I was sub agent on the Little Wymondley bypass and one of the jobs we had to do was replace a 300m length of electric cable that ran from the local sub station. Apparently, it was the only bit of cable like it in the country...415kV, oil cooled, and wrapped in many layers including a steel jacket. In 1992 it cost £3000/metre! Anyway, after laying the cable it was suitably marked...until a strong wind blew the signs down. A JCB came along (you're way ahead aren't you!)... and stuck his bucket in the ground resulting in many sparks, the loss of one of the teeth from the bucket, and the improvement of Stevenage, Letchworth and Hitchin by plunging them into darkness for several hours. Happy Days!😁
Fuk me drunk, I've seen a 66kv cable get hit. But never a 415kv cable. That jcb would have gone from yellow. To orange, to ash very quickly. Did the jcb operator survive?
I worked at the Stevenage GSK site for a short time in the early 2000s. Its a pharmaceutical R&D site that they use to create and develop new products in the lab before scaling up in a pilot plant before rolling out to their production sites. Theyve got (had) smoking beagles or something in the basement because the place was always getting beset by animal activists and there were regular announcements to avoid the main gate. The buliding was also used in the film Spy Game.
In Stevenage, I don’t know how you managed to miss “the Six Hills” a series of six (would you believe?) 2,000 year old Roman burial barrows (the largest surviving Roman barrow group in England) now sympathetically sandwiched between the back of Asda and a commercial estate.
I thought you might have mentioned that Ware railway level crossing was the first i the UK to be fitted with continental barriers rather than crossing gates.
Dude, you filmed some of this just around the corner from where I live; if I'd have known I'd have made you a cup of tea. Nice one, thanks for a bit of local history!
Unusual for you Jon but your extensive research failed to uncover one of Ware's famous land marks and would tie into the Auto Shenanigan's remit. It is the Ware Concrete Lamppost Collection and former factory. Get back on the road and have a look. I was introduced to the site while Hitch Hiking back in the 80's by a very kind woman in a Morris Minor. That aside, brilliant as usual.
@@jeremywilliams5107 I live on the Welsh Marches. Even the moon frightens us. If the clouds part and we see it we know that Satan's evil hordes will be riding their war goats from Llanyblodwell to steal our first born . Street lights would only make it worse. Do you have electric where you live?
Ware is the start of the "New River" that takes water from the Lee into the city of London by an entirely gravity fed channel. It was built in 1613 to provide more fresh drinking water for London and terminated at New River Head, Clerkenwell. It demonstrates the futuility of adding new to any infrastructure name. After all if it was replaced it would become the "Old New River" 🙃
Nice shots of Ware, but strange that you stood by the river just out of sight of its famous set of riverside gazebos (the largest number in Britain). There's also a good bronze statue in the town centre of a maltster, complete with giant malt shovel and cat (to keep down the rodents who wanted the grain). Some maltings buildings still exist, converted into an arts centre and housing.
Back to your home county! Never knew Letchworth is the oldest roundabout in the country - nice place though - was there a few days ago. As for Stevenage - you missed the Old Town High Street which is actually quite pleasant.
My favourite part of Stevenage is they have brown signs pointing to “Tourist Attractions”… There aren’t any Tourist Attractions. One of the signs even has a ❓ slapped on it.
Believe that sign-off bit was under the A10 where it goes airborne onto stilts, over the River Lea. Flies over the Ware to Hertford road, looking for all the world like they just took out 2 or 3 houses and built the viaduct where they once stood. Went past it many times for work, impressive bit of civil engineering as you see the A10 fly off into the distance.
You obviously missed the pun on the Letchworth roundabout sign (mind you, so did QI!), built circa 1909! Circa means approximately or roundabout, and as the town was meticulously planned, it must be known when exactly it was built. Nice video, thanks Jon.
Lived in Letchworth, Stevenage and Hitchin early 1970s (pre Wymondley bypass) and still travel through. Piqued my interest to explore a few places I never knew about. Thanks.
I know Letchworth, Hitchin, Ware and Hertford very well. Must admit, i quite like these places including Stevenage. I could retire to any of theses towns.
