You can save half the time going from Dunstable to Luton station, all the better to get on a train and go very very far away, as quickly a possible!
Will always have a soft spot for Dunstable - or Dunny - mainly for the Downs that nestle right against the town that made for a wonderful exploration as a child, and a quiet place to get drunk with mates as a teen 😃
Born and live in Luton and I can say it's not as bad as you think. Its worse. Though I've never been threatened on the streets in Luton. Can't say the same for Liverpool, though...
I am surprised that you didn’t tell us about dangerous vintage children’s playground equipment maker Wicksteed. We had one of their slides in our local playground when I was a kid and it seemed as high as Blackpool Tower to me, with a drop straight on to concrete. Wicksteed Park in Kettering is still open.
Oh, the memories! Worked for EDS in Luton from 97 until 2002 before transferring to Milton Keynes then central London. Luton is absolutely a shithole. We used to joke that the best things about it were the M1, railway and airport as they let you get far away quickly! Thanks for confirming that John 😅
A market cross (or mercat cross as they're called in Scotland), is a structure used to mark a market square in towns, where a regular market or fair was held.
I moved to Leighton Buzzard about 12 years and I can safely say, you were far too complimentary about the hole's known as Luton, Dunstable and (to an extent) Leighton! And they say it's grim up 'Norf... As for the proposal at 5:52. Please don't. On a lighter not... In the drone shot of Leighton Buzzard, I saw my home! If I'd have known you were there, I would pestered you for some loose change.
The feature on the Leighton Buzzard railway reminded me of when I travelled on it about 30 years ago. The journey is not especially interesting and the only thing to do at the end is to stay on the train and wait for it to come back to where you got on. Before we departed, a posh-talking middle-aged man with a monacle turned up with a guy in a chauffeur's uniform. The middle-aged guy asked staff members quite a few questions about the railway but, when asked to buy a ticket, said that he hadn't got time and the pair went back to the car park. I did wonder at the time whether it was just a couple of friends having a laugh but I never found out.
The Sugar Loaf Hotel used to have a massive sugar loaf on it's porch roof up until recently. I can remember flying to Tunisia in the early 1980's from Luton when it very basic and not much more that a large shed. We flew with the long gone Monarch Airways and my mother's claim to fame is that she sat next to Pete Murray who at the time was a famous Radio 2 DJ. We as children never got over this and even to this day at the age of 91 my mother still goes on about it! Dunstable is not that bad as old things go, famous for the priory and it's many hidden old buildings. It was a marching post for Roman soldiers travelling from St Alban's (Verulanium) to Towcester (Lactodurum) via Dunstable (Durocobrivae). Alas the A5 is now been downgraded to the A505 & A5183 due to the new M1 link road that goes past a horrible new estate. There does appear to a quarry theme going on in that area as you have Sandy, Woburn Sands, Little and Great Brickhill, etc.
Now in my 5th decade in LU7, as always, informative and humorous, thanks. Fun fact: in a sort of "selling fridges to Eskimos" way, some of the better/right quality sand is exported to the Middle East for use in desalination plants - something to do eith grain size & shape. Not a lorra people know that. Keep up the good work, John!
I only knowingly visited Luton a couple of years back with my then, seriously ill, late wife who needed urgent health support at somewhere between 02:00 and 05:00. Hopefully, I will never have to go there again.
John getting mildly surprised by an unexpected vehicle - reminds me of the red car (a Vauxhall Astra maybe?) which parked right behind him a while back. Good video though John, much appreciated your work 👍.
5:59 as a former bus driver/now lorry driver, this made me laugh. You’re reaction was on point with mine “…good luck” 😂 I guess he wanted to identify as a freight train
Interesting to see that earlier test facility. I used to be at Millbrook working quite a bit in the 1980's and 90's. Didn't realise that GM had another test set up before it
The incline ramp is used at Millbrook to prove engine oil pump performance up steep hills. They have similar at rbsl in Telford and at the military vehicle test ranges at Bovington
Now this *was* a very interesting and informative episode of Great British Road Journeys. Airfields are always of interest to me but the quarries out did Luton Airport this week. Writing of Luton Airport, has anyone ever checked in at the Smith Air desk at Luton Airport?
