Speaker A
Off we go. How's it going, everyone? Welcome back to the Geowizard channel, the home of the mischievous adventure.
GeoWizard attempts a 45-mile no-road walk across Shropshire using only footpaths, embracing a medieval-style adventure.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Public footpaths in England offer unique and often underappreciated access to natural landscapes.
- It is possible to cross a large county like Shropshire using only footpaths, though it requires careful planning and resilience.
- Traveling with minimal modern comforts can deepen the connection to historical ways of life and nature.
- Navigational technology can complement traditional hiking without detracting from the adventure.
- The British countryside holds rich history, folklore, and natural beauty worth exploring on foot.
What the video covers
- GeoWizard explores Britain's public footpaths, focusing on Shropshire, a sparsely populated, historically rich county.
- He aims to walk 45 miles east to west across Shropshire using only footpaths, avoiding roads entirely.
- The journey is inspired by medieval travel, carrying minimal gear including a tarp instead of a tent.
- Challenges include overgrown and forgotten footpaths, limited access to villages, and sourcing food in remote areas.
- Navigation is aided by a COROS watch with a pre-plotted route to reduce map-checking time.
- The walk features scenic countryside, wildlife encounters, and the discovery of unique natural elements like wild garlic.
- GeoWizard highlights the privilege and beauty of Britain's countryside and the joy of hiking through it.
- The adventure includes moments of physical challenge, weather adversity, and interactions with locals and animals.
- He reflects on the contrast between modern convenience and the medieval-style experience he seeks.
- The video captures the spirit of exploration, resilience, and appreciation for nature’s healing effects.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Adventure Setup
- 02:09Exploring Shropshire and Footpath Potential
- 04:25Packing Light and Minimal Urban Exposure
- 06:14Starting the Medieval-Style Journey
- 08:09Early Footpath Challenges and Nature Encounters
- 10:22Navigational Decisions and Foraging
- 12:14Physical Challenges and Weather Impact
- 13:56Interactions with Locals and Wildlife
- 16:54Camping and Overnight Challenges
- 19:48Reflection and Adventure Highlights
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
And in store for you today is what I'm really hoping will be a really great one.
Speaker A
We are blessed in Britain with footpaths. Public footpaths, rights of way. Some of them well trodden, like this one. Others not so much, like this one. This is (beep) mental. Or this one.
Speaker A
Ooow. But despite their flaws, they are an incredible privilege that we have in this country that we take for granted.
Speaker A
And there's nothing I love more than getting on OS Maps and plotting a route that links up as many of those beautiful green dotted lines as possible.
Speaker A
Unless you're in a national park though, these footpaths are never continuous, they're finite. They might cut through a few fields or forests, but eventually they'll hit a road, a country lane or a town, and that's it.
Speaker A
You're off the footpath. And so your route, your long distance route, ends up being a blend of footpaths and roads.
Speaker A
And that's exactly what many of my adventures have been. But it dawned on me whilst plotting my last one, what if it doesn't have to be like that?
Speaker A
What if there is a chain of footpaths somewhere in this standard English countryside, not a national park, that just so happens to link all the way up for miles and miles and miles, you know, crossing a county, for example?
Speaker A
So I had a look at Staffordshire, first of all, my county of residence, and it seemed to be not possible.
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Quite a few long chains of them, but nothing that could cross the county by any stretch.
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But then I moved west to the county of Shropshire whose borders I currently stand on.
Speaker A
Look at that. That is the mighty River Severn, longest river in Great Britain. Over there will be Staffordshire, I imagine.
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Over here is Shropshire. Now Shropshire is not the most famous county. It's one of the least densely populated counties in England.
Speaker A
One of the biggest though. There's no cities in Shropshire. It's teeming with history and folklore and mysticalness and it is beautiful.
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Its rolling green hills, charming little villages that are stuck in the Middle Ages, in a good way.
Speaker A
And it's walking country because of all those things. And I quickly realised while scanning OS Maps in Shropshire that those beautiful little green dotted lines are everywhere.
Speaker A
Not to the point where they just cut across the country without you even having to think about it, but there's enough of them, I eventually realised, for me to plot a route, a bit of a snaking route at times,
Speaker A
and not one without the odd little naughty shortcut, but a route that crosses all the way from east to west, right over to the border of Wales actually, 45 miles without walking down a single road.
Speaker A
So, yeah, in a way, this is gonna be a no-roads mission, but very, very different because it's not urban at all.
Speaker A
I mean, in a way, my straight line missions are no road missions, aren't they, if you think about it.
Speaker A
But this is gonna be nothing like either of those things. So what is it gonna be like?
Speaker A
Well, it's gonna be, for the most part, just absolutely beautiful, but it's gonna be challenging in certain ways that you may not have considered.
Speaker A
Firstly, as I have discovered many a time on my adventures, footpaths are not always a pleasant experience, they can be overgrown and forgotten.