Letchworth was built over three villages mate, Norton on the opposite side and Willian right next to Letchworth. The old manor house is now a hotel of dubious reputation locally and the church is the oldest building. Fun fact about St Nick's in Scumenage, the spire was for a couple of centuries the tallest man made point between London and Leicester, shame they built the town really. I mean, who thought that providing architects with just set squares was a good idea eh? BTW, all cities are towns.
I have lived in Stevenage for the last 30 years and yes it is in dire need of some serious investment including the widening the A1(M) which has never materalised but it depends on which parts are referenced rather than stating that it is a just a new town in the Home Counties. It is only 20 minutes by train into London, also home to the Lister Hospital, several parks including Fairlands, miles of cycle paths and even has a Costco here. I would rather live here rather than some of the hell holes in the Greater London area. It has always had a majority Labour council here as well and the sitting MP has always sat on the government benches in parliament since the constituency was formed in its own right.
I was hoping for the train at van hages, but the intrigue of GSK was good! There's another two in and near Harlow....one was verrry small and if you tried to look in from the moorhen path security appeared to stop you being there. Widely regarded to be something to do with animals,probably not a petting zoo.
You didn't visit the beautiful Stevenage town centre tower and the delightful concrete blocks. They built the tower in town centre presumably so the new residents could hang themselves once they found out how awful it is. I live down the railway line in Haringey/Harringay and we sometimes get the train to Stevenage. We do this to remind ourselves that Haringey/Harringay isn't that bad after all and poke fun at the locals. Herts is another "neither here or there" county, a bit like Bedfordshire.
There is a roundabout-like feature that appears on an Ordnance Survey map, published in 1882, at the junction of Walthall St and Alton St in Crewe. It is absent from later revisions as the area became built up with terraced housing for the railway works.
I went to school in Letchworth - Somebody who I knew very well and someone he knew very well (?) borrowed the school minibus and parked it on the roundabout mentioned one night. The school was displeased.
As an Alleynes old Boy we had to visit St. Nic's church a lot. I miss those good old days (1980's) but don't miss Stevenage. Another great video...thanks
I saw a well paid HGV job with a big pharma firm, but I couldn't in good conscience apply for it after the damage that industry has wrought; so I stuck with delivering alcohol...
Ware is one of those places that is frustrating simply for its name. Mentioning it to my late partner always resulted in the response "Where?". Another frustrating place name is March (whether the English or Scottish one) as it gets confused with the month.
I used to live in a road called Fairlea Close (in Burgess Hill, West Sussex)... That caused much confusion when people asked where I lived and the answer was basically "fairly close"!
We live in Letchworth and use Sollershot Circus often - thank you for the mention, the town is very proud of that roundabout! I didn't know that only going around one way came much later though.
Interesting fact about Ware. There is only ONE petrol station, but it's not in the town.......you REALLY have to know where it is before you run out of fuel.....
Where John was filming that segment is also an ancient plateway - at the bottom of the hill you can see parts of it still in place. Yet no-one seems to know why it was there.
9:00 - this music really reminds me of Ron Grainer's theme for 'The Prisoner'! I guess Stevenage is a less architecturally interesting version of The Village/Portmerion! :D
Lots of interesting stuff here. Dad worked for Beechams in London, among other places, and this was taken over by GSK. It looks like Jon specifically does NOT want a suntan. Hat, hoodie and long strides, even on a bloomingly gorgeous sunny day. ☀
Take a look at the London Transport Country Area - specifically Green Line of the 1960s. Beautiful illustrations of the country towns surrounding london that could be reached by a Green Line coach from Central London (Victoria. Marble Arch. Oxford Circus or Aldgate Minories)
The research place used to be in Beckenham if memory serves me right and with land prices in and around there they decided to find something cheaper and cash in on Oscar Wellcome's estate big time which they did, my aunty and nan knew Oscar very well as he was a man about town in Sydenham and Forest Hill where a lot of his workforce lived and well liked by the locals.
I lived in the Old Town of Stevenage and I quite liked it! Large house, garden, peace and quiet. By all means, it was affordable luxury, compared to a shoebox in London. And all retail, leasure and other facilities for a 5-minute drive. What else could you ask for? The area has many remnants of the old A1 (or its Roman Road predecessor) before the A1(M) was built and the remainder was realigned with roundabouts and other quirks.
