@ The irony is that I used to use them back in the day. Remembering Using a knife and fork rather than your fingers out of a cardboard box ( KFC / Mc D's etc )
I think that was the first Little Chef I ever noticed. But in true Herefordshire form I never went in it. Locals like a large cheap and cheerful plateful; even when it's nouvelle cuisine. Farmer's appetites. And my appetite has been the same ever since. There are quite a few gourmet pubs in the county, but their real thing in the past was steak bars with the local Hereford cattle breed on the menu; often run by slightly dodgy people and eccentric local farmers. Even Inaction Man myself could tell you quite a few wild and woolly stories about the local steak bar and crazy farmer scene! I never actually went into a Little Chef until I visited the one near Oswestry in 2017. It managed to fill my boots, at least! But the one in Swindon was a bit disappointing as you would expect in the Land of the Magic Roundabout.
What do people in Hereford do? You nailed it...drink cider and wonder how the rest of the country gets on with only being able to count to 10 on their fingers...a dozen is surely the right number of fingers to have...
I know one near Basingstoke is just abandoned, the one down the A32 is officially a biker cafe (good food, limited parking, average speed cameras, noise cameras, and a 'car culture' place scavenging just across the road), and I think there's one near me on the A4 that''s been a proposed business development for decades. Unless that was a car dealership.
Hergest Croft is in Kington, its where the black Vaughan lived and his hound. Baskerville hall is just down the road and the Baskerville family are buried just outside Bromyard. - hound and the baskervilles
That nee bridge at Leominster was built by Mowlem Civil Engineering, who I was working for at the time and I just happened to be acquainted with the Quantity Surveyor on that contract. I'm loving this series as it takes me back to places I've had connections with over the 55 years of my assorted careers!
How did you not notice that after Pembridge the A44 now takes a different route, it used to go through Eardisland, a very pretty village. The A44 Aberystwyth to Chipping Norton is one of the best drives in the UK.
There is a Leominster in Massachusetts too which is also pronounced "Lemster," one of many towns in New England pronounced the Old World way. So we already know how to say Worcester, Haverhill and other towns & villages recognizably to those in Britain! Colonial influences!!!!
@@justmathew Very very true, EXCEPT us here in the northeast because we already pronounce the city "Wooster!" I agree with you, I cringe when I hear people say "war-sester-shire!"
@jovetj Sorry, you're correct! I think I've been using my cousins from Sandwich pronunciations. I am from New York City and in my much younger years I used to purposely mispronounce "Haver-hill" to irritate them!
@@RaymondCalloway I always thought those in the north-east of the USA were close enough to still be almost British, it's those pesky folks who took the wagons west which have the problems with pronouncing place names... This could be a part of the UK citizenship test, the pronunciation of place names, Worcestershire, Edinburgh, Broughton, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch...
Interesting (I think). When I first passed my test 50 years ago, I carried on a family tradition of stopping off at a Little Chef on long(ish) journeys. Many, but not all, were close to filling stations. Indeed, many motorway service stations also featured one. It was rather sad to see them all disappearing. Some changed to other restaurants while others just became abandoned. Nice to see those one or two that became repurposed for something else.
Kington… I think that is where Mike Oldfield lived after putting out his first album “Tubular Bells”. Also close by is Hergest Ridge, from which his second album took its name. He also produced “Ommadawn” in the same house…
I have spent many years travelling to Leominster from Hertfordshire to see my Granny and the Chocolate factory was always the final milestone for us. A lovely bit of nostalgia for me this episode.
I am so glad that you found so little of interest, because it means that the number of tourists will not increase by any significant number as a result of your efforts. Keep up the good work.
Great stuff, as ever. You missed that with the Cadbury's factory back in 2006 or so a leaking a pipe allowed a salmonella outbreak. Allegedly the leaking pipe allowed effluent to enter the crumb making process, and at least 40 people fell ill. That resulted in a fine of just over £1million. Given Cadbury's revenue of £7.4 billion and free cash flow of £200 million in 2006, I'm sure that was a stinging punishment to the company/
My first holiday job in the late 1960s was in Quality Control in a Confectioners Factory in High Wycombe and I had to sample the incoming ingredients, my favourite being the Cadbury's Milk Chocolate crumb. So it was one scoop for testing and at least two for me to dip my finger in throughout the day. Yum. Now I know where this delight came from.