I was lamenting the demise of the motorway series, but this is excellent. Well done for another great series! And so true of Bedfordshire!! Bit sh!t really.
Looking forward to you coming to Buckingham soon, if your guide book mentions it! Also i loved your advertisement for the railway at the end, im definitely going on that.
Luton to Leighton Buzzard aren’t that far away apart from crossing from Bedfordshire to Buckinghamshire. Plus Leighton Buzzard isn’t too far from Tring, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Banbury, Oxford and The Chilterns. And is also near to Northamptonshire.
"That's not a bus, That's a lorry, don't think your supposed to be here... Good Luck!" hahaha
suspect he'll be getting a ticket for that.
The sat nav told the driver its OK
😄 love John's puns & funny thing's he comes out with, in part's of his video.
But kinda realy funny when random things like this dose the job for him😄
“Don’t you know how hard our job is, delivering food to millions of families? People need to stop criticising us”
i also found it funny it had L plates and was foreign. That's some messed up driving lesson haha!
Thank you John for visiting Luton so that we don't have to. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.
John getting "photobombed" by a truck that should not be travelling along the guided bus-way was very funny.
As I discovered about Luton two years ago when i had to stay there for the few nights, you can get a train out of the place at 3am. So there’s a positive. Escape is easy.
Ah, Dunstable - my home for the first 18 years of my life. The great thing about living in a town next to Luton is no matter how shit your town becomes, it still isn't Luton.
Dunstable became a hole a long time ago.
I live in dunstable myself. Nice to see my hometown featured
This channel is turning into a fascinating tour of parts of the UK. Really superb.
Parts of the UK other channels don't reach. For a reason.
@@antonycharnock2993 what do you mean?
04:44 a great example of Norman solar panel installation.
Well done, Norman!
The airport 🛫: The easiest way to get away as quickly as possible 🤭🤣, poor Luton 😣🤭😅😂🤣
and yet totaly deserved.
I lived there for 10 years - he's spot on 🙂
Plus it's got 3 train stations and 3 motorway junctions, it's a great place to go somewhere else from
I did have to laugh at that
i like this and have pressed the button specifically for this.
A lorry going down a bus lane. Happens every day.
Funny. I suppose some clevet sneaky truckers discovered that it is a faster route?
That's not a bus, it's a Romanian....
I saw another truck of the same company make a complete mucking fuddle of a roundabout a few months back. Their staff are obviously highly trained.
Can’t find this?
If the truck is full of illegals, does that make it a bus?
I've been for a "fish and chip ride" on the Leighton Buzzard narrow gauge railway. Quite surreal sitting on a little train with open carriages scoffing fish and chips whilst trundling through housing estates, then you stop whilst someone opens a gate across the track and tootle off in to the coutry side.
Bro's hatred for Luton warms my heart.
What's wrong with Luton?
@@Sustainable_Engineer 🤣
@@Sustainable_Engineerhas been voted the worst town in the UK for at least the last 5 years, local residents describe it as a "nothing town"
Everything@@Sustainable_Engineer
@@Sustainable_Engineer what is right with it?
6:14 And was the second of many examples of _Doctor Who_ using a quarry to represent another planet! _(The Macra Terror,_ 1967)
Sad that Lorraine Chase wasn't given a mention. She has to be the most important chapter in the history of Luton Airport.
Cinzano?
You could be wafted in from paradise to luton airport if you're unlucky
@@whyyoulidl
Campari
And The Cat's Luton Airport single reaching the giddy heights of number 22 in the UK charts 😉
@stephenwhite345 🤣🤣
I’m most impressed with your expanded budget, allowing you to charter aircraft to appear as directed in your videos - well that, or you have a LOT of patience!
Amazing content as always, I used the button specifically to show my appreciation for it thank you.