Ah, another one of my old stomping grounds, though I had no idea about the first roundabout so that's an excellent thing to learn. You almost touched Wadesmill, if not drove through it. I nearly bought a house there but was put off by the fact that the house was on one side of the A10 (as was at the time) and my garden was on the other. After I'd moved to Cambs they only went and bypassed the place. Still, at least that meant I didn't have to drive through Bishop's Stortford again.
05:07 jusr by that underpass was where I was very close to being hit by a fence falling during a storm in 1990. St Nicks church was on my cross country school route and I was a cleaner at GSK when they were building it, the money they wasted was increadible. Thankfully moved out of Stevenage at 19.
been watching vids on this channel for a while now (since Secrets of the Motorway), and I still giggle every time John says "whhhicked sweet awesome" 😆
Another great vid. Just imagine in the good old days , “oh I feel a little tickle in my throat, I think I’ll have a suck on this medicated lozenge. Wow look at the pink elephants “. What a fun time. Keep up the great work buddy.
Well I now know what under the A10 Viaduct near Ware looks like. Every time I drive my Parents up the A10 to take them to my sisters in Stevenage. Somebody always says "Ware are we" "Don't know Ware we are" anybody got any new one's for my next trip. 🤣
I lived and worked in Stevenage for nearly 40 years and, if I had £1 for every snooty comment I had heard running down Stevenage, I would probably have over £1,000. The worst are the hypocrites who live in Letchworth or Hitchin but who pinch their noses to work in Stevenage.
Was thinking if the A120 would have extended from Puckeridge to Stevenage that would see the A120 finish southeast of Stevenage. And not forgetting the new A505 bypass north of Luton to be built to M1 Junction 11a. And to avoid Luton town centre.
Although I probably shouldn't admit to it, I live right next to the roundabout you're stood under when you first say "Stevenage"! If I'd known you were round you could have had a coffee!
When I went to Hitchen via the A1 my satnav directed me through Little Wymondley, not the bypass! Also the GSK building in Stevenage was used as CIA headquarters in the Jason Bourne films.
The size of that first roundabout is literally the size of roundabouts connecting main roads in the Netherlands, for example at the exits of highways. Driving around the UK I always wondered why you guys design them so large.
You could have had the YT Vid of the year award if the dog had shat in answer to your 'What do you think about Stevenage?' question. So close to ultimate comedy gold.....
I was sub agent on the Little Wymondley bypass and one of the jobs we had to do was replace a 300m length of electric cable that ran from the local sub station. Apparently, it was the only bit of cable like it in the country...415kV, oil cooled, and wrapped in many layers including a steel jacket. In 1992 it cost £3000/metre! Anyway, after laying the cable it was suitably marked...until a strong wind blew the signs down. A JCB came along (you're way ahead aren't you!)... and stuck his bucket in the ground resulting in many sparks, the loss of one of the teeth from the bucket, and the improvement of Stevenage, Letchworth and Hitchin by plunging them into darkness for several hours. Happy Days!😁
😂😂😂
Fuk me drunk, I've seen a 66kv cable get hit. But never a 415kv cable. That jcb would have gone from yellow. To orange, to ash very quickly. Did the jcb operator survive?
@@timfagan816 As I said, amazingly only one tooth on the bucket vapourised. The rest of the machine and driver were perfectly OK.
My thoughts were only one bucket tooth, lucky the whole digger did not vapourize
You're supposed to call 811 before you dig!!!!
Its almost like a sarcastic version of tom scott and i love it.
Yes, spot on!
Sarcastic yet genuine.
Yess 😁 I'd love a crossover video where Tom describes something and Jon translates it into sarcasm and witty remarks 😁
Tom Scott does not swear on his videos 😃
@@hublanderuk True, I do miss Toms weekly regular uploads.
As someone who grew up in Stevenage, I find your comments about the town.... entirely reasonable.
I worked at the Stevenage GSK site for a short time in the early 2000s.
Its a pharmaceutical R&D site that they use to create and develop new products in the lab before scaling up in a pilot plant before rolling out to their production sites.