I spent some years living in about 10 different locations in Herefordshire; and didn't find a great deal to do there either. However, what I can tell you is that in the 70s, Bromyard became quite a well-known spot for the then international streaking fad. The Bromyard version usually involved the owners of various high street watering holes and restaurants engaging in a starkers fun run and pub crawl up and down the high street. In fairness to the place, the locals are quite a wild bunch. It's supposed to be Herefordshire Sodom and Gomorrah; although I left before I ever figured out where the real action was. The town does have a really good carnival, and a long famous folk festival, where the musical pub crawls involve lots of beer and cider in equal measure. Oh, and in a village nearby until recently, there used to be the famous Nozstock Festival. Started by two farming brothers I remember in school. They were real Prog Rockers when I remember them, but Nozstock was eventually all about trance and dance really. They sure started something. I always thought their musical tastes were really hip, but it didn't stop them from being quite traditional Herefordshire farmers, with a very rustic accent and attitude. But again, I never got there as I am a long term uneconomic migrant. That said, kudos to the Nosworthy brothers, because they started a family-friendly small festival. Also musicians themselves I believe. I really hope Nozstock eventually returns, and perhaps I might get to find where the Herefordshire action is one day before I finally snuff it. In fairness, the area used to have quite a music scene with Mott the Hoople and the Pretenders both having roots in the county. Not to mention a notorious 60s acoustic quitarist who lived near Leominster. But I can't remember his name right now. :-( And the famous Rockfield Studios lies very close to the South of the county. What more could you ask for Sarky Jon?!
Oi from Germany! With train stories sneaking into your reports again and again, I would just like to see a special episode with you an Geoff Marshall doing something together - like a car-train race, TopGear style. I‘m pitching Chester - Llandundo for a first try.
They could do a "British Lost Railways (to cars)", as there's been obviously many strech of railways reused by road schemes over the years. [ at least to my Google Earth educated eyes. ]
I've lived in Herefordshire for fourteen years and I've only been to Kington once. That's how remote it is. But I HAVE had a train ride from Titley Junction. The two rickety railways sum up Herefordshire - a decaying backwater with pleasant scenery but sod all going on. I saw the Flying Scotsman near the Marlbrook Cadburys factory once.
I know that nobody will believe me, but many years ago my wife and I had just driven through Kington when all of a sudden my wife screamed at me to stop and pointed through the window. There quite a large animal was “sauntering” across the road. It was jet black, about the size of a short haired black Labrador, but with the features of a cat. Its movements were graceful and very assured, it walked across the narrow road, jumped a field gate without any effort, and disappeared along the hedgerows. I don’t know what it was, but my wife is convinced that it was a panther. Until now, I haven’t told anyone about this. But there, that’s my experience of Kington.
The A44 and 49 are both popular with bikers. I used to work in Bromyard for my sins and go past that light railway. That will makes folks day I am sure. Bromyard does host a decent folk festival and used to have Speed Festival too.
Based on that final bridge over the Bromley and Linton narrow gauge railroad, I would hazard the guess that there used to be a full size standard gauge railroad through the area. The bridge appears to possibly be wide enough for double track. I would also guess that engine shed dates back to the standard gauge line. I know this is more of a road show, but I do like the little bit of rail facts thrown in. I was surprised that the Cadbury factory did not have a rail line & siding considering the amount of raw resources needed and the amount of product generated. I gather they have healthy over the road support on those narrow roads.
You are correct about the bridge. The light railway is built on the course of the former standard gauge line from Worcester (Bransford junction) to Leominster. It closed in stages with Bromyard ~ Leominster first and finally from Worcester in 1964. The shed at Linton was part of a tile manufacturing facility and was used for that purpose until the railways owner purchased it (circa 1984) when the tile works closed.
Awww, I was waiting for you to repeatedly call it Leo-minster, I call shenanigans on you for actually correcting yourself for once! Regarding railways, there used to be one through Ross-on-Wye, it actually features in a Sherlock Holmes short story (was a surprise when I read that one), but sadly lost to Beeching's purge; the Severn Valley Railway station, at Kidderminster, is actually a replica of the one built in Ross.