Speaker A
But what's gonna be really tricky is the fact that because my route doesn't go down a road, that also means that it's almost impossible for me to go into a village or town, if you think about it.
Speaker A
There are a couple that I can access a little bit via alleyways, but it's very rare.
Speaker A
So there's gonna be very minimal exposure to urban areas. And while that wouldn't normally be a problem, it is on this trip a bit, because as you may have noticed, I'm carrying quite a small bag.
Speaker A
In this bag is a sleeping bag, a packed lunch, a little inflatable mattress, some toiletries, my water bottle, and that's it.
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Oh, and a tarp. I've brought a tarp. Although I've never used one in my life.
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I've decided for some reason, and quite last minute, to do this tenner in my pocket style, I guess, or medieval style.
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I think that's what I wanna get from this adventure is it's gonna feel hopefully as close as possible to how it would have felt to trek across Shropshire in medieval times.
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No exposure to modern urban life. And I think that's why I decided not to bring a tent.
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It felt too comfortable and easy. So the jeopardy is gonna be where I'm gonna sleep, and it is gonna rain tonight, big time.
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And then the other bit of jeopardy, which could be even worse, is where do I get my food?
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Can I get any food, maybe some eggs from a farm, or something like that, in the remote countryside?
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'Cause that's what I'm gonna be in the entire time. Or will I go desperately hungry?
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All will be revealed in due course as I approach my start point. Right. This is the point.
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Ah, do I need to touch the water? I suppose I do. Oh God, it's quite tricky actually.
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Don't fall in. Here we go. For once it's not gonna be salty. Might be slightly pooey.
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But there we go, I've touched the border. Let's commence this medieval adventure. Look at that.
Speaker A
20 yards in and I've found myself great piece of bedding. Imagine how warm you'd be in that.
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Don't need warm though. I need waterproof. In terms of navigation, I would be following a little red line on my COROS watch.
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Doesn't seem very medieval, but I really didn't wanna spend 20% of the day staring at a map.
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And also I've really come to enjoy the feeling of not knowing what's coming up next.
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I hadn't actually looked at the route for a couple of weeks, but one thing I did remember about it was that the first few miles snaked up through a wooded river valley and that quite soon I would need
Speaker A
to go off piste and cross it. For now, a most charming pond speckled pasture.
Speaker A
Hello boy. Hello. You come to wish me luck on my journey? Wonder if I could ride you. You're a bit small.
Speaker A
You're a nice boy though, aren't you? Mm? Girl. Should we say hello to your friends?
Speaker A
Can I get through, please? (Tom whistling) I don't really wanna come up behind you.
Speaker A
Can I get through here, please? (hands clapping) I might do the barbed wire then. (chuckles) I don't want a hoof to the chops.
Speaker A
Bye. Ooh, straight away look, is this wild garlic? Hmm. Let's see. Yeah, that's wild garlic, man.
Speaker A
Ah, totally forgot about that. That is one of the few things we can forage at this time of year.
Speaker A
But already, look at this footpath. What the hell? It's painful, and it's split off into two already.
Speaker A
Oh God, I'm being stung and prickled. Prung and stickled. Already seriously doubting whether I'd picked the right clothing for this jaunt or even picked the right jaunt, I approached my first cheeky shortcut.
Speaker A
I've got us to cross this river now. This could be pretty bad, but let's give it a go.
Speaker A
But in the end it was all right. No ravine, no crazy foliage, just some questionably brown and foamy water, which I thankfully didn't fall in as I tiptoed over some timber and clambered out of this nettly bank.
Speaker A
A couple of minutes later... Footpath sweet. I think another thing I wanna get from this adventure, or rather a message that I want to convey to you, especially if you live in Britain, is just how beautiful and wonderful the countryside is
Speaker A
that we have on our doorstep. But also how fun it is to hike through it.
Speaker A
You know, something always happens. That's one of my mantras. You always meet someone or discover something fascinating or get yourself into a hilarious predicament.
Speaker A
And usually several times over. And this adventure will be no exception, I can guarantee it.
Speaker A
And even if nothing happened, which it won't, but just to hear that bird song (birds chirping) and gaze up at the trees from which they echo is just a soul cleansing, de-stressing, healing feeling.
Speaker A
It really is. It never gets old. But of course it's never just the bird song.
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And sure enough, just under a mile later, a sight that I thought existed only in myth.
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Wait, is that an albino pheasant? Have I finally found
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- [Tom] An albino pheasant, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Could it be true?
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Well, he's gone without a trace. A year 10 shoe then pointed me in the direction of a camera-shy dog.
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(dog barking) - [Dog Walker] Come on, come. And this old bridge. That's gotta be ancient.
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From which I spotted another bridge made of iron that seemed to have washed away.