Theyve got (had) smoking beagles or something in the basement because the place was always getting beset by animal activists and there were regular announcements to avoid the main gate.
The buliding was also used in the film Spy Game.
Loving your unbridled desire for Stevenage😂😂😂
As a 16 yr old living in Hertford Stevenage was asprinational worth the bike ride there with my mate
This would have been around 1974
If anyone watching this thinks Stevenage is shit, try Luton.
8:03 I appreciate the effort of making that shot just so you can say 'Ware Weir' lol
Couldn't see my house from the Letchworth aerial shot.. consoled myself with seeing the big tree at the end of the garden.
"Without making a fuss" is, of course, the county motto of Hertfordshire.
Plus we're quite good at making films and TV shows...
In Stevenage, I don’t know how you managed to miss “the Six Hills” a series of six (would you believe?) 2,000 year old Roman burial barrows (the largest surviving Roman barrow group in England) now sympathetically sandwiched between the back of Asda and a commercial estate.
jon in a field describing something random he found on Google maps. Sunday is now Sunday.
Well look whos a lucky devil here
Only if you have seen burbling on about Heathrow first.
I haven't related to a comment more in weeks
“…other specialist ingredients…” - Love your turn of phrase mate! 🤣🤣👍🏽
Cocaine....says it on the tin!
St Evenage I think you'll find 😂
I thought you might have mentioned that Ware railway level crossing was the first i the UK to be fitted with continental barriers rather than crossing gates.
Another gem, even better when I know the locations. The dog was priceless!
Auto Shenanigans. Turn left at sarcasm and carry on to interesting and informative! Safe travels Jon atvb.
Dude, you filmed some of this just around the corner from where I live; if I'd have known I'd have made you a cup of tea. Nice one, thanks for a bit of local history!
"... From lovely countryside to... Stevenage..." Your comic timing is superb, Jon. Also, that fascinating in depth look at a church. Nice one.
My favourite sign ever is, or was to be found in Hitchin opposite the open air swimming pool, it read:
Hitchin Swimming pool
Overflow
Car Parking.
Up there with one in Stevenage which IIRC says:
Tourist attractions
Crematorium
Excellent sunny Sunday, in the garden with a beer and up pops the notification. Here we go...
That’s my neck of the woods John,thanks for another intriguing and most exciting instalment 🤣
Unusual for you Jon but your extensive research failed to uncover one of Ware's famous land marks and would tie into the Auto Shenanigan's remit. It is the Ware Concrete Lamppost Collection and former factory. Get back on the road and have a look. I was introduced to the site while Hitch Hiking back in the 80's by a very kind woman in a Morris Minor.
That aside, brilliant as usual.
I don't think I have ever seen a concrete lamp post. If ever I am down south I will have to check it out. Is it as exciting as it sounds?
@philhawley1219 that's the only kind we had in our area(NW), other than the motorways.
@@jeremywilliams5107 I live on the Welsh Marches. Even the moon frightens us. If the clouds part and we see it we know that Satan's evil hordes will be riding their war goats from Llanyblodwell to steal our first born . Street lights would only make it worse. Do you have electric where you live?
Maybe the dog at the beginning thought Stevenage was a bit ruff, and wanted to photobomb on Jon instead 😅
Ware is the start of the "New River" that takes water from the Lee into the city of London by an entirely gravity fed channel. It was built in 1613 to provide more fresh drinking water for London and terminated at New River Head, Clerkenwell. It demonstrates the futuility of adding new to any infrastructure name. After all if it was replaced it would become the "Old New River" 🙃
I like the "specialist" ingredients, bet those pastilles sold like hot coke!
Had hot coke, once, left on window sill rather than put back in fridge, unpleasant & not recommended.
Nice shots of Ware, but strange that you stood by the river just out of sight of its famous set of riverside gazebos (the largest number in Britain). There's also a good bronze statue in the town centre of a maltster, complete with giant malt shovel and cat (to keep down the rodents who wanted the grain). Some maltings buildings still exist, converted into an arts centre and housing.
Back to your home county! Never knew Letchworth is the oldest roundabout in the country - nice place though - was there a few days ago. As for Stevenage - you missed the Old Town High Street which is actually quite pleasant.