Love a little thief… with the diminutive chef pegging it up the road with your cash under a salver !! Or, the happy Eater, who’s sign of someone sticking their fingers down their throat, seemed ill conceived 😂
5:28 soon as it appeared on screen said ''former little chef'' to myself before you did. I have that ''sense'' too ;p i have 'co-ops, tesco expresses, one stop shops etc that used to be a pub' sense as well. ;p
Sorry to be That Guy, but Alston Moor golf course is higher, at 1476ft. It was apparently expanded from a 10 hole to 18 hole course in 2010, which might explain the confusion. Alston’s well worth visiting if you get round to doing the North Pennines. Good chip shop and heritage railway, and you get to do the Hartside Pass to get there. Thanks for brightening up my Sunday with this week’s video!
I watched it being built in the early 70s by the owner's friend's son with a small ride-on diesel loco with a single quarry dump truck. They probably got it from the old tile works at t'other end of the overgrown track; where John stood under the bridge. It was slightly more interesting to watch than fishing in the nearby River Avon; but it was very much a nerd operation. Quite a lot of nerds in Bromyard. No problem! As you said Jon: Not much else to do!
I'm afraid that the old racetrack is not on Bradnor Hill, it is on Hergest (pronounced 'Harguest') Ridge (as it says on the map you showed). Mike Oldfield lived near there, and used it as the name for the folow-up album to Tubular Bells. In Kington you could have visited the site of the old railway station. looked at the old forge that was set up adjacent to the track of the Hay to Kington (horse drawn) tramway that ran through Kington to the quarries at Dolyhir. On the southern edge of the town is the site of a prefabricated military hospital built during the 2nd World War. It is now an industrial estate known locally as 'The Camp', and some of the original buildings still exist. The possibilities of things to do in Kingtan are endless!
There's the site of an iron age fort on a hill between Bracknell and Crowthorne. It's called Caesar's Camp, though Julius Caesar probably had no connection with it. There's nothing to see, but it's a nice area for walking.
The Red Lion Pub in Pembridge was the HQ of an MG saloon car racing team in 1956 run by MG racing driver Dick Jacobs and Harold Rumsey - a future Mayor of Hereford.
Bromyard is where I was brought up and as my father would claim ‘That all roads lead to Bromyard.’ My Grandfather started a timber business called G R Michael and Son Ltd which on his death in 1941 was sold by his widow to a local family who still operate the business now called Bromyard Timber Ltd. The large white house seen in the aerial shot was the house he built in the 1930’s on the site of the original cinema that burnt down.
Interesting video John, just looked online and apparently the owner of Titley junction died a while back and it mentioned he may have also been the owner of the narrow gauge line so sadly both may disappear Cheers Russ
I miss Little Chef... early morning breakfast on the way to a client site... but I've lived in the US for 25 years now, so I missed the great collapse.
Nice quiet hamlet, Titley! Added to my extreme fascination at once having worked near Titley, I also went to a Herefordshire school with a number of Titleys; some of whom were comparatively normal, but one was a completely over-the-top version of either Fat Freddy or Free-Wheeling Franklin, on different days . Too much, man!
The answer to the question ‘what do people do in Herefordshire’ the answer is go to Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol to remind ourselves what civilisation looks like
Fun Fact: Ben Aaronovitch based one of his Peter Grant novels, Foxglove Summer, in and around the fictional town of Rushpool - which, in reality, is Yarpole, a few miles north of Leominster.
Have you ever been Barrow Wake viewpoint near Birdlip ( No, not for that ) Nice views ( no, not that ). Just up the road is Harcombe Bottom, Cockleford and Slutswell.
Driving over the railway bridge in Bromyard back in 1985 on a dark and windy night a dead elder tree blew down on the bonnet of my mini-van. I can attest to the lack of maintenance that you have alluded to. Thankfully the damage was just a few little scratches.
3:30 I swear, it's some british national pastime to have incredibly unintuitive pronunciation for place names just to make fun of tourists and visitors.
Yes, especially round East Anglia where I live. You get people asking for directions and the local reaction is where do you mean. Ask a local for directions to cowbit and you get odd locks ask for cubit (hard u) and everyone knows.