(you can also use certain websites to track the flights and just time it properly! :D )
When has a flight ever taken off at the stated time, especially from Luton?
I’m still bemused by how much I enjoy this channel. I waste every minute watching this and enjoy every one of them. So weird. Well done John, you could sell onions to the French.
That plane intro and the sound hitting the microphone at the perfect moment must have taken a lot of setting up
I was going to comment that it was greatest set up since James Burke launched that rocket in Connections
@@jonh6585was about to write the same.
Tom Scott level timing
It was done in the studio
Episode 10 and it still jars me when he ends with "See you next time for another Great British Road Journey"
For Some reason, I still always expect "for another exciting episode of secrets of the motorways"
... I wonder how many times Jon has accidentally almost said the wrong outro out of habit so far 🤔
Great episode John! The depth of subtle dry humour peppered with full-on sarcasm and combined with excellent, well presented information is an absolute winner. The top notch editing, visuals and comedic timing make this a must-watch, like and subscribe edition to any UK motoring YT enjoyer.
These videos get better and better. The humour is fantastic. 😂
Pretty cool that Dunstable decided to reuse their old railway not only for passenger use but for freight too. The enthusiasts will love that no doubt.
The Rules of Luton was an episode of Space1999 (1976).
This exotic planet being named after Luton because the imported American producer/writer (Fred Freiberger) saw the name on a road sign.
A choice much to the amusement of series creator Gerry Anderson and the rest of the crew.
you made me laugh just talking about the A505. Nice!
Dunstable Priory another beautiful building.
The Lorry driving down the guided busway 😂😂😂 Jon's Deadpan expression then "thats not a bus that's a Lorry!!"
Another excellent and informative Video Jon.
One should not forget that the driver of the train involved in the robbery was badly injured and never made a full recovery.
In fact, he died from his injuries.
Thanks for mentioning this.
Folk heroes or f***ing scum who coshed a bloke going about his job ultimately causing his death?
It'll probably have to be the former because the reality doesn't make for cosy Phil Collins films or fit with rebellious sneering punks....
The train driver was one of the people that they never actually caught...
I meant the actual BR train driver, not the one who drove the train for the robbers. @@garethaethwy
@@davidcronan8698 yes, I know, my comment may not have been quite as clear as I thought it was when typing, sorry x
Bro you are the perfect example of English humour. Love these videos and by far the funniest creator on this platform. Thank you
Saturday Night beneath The Plastic palm Trees?
Dancing to the rhythm of the guns of navarone
Ah, nice. Spent some summer holidays in Luton with my aunt and uncle back in the 1980s. My uncle used to work at Vauxhall, and one time we went to see the Concorde visiting Luton Airport for display.
Definitely morphing into train shenanigans Jon.
Luton Airport - should be a nightmare for me but wasn’t. I left my car n the car park,last October. The car park burnt down with my car. I received a brilliant insurance payout got a great new car!
timing your intro to a plane landing.... oh Jon, you magnificent wizard
I am guessing this series could go on forever. ....most excellent!
Loving the dry humour brilliant lol😂
Thanks
Wicked, sweet, awesome.
Market Crosses are generally taken as the centre of a town or village from which distances to and from are measured. The market was held around them and often in a market hall close by for auction of produce other than livestock. Always/were a few pubs close by.
It just gets better and better.
What's the odd of that you catching a truck on the guided bus route 😂 pure gold
Wow! There's something I can visit. Thanks 😊
Thanks - my week ends when I get your videos
yayy finally my town! i know we're all secretly excited waiting until he visits our towns on the road journey!!
6:00 I didn't know that that line still did freight services.
lovely flashback to my long-missed grandfather's house on Vandyke Rd, near the crossing - thanks John
20 seconds in and already smirking with the emphasis on "Luton" when describing where you are starting.
As a previous resident of Dunstable for many years, I can tell you that bus way is fantastic. You can save half the time going from Dunstable to Luton station, all the better to get on a train and go very very far away, as quickly a possible!