Speaker A
Further on up the valley passed more signs of its industrial past, including an old derelict railway.
Speaker A
I reached my first strip of tarmac. We've gotta go there, accidentally fell down a riverbank trying to get to another crossing point over it only to realise that it was actually somebody's drive.
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Okay. And then gave myself a wet foot on the way back. Shit. (beeps) Sake.
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What, I don't understand why I thought it was even over there. As amusing as it may have been though, I really couldn't afford to make too many of these silly little errors.
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For this medieval hike was quite an ambitious one. Weighing in at roughly 45 miles, So with that in mind, I grabbed me a bloody good stick.
Speaker A
Oh, tell you what, that's a bloody good stick. And got marching. See, that's what I like to see.
Speaker A
A clear path through the crops. ♪ Do you remember me ♪ ♪ *humming* Sting - Fields Of Gold ♪ This glorious section of the path took me into another wood where I met a fellow stick appreciator with a very different accent.
Speaker A
Gotta have a good stick, haven't you? - [Walker] (laughs) I forgot my walking stick for the bloody car, didn't I?
Speaker A
- [Tom] Oh did you? - [Walker] I thought “Oh, I can't bothered to go back.” So I just- - [Tom] That'll do a job.
Speaker A
- [Walker] Got this. - [Tom] Yeah. Yeah. - [Walker] It's really pretty up there as well.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Is it? - [Walker] The little church. - [Walker] Yeah, they've got little table and chairs- - [Tom] Oh really? - [Walker] Yeah.
Speaker A
- [Tom] I might have my sandwich there then. - [Walker] Yeah, I would. - [Tom] (chuckles) Cheers.
Speaker A
What is this? Is this someone's house? This might be someone's house. Wow, what is this place?
Speaker A
What a great place to sleep, by the way, back there. That's exactly the kind of thing I want potentially.
Speaker A
And here's the church as well. Hello. You all right? - [Old Lady] Are you looking for somewhere?
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- [Tom] No, no. I'm just just admiring the place. Yeah, yeah. - [Old Lady] Have you got a drink?
Speaker A
- [Tom] Yes, I've got a drink. Thank you. - [Old Lady] Okay, bye. - [Tom] Cheers.
Speaker A
Lovely woman. Might need a drink later, to be honest, but for now, let's check this out.
Speaker A
It's a lovely little chapel. God, it's so well kept. God, I hope I don't come across something like this later on when I'm starving.
Speaker A
Oh, she's right about it being locked. Bet you if this was open, they would make me a drink.
Speaker A
A very weak cup of squash. I wonder if there's a tap actually. Looks like there is, yeah.
Speaker A
Oh no. It's a tank look. I'm not gonna risk that. But I am gonna have one of my little sandwiches and a drink under this magnificent old oak tree.
Speaker A
But maybe I should have accepted that drink. (beeps) sake, that's half full. Such an idiot.
Speaker A
Packed lunch this time consists of a Melton Mowbray pork pie, quite a small one.
Speaker A
Two already squashed sandwiches consisting of cheese, ham and pickle, Branston Pickle, and a oat bar.
Speaker A
Peanut butter oat bar. That is it. Once I've eaten all this, I'm foodless. There it is.
Speaker A
Oh, I'm feeling good right now. Made decent progress. I'm still nice and cool. Got a little sandwich in me belly.
Speaker A
However, it is gonna get hot soon. Food and water will run out and things will get progressively harder from there on in.
Speaker A
I then started to get a good rhythm going on these wide dusty tracks only for it to be rudely interrupted by a bag.
Speaker A
Huh, what the hell? There's a phone in there and everything. What the hell? Surely there's someone around here.
Speaker A
Pat's phone. We gotta sort this out. These definitely aren't my GCSCE results. I'll tell you that. (chuckles) What else we got? Survival blanket.
Speaker A
I actually could do with one of those. Golf ball, weirdly. Torch, or is that an EpiPen?
Speaker A
Don't know, I actually think this is a student rather than an old person on their Duke of Edinburgh.
Speaker A
Oh and they’ve got some fags. Oh no, that's gotta be an old person. It's weird. Weird array of things.
Speaker A
A knife. Thank you for looking after nature, beauty and history. Oh, you're welcome. Pat's phone.
Speaker A
Well, let's ring that then. The plan was to get hold of a close friend or family member of Pat's, but before I could hit dial, a cacophony of hooves.
Speaker A
Bloody hell, I just avoided that. (hooves clopping) Oh, shit. Now we've got the dogs.
Speaker A
Hello. Hello, doggies. You’re a clever boy, aren't you? You clever boy. You all right?
Speaker A
- [Tom] Do you farm here? - [Farmer] Yes. - [Tom] I've just found this bag just on the side here.
Speaker A
- [Farmer] Really? - [Tom] Um, yeah. So I'm gonna... - [Farmer] Who does it say?