Ha!,"Mini Milk light pole", a good description!, showing your age now fella. Me too by recognising such childhood products. Mini Milk indeed, and oooh!, a lemonade sparkle was pretty good at 10p too!
Jon you "forgot" the mention that Leominster plays host to a certain well known BBC gardening show hosted by Monty Don. You may have watched a few episodes, or perhaps not....
Hi Jon, I expect you expect me to comment on two abandoned railways, no I am not taking the bait. As someone who does not understand golf, or ever wanted to play it, what a great use of a hill top not fit for farming Bradnor Hill is.
Waiting for the great british abandoned little chef series to feature as the next series . 🤣
I would like to see that, actually. Think of all the tax free coffee... oh, but they have closed. Never mind.
Good call even if you think it's funny 😂😂
Plenty of material to make a series out of, given how many there used to be...
@ The irony is that I used to use them back in the day. Remembering Using a knife and fork rather than your fingers out of a cardboard box ( KFC / Mc D's etc )
I think that was the first Little Chef I ever noticed. But in true Herefordshire form I never went in it. Locals like a large cheap and cheerful plateful; even when it's nouvelle cuisine. Farmer's appetites. And my appetite has been the same ever since. There are quite a few gourmet pubs in the county, but their real thing in the past was steak bars with the local Hereford cattle breed on the menu; often run by slightly dodgy people and eccentric local farmers. Even Inaction Man myself could tell you quite a few wild and woolly stories about the local steak bar and crazy farmer scene! I never actually went into a Little Chef until I visited the one near Oswestry in 2017. It managed to fill my boots, at least! But the one in Swindon was a bit disappointing as you would expect in the Land of the Magic Roundabout.
“Nothing much happening in Herefordshire” ….. but still you manage to spin it out to 2 episodes Jon. Class job!
This is the bloke who did 8 minutes on the A8(M) ....
A little chef and an abondon narrow gauge railway - true gold John !
What do people in Hereford do? You nailed it...drink cider and wonder how the rest of the country gets on with only being able to count to 10 on their fingers...a dozen is surely the right number of fingers to have...
add toes, if not webbed, you have 24 digits to use, Who needs calculators
Britain's premier YT channel for spotters of former Little Chefs.
Thank you Jon, for being so reliable and so English. And congratulations on your pronunciation of Leominster!
Definitely think a 'differing fates of Little Chefs' would be a great series.
I know one near Basingstoke is just abandoned, the one down the A32 is officially a biker cafe (good food, limited parking, average speed cameras, noise cameras, and a 'car culture' place scavenging just across the road), and I think there's one near me on the A4 that''s been a proposed business development for decades. Unless that was a car dealership.
I never thought I'd see my town being featured in one of your videos. Thank you for showcasing the lovely town of Bromyard.
Who would have thought - two viewers from Bromyard! Is there anywhere else in the country with such a high proportion of the population watching?
Anyone know what happened to Tim Lyon?
Three viewers in Bromyard now😅
Make that four! 😂
Hergest Croft is in Kington, its where the black Vaughan lived and his hound. Baskerville hall is just down the road and the Baskerville family are buried just outside Bromyard. - hound and the baskervilles
That nee bridge at Leominster was built by Mowlem Civil Engineering, who I was working for at the time and I just happened to be acquainted with the Quantity Surveyor on that contract.
I'm loving this series as it takes me back to places I've had connections with over the 55 years of my assorted careers!
Where is it? I grew up in Orleton and know Leominster like the back of my hand and still can't work out where that bridge is.
I liked this before i started watching, I know it will be great.
I pre-like all of Jon's videos as a rule.
I pre-like all of Jon's videos as a rule.
How did you not notice that after Pembridge the A44 now takes a different route, it used to go through Eardisland, a very pretty village. The A44 Aberystwyth to Chipping Norton is one of the best drives in the UK.
There is a Leominster in Massachusetts too which is also pronounced "Lemster," one of many towns in New England pronounced the Old World way. So we already know how to say Worcester, Haverhill and other towns & villages recognizably to those in Britain! Colonial influences!!!!
Just wait until John visits Slaithewaite.... And no. That's very much not how you pronounce it (old Norse not old English)
Yet our colonial cousins still struggle with Worcestershire Sauce, go figure...