My favourite part of Stevenage is they have brown signs pointing to “Tourist Attractions”…
There aren’t any Tourist Attractions.
One of the signs even has a ❓ slapped on it.
Is that the one that actually reads:
Tourist Attractions
Crematorium
The is a wonderful glance at Stevenage new town in colour in the BTF film All that mighty heart , it’s worth a watch
Stevenage is secretly great... Thanks for not telling everyone 😁
Cycle tracks.
🎵"How far to Hitchin, it's Hitchin I'm missing..."🎶
Awesome video! Would also recommend to the viewers a visit to Scott's Grotto if in Ware it's a very unusual and random spot!
The new Sunday Standard - Jon
Glaxo smith is nothing shady, its obviously a research facility for happier bunnies and better hugs
Nice one. A buddy of mine lives in Ware - his neighbour moved there from Wye....
Anyone from (Luton) Hoo?
Another fantastic and informative episode Jon.
Thanks for another brilliant video but how can you pass through Stevenage without mentioning Vincent Motorcycles?
Believe that sign-off bit was under the A10 where it goes airborne onto stilts, over the River Lea. Flies over the Ware to Hertford road, looking for all the world like they just took out 2 or 3 houses and built the viaduct where they once stood. Went past it many times for work, impressive bit of civil engineering as you see the A10 fly off into the distance.
You obviously missed the pun on the Letchworth roundabout sign (mind you, so did QI!), built circa 1909! Circa means approximately or roundabout, and as the town was meticulously planned, it must be known when exactly it was built. Nice video, thanks Jon.
4:06 "in a bit of an odd way". I suspect Little Wymondley's women had read Aristophanes - specifically, his 'Lysistrata'.
Google is your friend.
I don't know about you chaps but to me there is nothing like a new and exciting great British road journey.
All of my old haunts although Stevenage haunts the most 😱
Lived in Letchworth, Stevenage and Hitchin early 1970s (pre Wymondley bypass) and still travel through. Piqued my interest to explore a few places I never knew about. Thanks.
I know Letchworth, Hitchin, Ware and Hertford very well. Must admit, i quite like these places including Stevenage. I could retire to any of theses towns.
“History definitely happened here” 😂❤
Channelling Philomena Cunk
Letchworth was built over three villages mate, Norton on the opposite side and Willian right next to Letchworth. The old manor house is now a hotel of dubious reputation locally and the church is the oldest building. Fun fact about St Nick's in Scumenage, the spire was for a couple of centuries the tallest man made point between London and Leicester, shame they built the town really. I mean, who thought that providing architects with just set squares was a good idea eh? BTW, all cities are towns.
I have lived in Stevenage for the last 30 years and yes it is in dire need of some serious investment including the widening the A1(M) which has never materalised but it depends on which parts are referenced rather than stating that it is a just a new town in the Home Counties. It is only 20 minutes by train into London, also home to the Lister Hospital, several parks including Fairlands, miles of cycle paths and even has a Costco here. I would rather live here rather than some of the hell holes in the Greater London area. It has always had a majority Labour council here as well and the sitting MP has always sat on the government benches in parliament since the constituency was formed in its own right.
Yes the parliamentary constituency is what the Americans would call a bellwether.
True this: "Stevenage: Because You Could Do Much Worse"
Very interesting yet again some great research
I was hoping for the train at van hages, but the intrigue of GSK was good!
There's another two in and near Harlow....one was verrry small and if you tried to look in from the moorhen path security appeared to stop you being there.
Widely regarded to be something to do with animals,probably not a petting zoo.
You didn't visit the beautiful Stevenage town centre tower and the delightful concrete blocks. They built the tower in town centre presumably so the new residents could hang themselves once they found out how awful it is. I live down the railway line in Haringey/Harringay and we sometimes get the train to Stevenage. We do this to remind ourselves that Haringey/Harringay isn't that bad after all and poke fun at the locals. Herts is another "neither here or there" county, a bit like Bedfordshire.
Now the town centre is in the middle of 'regeneration'; you should come check it out again. 2nd thoughts, maybe wait 'til it's finished lol
There is a roundabout-like feature that appears on an Ordnance Survey map, published in 1882, at the junction of Walthall St and Alton St in Crewe. It is absent from later revisions as the area became built up with terraced housing for the railway works.