Been catching up with your series over the past few weeks. Been fun, Thanks!
Thanks a lot mate, that's really kind of you! :)
Will always have a soft spot for Dunstable - or Dunny - mainly for the Downs that nestle right against the town that made for a wonderful exploration as a child, and a quiet place to get drunk with mates as a teen 😃
Planes, trains and automobiles. Great stuff, thanks John
Born and live in Luton and I can say it's not as bad as you think. Its worse. Though I've never been threatened on the streets in Luton. Can't say the same for Liverpool, though...
I am surprised that you didn’t tell us about dangerous vintage children’s playground equipment maker Wicksteed. We had one of their slides in our local playground when I was a kid and it seemed as high as Blackpool Tower to me, with a drop straight on to concrete. Wicksteed Park in Kettering is still open.
Growing up in Dunstable you could always feel good about the place by remembering it wasn't Luton
Born and bred in Leighton along time ago...changed totally unfortunately...Luton...Lousy Untidy Town outof Nowhere..and that's from back then !
Oh, the memories!
Worked for EDS in Luton from 97 until 2002 before transferring to Milton Keynes then central London.
Luton is absolutely a shithole. We used to joke that the best things about it were the M1, railway and airport as they let you get far away quickly! Thanks for confirming that John 😅
A market cross (or mercat cross as they're called in Scotland), is a structure used to mark a market square in towns, where a regular market or fair was held.
Your Saab is basically a fancy Vauxhall Vectra thanks to General motors buying out Saab all those years ago
General Motors wanted the SAAB 2.0 litre diesel engine because their own 2.2 litre lump didn't attract favourable tax benefits for business drivers.
Glad you got the drone fixed John
I moved to Leighton Buzzard about 12 years and I can safely say, you were far too complimentary about the hole's known as Luton, Dunstable and (to an extent) Leighton! And they say it's grim up 'Norf...
As for the proposal at 5:52. Please don't.
On a lighter not... In the drone shot of Leighton Buzzard, I saw my home! If I'd have known you were there, I would pestered you for some loose change.
The feature on the Leighton Buzzard railway reminded me of when I travelled on it about 30 years ago. The journey is not especially interesting and the only thing to do at the end is to stay on the train and wait for it to come back to where you got on. Before we departed, a posh-talking middle-aged man with a monacle turned up with a guy in a chauffeur's uniform. The middle-aged guy asked staff members quite a few questions about the railway but, when asked to buy a ticket, said that he hadn't got time and the pair went back to the car park. I did wonder at the time whether it was just a couple of friends having a laugh but I never found out.
There's a guided busway in Leigh, Lancashire, and anything other than a bus going down it gets a fine courtesy of His Majesty's Post
8:30 They must have got the idea from the episode of HeartBeat where almost exactly the same thing happened 😜
The Sugar Loaf Hotel used to have a massive sugar loaf on it's porch roof up until recently. I can remember flying to Tunisia in the early 1980's from Luton when it very basic and not much more that a large shed. We flew with the long gone Monarch Airways and my mother's claim to fame is that she sat next to Pete Murray who at the time was a famous Radio 2 DJ. We as children never got over this and even to this day at the age of 91 my mother still goes on about it!
Dunstable is not that bad as old things go, famous for the priory and it's many hidden old buildings. It was a marching post for Roman soldiers travelling from St Alban's (Verulanium) to Towcester (Lactodurum) via Dunstable (Durocobrivae). Alas the A5 is now been downgraded to the A505 & A5183 due to the new M1 link road that goes past a horrible new estate. There does appear to a quarry theme going on in that area as you have Sandy, Woburn Sands, Little and Great Brickhill, etc.
Yes, a big white hat. I wonder why, after 30-40 years they got rid of it.
I suspect it needed replacing. But how do you nip out and buy a wooden sugar loaf?!
Now in my 5th decade in LU7, as always, informative and humorous, thanks.
Fun fact: in a sort of "selling fridges to Eskimos" way, some of the better/right quality sand is exported to the Middle East for use in desalination plants - something to do eith grain size & shape. Not a lorra people know that.