@@justmathew Very very true, EXCEPT us here in the northeast because we already pronounce the city "Wooster!" I agree with you, I cringe when I hear people say "war-sester-shire!"
@jovetj Sorry, you're correct! I think I've been using my cousins from Sandwich pronunciations. I am from New York City and in my much younger years I used to purposely mispronounce "Haver-hill" to irritate them!
@@RaymondCalloway I always thought those in the north-east of the USA were close enough to still be almost British, it's those pesky folks who took the wagons west which have the problems with pronouncing place names... This could be a part of the UK citizenship test, the pronunciation of place names, Worcestershire, Edinburgh, Broughton, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch...
the Rail fans dream in having your own track, sadly the upkeep is neither cheap nor easy
The bakery in Bromyard is worth a visit.
Best bread and rolls in the county and the lardy cake is lovely.
Lamings is its name
@@georgejohnson1498 it is actually spelt Lamings.
Don’t forget Legges best butcher and deli in the Uk!
Interesting (I think).
When I first passed my test 50 years ago, I carried on a family tradition of stopping off at a Little Chef on long(ish) journeys. Many, but not all, were close to filling stations. Indeed, many motorway service stations also featured one. It was rather sad to see them all disappearing. Some changed to other restaurants while others just became abandoned. Nice to see those one or two that became repurposed for something else.
Kington probably gets dozens of visitors per year who were heading for nearby-ish Knighton which is over the border in Wales.
I overdosed on this shenanigan and ended up in A&E all because you released this too soon after the last one. I hope you’re proud of yourself
Kington… I think that is where Mike Oldfield lived after putting out his first album “Tubular Bells”. Also close by is Hergest Ridge, from which his second album took its name. He also produced “Ommadawn” in the same house…
@@stephanie-bwi yes he lived hergest Croft. The home black Vaughan
Penrhos Court just outside Kington was where Queen spent 3 weeks practising Bohemian Rhapsody before recording it in Monmouth
I still mourn the passing of Little Chef and their Olympic breakfasts. Mind you, it was about the only decent meal they made.
Antony Worrall Thompson is still with us mate, unless I've missed something.
Apart from the Jubilee Pancakes surely?
The burgers were nice too
@@12crepello For sure the only reason to stop there!
I was brought up right, so our family always called them "Little Thief".
I have spent many years travelling to Leominster from Hertfordshire to see my Granny and the Chocolate factory was always the final milestone for us. A lovely bit of nostalgia for me this episode.
So how many older viewers saw Hergest Ridge on the map and said "Ooh Mike Oldfield land"?
It's good to be on horseback there apparently.
Yes, I did.
@@egpx But these days he'd 'rather be here' - ie Bahamas (ref: Return to Ommadawn)
@@divgradcurl9439at least he’s not flying through space!
I am so glad that you found so little of interest, because it means that the number of tourists will not increase by any significant number as a result of your efforts. Keep up the good work.
"An ongoing project that is yet to be completed." Story of my life, Jon.
Awesome, thank you Jon. Even with 'just a little' going on locally, you still manage to make this rural journey exciting, nice ✌
I miss Little Chef and the other small eateries. I preferred them to the petrol station fare.
Their days were numbered once they started making cards that could go more than sixty miles without a lie down
Get a motorbike, and learn biker cafe locations. You get much the same vibe, but the increased competition means the food is actually quite good.
* Waves back at John from the lofty position of the drone camera *
Great stuff, as ever.
You missed that with the Cadbury's factory back in 2006 or so a leaking a pipe allowed a salmonella outbreak. Allegedly the leaking pipe allowed effluent to enter the crumb making process, and at least 40 people fell ill. That resulted in a fine of just over £1million. Given Cadbury's revenue of £7.4 billion and free cash flow of £200 million in 2006, I'm sure that was a stinging punishment to the company/
Fire two executives and there's your million.
Thank you John 🙂
I had a good week Jon, thanks. Crumbs. More crumbs. Lancashire, I think.
My first holiday job in the late 1960s was in Quality Control in a Confectioners Factory in High Wycombe and I had to sample the incoming ingredients, my favourite being the Cadbury's Milk Chocolate crumb. So it was one scoop for testing and at least two for me to dip my finger in throughout the day. Yum. Now I know where this delight came from.