Regarding maltings there still one just down the road from Ware in Stansted Abbots called French and Jupps been operating for over 200 years
When the winds in the right direction I can smell it from my gaff in Hoddesdon!!
Wonder if Hoddesdon is on the next road trip 😬
@@nickanderson141186 wonder how he'll shoe-horn saying dobbs weir into the script?
Is the A602 the furthest A-road from its M-equivalent, the M602 in Salford?
'Malt-growing fields of Suffolk' sounds disconcertingly like the BBC's April Fools Day report on the Italian Spaghetti Harvest.
Thanks
Thanks a lot mate, appreciate it!
I went to school in Letchworth - Somebody who I knew very well and someone he knew very well (?) borrowed the school minibus and parked it on the roundabout mentioned one night. The school was displeased.
Bet he must have been from St. Christopher's?
@@whyyoulidl indeed
Good pic of Alf Garnett in the Letchworth section 👍
8:59 what a gorgeous, lovely, wonderful, fascinating place 🤣
😂
As an Alleynes old Boy we had to visit St. Nic's church a lot. I miss those good old days (1980's) but don't miss Stevenage. Another great video...thanks
I saw a well paid HGV job with a big pharma firm, but I couldn't in good conscience apply for it after the damage that industry has wrought; so I stuck with delivering alcohol...
I don't drink but at least it's better than tobacco.
I lived in Ware for over twenty years, lovely place.
9:46 Soooo Goldie Looking Chain!!!
I worked at the Glaxo facility in Ware and believe me you wouldn't want to know what went on there!
Ware is one of those places that is frustrating simply for its name. Mentioning it to my late partner always resulted in the response "Where?". Another frustrating place name is March (whether the English or Scottish one) as it gets confused with the month.
I used to live in a road called Fairlea Close (in Burgess Hill, West Sussex)... That caused much confusion when people asked where I lived and the answer was basically "fairly close"!
Bit warm for the woollen headgear? Surely time for Jon to sport a Panama hat to match the season.
Driving in to Stevenage one day and on the Welcome to Stevenage sign some wag had written “Twinned with HELL” in market pen 😂
We live in Letchworth and use Sollershot Circus often - thank you for the mention, the town is very proud of that roundabout! I didn't know that only going around one way came much later though.
Interesting fact about Ware. There is only ONE petrol station, but it's not in the town.......you REALLY have to know where it is before you run out of fuel.....
The only 2 things that should ever happen to lavender is, either add it to old person products or leave it in the ground for the bees.
Where John was filming that segment is also an ancient plateway - at the bottom of the hill you can see parts of it still in place. Yet no-one seems to know why it was there.
A few sprigs of lavender hanging from your ceiling keeps flies out of your house in the summer.
@@johnlbirch so, much like your totally off topic reply?
@@evilutionltd Meh - it's the sort of thing Jon often goes for.
9:00 - this music really reminds me of Ron Grainer's theme for 'The Prisoner'! I guess Stevenage is a less architecturally interesting version of The Village/Portmerion! :D
Lots of interesting stuff here. Dad worked for Beechams in London, among other places, and this was taken over by GSK.
It looks like Jon specifically does NOT want a suntan. Hat, hoodie and long strides, even on a bloomingly gorgeous sunny day. ☀
A roundabout you can go any way you want? Sounds like Malta..
Doesn't Swindon have one of those...
Hello to you too Jon, I love this enthusiastic intro, with the sunny weather and the dog :d
That third pastille was not to be sniffed at lol. I actually lolled Jon well done. Love your sense of humour and your style of presenting.
Take a look at the London Transport Country Area - specifically Green Line of the 1960s. Beautiful illustrations of the country towns surrounding london that could be reached by a Green Line coach from Central London (Victoria. Marble Arch. Oxford Circus or Aldgate Minories)
The research place used to be in Beckenham if memory serves me right and with land prices in and around there they decided to find something cheaper and cash in on Oscar Wellcome's estate big time which they did, my aunty and nan knew Oscar very well as he was a man about town in Sydenham and Forest Hill where a lot of his workforce lived and well liked by the locals.