Keep up the good work, John!
Great timing o that plane.
Was through there in 1964!
enjoyed that John .have subscribed . plenty of interesting content .
Fair play; I grew up in Leighton Buzzard and now live in Luton (I know...) and you covered pretty much everything interesting in the area 👍🏻
I only knowingly visited Luton a couple of years back with my then, seriously ill, late wife who needed urgent health support at somewhere between 02:00 and 05:00. Hopefully, I will never have to go there again.
The ramp was probably used for washing the underside of vehicles .
John getting mildly surprised by an unexpected vehicle - reminds me of the red car (a Vauxhall Astra maybe?) which parked right behind him a while back. Good video though John, much appreciated your work 👍.
This is one of your best videos so far! Kudos to you! Always a pleasure to watch your videos.
A few years ago Luton decided it wanted to split away from Bedfordshire and become its own county. We wern't sorry to see it go...
This series keeps on giving, awesome research and script writing and sharp editing makes it all perfect.
Another great video John, I love these interesting videos All the best Bob
Dunstable Priory, a fine example of Norman architecture, complete with solar panels?! Who knew the Normans were so advanced!!
What a great heist.
And what a photobombing of an illegal lorry passage from busway :d.
There are times that I wished I lived back up that way still :-) Another fascinating and funny episode Jon. Well done and so true :-)
Wow your layout keeps getting bigger each time I see it. I enjoyed that. Regards Alan :o)
Hi mate. Come to Bedford town to check out New Turbo Roundabout Bedford council built few years ago. It’s one of its kind in the Whole of UK.
5:59 as a former bus driver/now lorry driver, this made me laugh. You’re reaction was on point with mine “…good luck” 😂 I guess he wanted to identify as a freight train
Interesting to see that earlier test facility. I used to be at Millbrook working quite a bit in the 1980's and 90's. Didn't realise that GM had another test set up before it
Excellent.
Another awesome video, thanks Jon 😊
Lots of places I recognise there. Looks better from up in the air than down on the ground.
Brilliant to see your video near my town. I've travelled on the busway alot and it's funny to see a lorry on it!
The incline ramp is used at Millbrook to prove engine oil pump performance up steep hills. They have similar at rbsl in Telford and at the military vehicle test ranges at Bovington
Look forward to these videos every week now itching for the next already
Now this *was* a very interesting and informative episode of Great British Road Journeys. Airfields are always of interest to me but the quarries out did Luton Airport this week.
Writing of Luton Airport, has anyone ever checked in at the Smith Air desk at Luton Airport?
It is trivially easy for a quarry to outdo Luton Airport.
I was lamenting the demise of the motorway series, but this is excellent. Well done for another great series! And so true of Bedfordshire!! Bit sh!t really.
Hilarious and informative in equal measure. Thanks John.
This is the best video I've ever seen about anything
Great feature Jon I love the energy and research you put in. Well worth it. Keep them coming
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Thank you for showing my home town. I watched again to see if I was in any of the video.
Great vid 👍 Good to see solar panels have replaced lead on the roof of Dunstable Priory to thwart roma metal thieves
Looking forward to you coming to Buckingham soon, if your guide book mentions it! Also i loved your advertisement for the railway at the end, im definitely going on that.
Great video John, amazing as always, what the beep was that lorry ever doing 😳😀👍
Happy Easter egg day!
Oi Jon, don’t be rude about Vauxhall Corsas!! I’m on my 4th Corsa & I ❤ them a lot. My son also has one too, they’re a fab little runaround😊
Luton to Leighton Buzzard aren’t that far away apart from crossing from Bedfordshire to Buckinghamshire. Plus Leighton Buzzard isn’t too far from Tring, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Banbury, Oxford and The Chilterns. And is also near to Northamptonshire.
Happy Easter 🧲👍⚓️
Magnet wanker ? 😂
The best stand up comic on TV ……. ooops …….. on TH-cam. 👏👏👍😀