I spent some years living in about 10 different locations in Herefordshire; and didn't find a great deal to do there either. However, what I can tell you is that in the 70s, Bromyard became quite a well-known spot for the then international streaking fad. The Bromyard version usually involved the owners of various high street watering holes and restaurants engaging in a starkers fun run and pub crawl up and down the high street. In fairness to the place, the locals are quite a wild bunch. It's supposed to be Herefordshire Sodom and Gomorrah; although I left before I ever figured out where the real action was. The town does have a really good carnival, and a long famous folk festival, where the musical pub crawls involve lots of beer and cider in equal measure. Oh, and in a village nearby until recently, there used to be the famous Nozstock Festival. Started by two farming brothers I remember in school. They were real Prog Rockers when I remember them, but Nozstock was eventually all about trance and dance really. They sure started something. I always thought their musical tastes were really hip, but it didn't stop them from being quite traditional Herefordshire farmers, with a very rustic accent and attitude. But again, I never got there as I am a long term uneconomic migrant. That said, kudos to the Nosworthy brothers, because they started a family-friendly small festival. Also musicians themselves I believe. I really hope Nozstock eventually returns, and perhaps I might get to find where the Herefordshire action is one day before I finally snuff it.
In fairness, the area used to have quite a music scene with Mott the Hoople and the Pretenders both having roots in the county. Not to mention a notorious 60s acoustic quitarist who lived near Leominster. But I can't remember his name right now. :-( And the famous Rockfield Studios lies very close to the South of the county. What more could you ask for Sarky Jon?!
Enjoyed the railway stuff in this one!
Oi from Germany! With train stories sneaking into your reports again and again, I would just like to see a special episode with you an Geoff Marshall doing something together - like a car-train race, TopGear style. I‘m pitching Chester - Llandundo for a first try.
They could do a "British Lost Railways (to cars)", as there's been obviously many strech of railways reused by road schemes over the years. [ at least to my Google Earth educated eyes. ]
I've lived in Herefordshire for fourteen years and I've only been to Kington once. That's how remote it is.
But I HAVE had a train ride from Titley Junction.
The two rickety railways sum up Herefordshire - a decaying backwater with pleasant scenery but sod all going on.
I saw the Flying Scotsman near the Marlbrook Cadburys factory once.
Brilliant Jon
Thanks Jon.
I know that nobody will believe me, but many years ago my wife and I had just driven through Kington when all of a sudden my wife screamed at me to stop and pointed through the window. There quite a large animal was “sauntering” across the road. It was jet black, about the size of a short haired black Labrador, but with the features of a cat. Its movements were graceful and very assured, it walked across the narrow road, jumped a field gate without any effort, and disappeared along the hedgerows. I don’t know what it was, but my wife is convinced that it was a panther.
Until now, I haven’t told anyone about this. But there, that’s my experience of Kington.
Can't believe how amazing this is. You always deliver!
The A44 and 49 are both popular with bikers. I used to work in Bromyard for my sins and go past that light railway. That will makes folks day I am sure. Bromyard does host a decent folk festival and used to have Speed Festival too.
Based on that final bridge over the Bromley and Linton narrow gauge railroad, I would hazard the guess that there used to be a full size standard gauge railroad through the area. The bridge appears to possibly be wide enough for double track. I would also guess that engine shed dates back to the standard gauge line. I know this is more of a road show, but I do like the little bit of rail facts thrown in. I was surprised that the Cadbury factory did not have a rail line & siding considering the amount of raw resources needed and the amount of product generated. I gather they have healthy over the road support on those narrow roads.
You are correct about the bridge. The light railway is built on the course of the former standard gauge line from Worcester (Bransford junction) to Leominster. It closed in stages with Bromyard ~ Leominster first and finally from Worcester in 1964. The shed at Linton was part of a tile manufacturing facility and was used for that purpose until the railways owner purchased it (circa 1984) when the tile works closed.
*Railway
Awww, I was waiting for you to repeatedly call it Leo-minster, I call shenanigans on you for actually correcting yourself for once!