I lived in the Old Town of Stevenage and I quite liked it! Large house, garden, peace and quiet. By all means, it was affordable luxury, compared to a shoebox in London. And all retail, leasure and other facilities for a 5-minute drive. What else could you ask for?
The area has many remnants of the old A1 (or its Roman Road predecessor) before the A1(M) was built and the remainder was realigned with roundabouts and other quirks.
Sunday lunch..check. Auto Shenanigans sunday vid...check. relax.
Stevenage ….what a hole. Makes Luton look a decent option
Ah, another one of my old stomping grounds, though I had no idea about the first roundabout so that's an excellent thing to learn. You almost touched Wadesmill, if not drove through it. I nearly bought a house there but was put off by the fact that the house was on one side of the A10 (as was at the time) and my garden was on the other. After I'd moved to Cambs they only went and bypassed the place. Still, at least that meant I didn't have to drive through Bishop's Stortford again.
Pub garden, cold pint, on with the latest from Mr Shenanigans. Entertaining as ever Jon!
Ware is twin towned with Wulfrath in NW Germany where my wife was born and raised. Wulfrath has absolutely nothing in common with Ware.
Wulfrath residents: Where's Ware?
05:07 jusr by that underpass was where I was very close to being hit by a fence falling during a storm in 1990. St Nicks church was on my cross country school route and I was a cleaner at GSK when they were building it, the money they wasted was increadible. Thankfully moved out of Stevenage at 19.
been watching vids on this channel for a while now (since Secrets of the Motorway), and I still giggle every time John says "whhhicked sweet awesome" 😆
Awesome video, really intresting findign out about diffrent parts of the country
That was interesting.
Another great vid. Just imagine in the good old days , “oh I feel a little tickle in my throat, I think I’ll have a suck on this medicated lozenge. Wow look at the pink elephants “. What a fun time. Keep up the great work buddy.
Never had hallucinations on coke, just felt buzzed. Waste of money, could just as easily stuck my tongue in the leccy outlet.
I ❤yer tone of presentation ... ❤️😎❤️
Well I now know what under the A10 Viaduct near Ware looks like. Every time I drive my Parents up the A10 to take them to my sisters in Stevenage. Somebody always says "Ware are we" "Don't know Ware we are" anybody got any new one's for my next trip. 🤣
The viaduct crosses a nice area of flood meadows. I used to go there quite a bit so I was excited by seeing the viaduct, haha!
Maybe try tyre wear?
I lived and worked in Stevenage for nearly 40 years and, if I had £1 for every snooty comment I had heard running down Stevenage, I would probably have over £1,000. The worst are the hypocrites who live in Letchworth or Hitchin but who pinch their noses to work in Stevenage.
Was thinking if the A120 would have extended from Puckeridge to Stevenage that would see the A120 finish southeast of Stevenage. And not forgetting the new A505 bypass north of Luton to be built to M1 Junction 11a. And to avoid Luton town centre.
Although I probably shouldn't admit to it, I live right next to the roundabout you're stood under when you first say "Stevenage"! If I'd known you were round you could have had a coffee!
When I went to Hitchen via the A1 my satnav directed me through Little Wymondley, not the bypass! Also the GSK building in Stevenage was used as CIA headquarters in the Jason Bourne films.
My wife must be taking a leaf out of the women's bypass protest at the moment.
My missus has been 'protesting' for years!🤣
I wouldn't mind but my gang built our towns bypess 21 years ago and I'm still not back in the game 😳
@@Phuc_Yhou I feel your pain!
The size of that first roundabout is literally the size of roundabouts connecting main roads in the Netherlands, for example at the exits of highways. Driving around the UK I always wondered why you guys design them so large.
Great video John - I grew up in Ware and now having been living in Hitchin for 24 years (with a break between in West London for a bit)
UK's 1st roundabout was a magic (bi-directional) one - of sorts..!
Woo watching from BSE!
You could have had the YT Vid of the year award if the dog had shat in answer to your 'What do you think about Stevenage?' question. So close to ultimate comedy gold.....
I’m Hertfordshire born,Hertfordshire bred;strong in the arm and thick in the head😂