Regarding railways, there used to be one through Ross-on-Wye, it actually features in a Sherlock Holmes short story (was a surprise when I read that one), but sadly lost to Beeching's purge; the Severn Valley Railway station, at Kidderminster, is actually a replica of the one built in Ross.
Crumbs, this, surely, was the most important video ever made in the history of videos being made, ever
.
At which stage of the Dairy Milk manufacturing process do Kraft now add the powdered vomit?
Love a little thief… with the diminutive chef pegging it up the road with your cash under a salver !!
Or, the happy Eater, who’s sign of someone sticking their fingers down their throat, seemed ill conceived 😂
Sunday roast and a nice little vid
Bromyard. I stayed there once in a Fawlty Towers-esque hotel. I got a tick bite off one of their chairs ....
There was a Dr Who museum as well, IIRC.
There still is! It's called the Time Machine. Not just Dr Who - some other UK scifi stuff as well.
Thanks for covering Kington!
Congrats John another great video keep it up👍
5:28 soon as it appeared on screen said ''former little chef'' to myself before you did. I have that ''sense'' too ;p i have 'co-ops, tesco expresses, one stop shops etc that used to be a pub' sense as well. ;p
Sorry to be That Guy, but Alston Moor golf course is higher, at 1476ft. It was apparently expanded from a 10 hole to 18 hole course in 2010, which might explain the confusion. Alston’s well worth visiting if you get round to doing the North Pennines. Good chip shop and heritage railway, and you get to do the Hartside Pass to get there. Thanks for brightening up my Sunday with this week’s video!
Great to see you in Bromyard Jon, I travelled once on the Bromyard - Linton light railway when I was a child, probably about 1990.
I watched it being built in the early 70s by the owner's friend's son with a small ride-on diesel loco with a single quarry dump truck. They probably got it from the old tile works at t'other end of the overgrown track; where John stood under the bridge. It was slightly more interesting to watch than fishing in the nearby River Avon; but it was very much a nerd operation. Quite a lot of nerds in Bromyard. No problem! As you said Jon: Not much else to do!
The timber framed houses in Pembridge remind me of my home village. Greetings from southern Hesse 👋
Great stuff! I just thought - in the nearby area to Leominster, is a place called Weobly. Pronounced as 'Webly'. Of course it is.
Your right there’s not a lot going on in Herefordshire
I'm afraid that the old racetrack is not on Bradnor Hill, it is on Hergest (pronounced 'Harguest') Ridge (as it says on the map you showed). Mike Oldfield lived near there, and used it as the name for the folow-up album to Tubular Bells. In Kington you could have visited the site of the old railway station. looked at the old forge that was set up adjacent to the track of the Hay to Kington (horse drawn) tramway that ran through Kington to the quarries at Dolyhir. On the southern edge of the town is the site of a prefabricated military hospital built during the 2nd World War. It is now an industrial estate known locally as 'The Camp', and some of the original buildings still exist. The possibilities of things to do in Kingtan are endless!
As a northerner I do call it LEO MINSTER. I’ll definitely change my ways from now on.
I used to call Bicester (bister) bychester 😂
Cheers Jon 👍🏼
I’ve heard the golfers on that hill are intercourse champions I enjoyed the little chef thanks again greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
John well done 😂😂😂😂❤
There's the site of an iron age fort on a hill between Bracknell and Crowthorne. It's called Caesar's Camp, though Julius Caesar probably had no connection with it. There's nothing to see, but it's a nice area for walking.
The Red Lion Pub in Pembridge was the HQ of an MG saloon car racing team in 1956 run by MG racing driver Dick Jacobs and Harold Rumsey - a future Mayor of Hereford.
Bromyard is where I was brought up and as my father would claim ‘That all roads lead to Bromyard.’
My Grandfather started a timber business called G R Michael and Son Ltd which on his death in 1941 was sold by his widow to a local family who still operate the business now called Bromyard Timber Ltd. The large white house seen in the aerial shot was the house he built in the 1930’s on the site of the original cinema that burnt down.
That outro music is infinitely better with headphones.
Interesting video John, just looked online and apparently the owner of Titley junction died a while back and it mentioned he may have also been the owner of the narrow gauge line so sadly both may disappear
Cheers Russ
Bromyard is quite close to Shelsley Walsh.............
Great British abandoned railways 🛤 springs to mind...😮
Spiffy. Two large scale train sets.
Two abandoned railways in one episode? This really was a treat
I loved watching this video! Your hard work really shows.
Well, anyway. Thanks for another video. See you in the next one. 👍
I miss Little Chef... early morning breakfast on the way to a client site... but I've lived in the US for 25 years now, so I missed the great collapse.
Titley Junction, sounds like a wonderful place. I need to visit, just because.
Nice quiet hamlet, Titley! Added to my extreme fascination at once having worked near Titley, I also went to a Herefordshire school with a number of Titleys; some of whom were comparatively normal, but one was a completely over-the-top version of either Fat Freddy or Free-Wheeling Franklin, on different days . Too much, man!
Is it twinned with Brest?
Hello all
Hello mate, 👋👋
ello old chap
The answer to the question ‘what do people do in Herefordshire’ the answer is go to Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol to remind ourselves what civilisation looks like
No, it's to remind us of what a lovely place Herefordshire is and what shat-hole cities are like
Jesus the number of times I had to drive from Glos upto Leominster for work......
Fun Fact: Ben Aaronovitch based one of his Peter Grant novels, Foxglove Summer, in and around the fictional town of Rushpool - which, in reality, is Yarpole, a few miles north of Leominster.
Love you long time !
Have you ever been Barrow Wake viewpoint near Birdlip ( No, not for that ) Nice views ( no, not that ). Just up the road is Harcombe Bottom, Cockleford and Slutswell.
I was so surprised at John's pronunciation of Leominster that i had to sit down so that i could fall off the chair.
Why you edging us waiting for the series “abandoned railways of Britain”
Not a series you start lightly... Could last for years!
Driving over the railway bridge in Bromyard back in 1985 on a dark and windy night a dead elder tree blew down on the bonnet of my mini-van.
I can attest to the lack of maintenance that you have alluded to.
Thankfully the damage was just a few little scratches.
Surprisingly, I mourn Little Chef!
Jon manages to entertain us with 9 minutes of 30 seconds of interesting county. Herefordshire! Why?
7:46 yes. I suppose we do now, don't we! lol
We used to call little chef little thief!
We did too... We were brought up proper!
I always wait to like the video until I'm told to do so!
3:30 I swear, it's some british national pastime to have incredibly unintuitive pronunciation for place names just to make fun of tourists and visitors.
Yes, especially round East Anglia where I live. You get people asking for directions and the local reaction is where do you mean. Ask a local for directions to cowbit and you get odd locks ask for cubit (hard u) and everyone knows.
Wait until he comes up north, then you'll get such delights as Barnoldswick ("Barlick") and Slaithwaite ("Slowit")!
Ha!,"Mini Milk light pole", a good description!, showing your age now fella. Me too by recognising such childhood products. Mini Milk indeed, and oooh!, a lemonade sparkle was pretty good at 10p too!
2 railways, Jon? Another Sunday Sundayed
A Tudor bus stop. That’s a bit posher than your average one.
Hello Jon, how the devil are you, have you had a good week?
Leominster used to be the barn-building capital of the UK. Local expression: Were you born in a barn? Not far from one!
Ah, so that's where they assemble the sugar, fat & brown colouring stuff they call chocolate then... :P
I agree. Never the same since Kraft took over.
No that abomination is created elsewhere,…… Birmingham and Poland….
Jon you "forgot" the mention that Leominster plays host to a certain well known BBC gardening show hosted by Monty Don. You may have watched a few episodes, or perhaps not....
How's it going, Jon,me duck on this bright, low sunny afternoon?
Yeah 👍
Are the inhabitants of Leominster called "Leomings" ??????
Yes. Each of them have one job...
I hope the lovely little railway gets saved one day …
Hi Jon, I expect you expect me to comment on two abandoned railways, no I am not taking the bait.
As someone who does not understand golf, or ever wanted to play it, what a great use of a hill top not fit for farming Bradnor Hill is.
I hear the views are so inspiring up there on a frosty winter morning that even seasoned golfers have turned 'woke' up there.
I got stabbed in Bromyard in 2008 over a parking space, thats all I have to say on Bromyard.