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- [Tom] It's hard to tell. I'm gonna ring this 'cause that might be, like, someone else's phone.
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But I'll leave it here either way. - [Farmer] Yeah, well, otherwise I can take it to the farm and they can fetch it from us.
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- [Tom] Yeah. If I get through I'll say Harcourt Farm. - [Farmer] Harcourt Farm. Yes. - [Tom] Yeah.
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- [Farmer] That's so strange. - [Tom] I know, it is strange. Some weird things in there.
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I'll give it a go anyway. - [Farmer] Some weird things? (farmer chuckles) - [Tom] Well, not that weird.
Speaker A
- [Voicemail] This is the Asda Mobile voicemail service for 07- - [Farmer] So that's Pat's phone. - [Tom] Pat's phone. Yeah.
Speaker A
The farmer, upon noticing a national trust card in the bag, then decided to call a local cottage who are affiliated with that organisation just in case someone called Pat happened to be staying there.
Speaker A
She said there wasn't, but that she did hear some odd goings on in the night.
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- [Farmer] She said a car drove flat out over here early hours this morning.
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- [Tom] Really? - [Farmer] From the cottage. - [Tom] That's odd, isn't it? - [Farmer] That is odd.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Hopefully nothing sinister. Yeah. Well, have a nice day. - [Farmer] Okay and you, enjoy your walk.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Cheers. Oh, (groans) right. Anyway, on we go. But as I negotiated the invisible path that ran through this crop field, I couldn't help but worry about Pat.
Speaker A
I do hope that was nothing sinister. 'Cause the more I think about it, yeah, if that's an EpiPen and that lady got lost and hungry and if she's diabetic, God, yeah, she could have collapsed somewhere.
Speaker A
She could be a missing person, could Pat? Hopefully not. Or if she is missing, hopefully I find her. (chuckles) What did I say earlier? Something always happens.
Speaker A
Let's just hope that there's not much in that. I've since realised that this was a torch, not an EpiPen, so Pat was probably sipping a cup of tea in her caravan as I left the footpath for my second shortcut of the day.
Speaker A
The shortcut itself was fine. It was the path it led to that turned out to be the problem.
Speaker A
Oh, (beeps) sake. We ain't doing that. We're going back in the field. But back in the field, well, it ran out.
Speaker A
Ugh. So it was east the complete opposite direction to where I wanted to go into an ocean of horse fields whose residents were thankfully very chilled, through spiky hedgerow and finally over to this pleasant site.
Speaker A
Ooh yeah. We've chanced upon an ancient holloway. And, my God, it's beautiful. I love these things at the best of times, but I am doubly glad to see one now.
Speaker A
In true medieval fashion, the holloway led me up to a cluster of impressive historic properties.
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Old manor houses that would have been owned by local lords and landed gentry. Look at those chimneys on the left.
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Apples not quite ready yet, I fear. If this was in September, we'd be laughing.
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That bit looks abandoned. And then you've got this incredible old wall. Look how tall that is.
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That's gotta be like 16, 17 feet tall. My exit wasn't exactly a medieval one.
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Who zip tied that? The (beeps). (beeps) you, man. But if I was getting rattled by a few zip ties, I was gonna need to book my ideas up.
Speaker A
The sun was really starting to beat down now. I hadn't seen any water that looked remotely drinkable.
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And unbeknown to me, this rickety old style marked the beginning of a huge swathe of flattish agricultural land and all the delightful perks that come with it.
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Through here? No, no, no, no, no. No, I'm not doing that, man. A few fields in, I'd found a rare field-based sleeping spot.
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Sleep in one of them, couldn't you? Yeah, you could. Just upright. But I'd already lost all remnants of the path and was working up quite the thirst.
Speaker A
This has got quite tough quite quick, to be honest. Getting a bit sick of all this foliage and I am in real need of a drink now.
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Oh, (beeps) you. Brambles and stinging nettles if you're wondering. And a big drop here.
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Shit, this could be bad. (bushes rustling and crackling) Oooh. Thankfully that wasn't too bad.
Speaker A
A couple of bothersome boundaries later and still nowhere near the route, I couldn't help but feel grateful that I wasn't attempting to follow a map.
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This is a bloody road, isn't it? I've gotta go over here. (grunts) Strong left hand.
Speaker A
(bushes rustling and crackling) Oh God. I'm gonna need water at the next farm. Simple as that.
Speaker A
I think I've underestimated just how cut off you are doing this. And we're gonna need to do a diagonal crossing now.
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Oh, there's the footpath. Then over the road, structures of hope. Some sort of dilapidated farm structures up ahead.
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Will there be anything for me here? Ooh, there's farmhouse now appearing. Come on. Really hoping to see someone here.
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Oh, wait a minute, we’ve got a church. There might just be a tap in this church yard, a good tap.
Speaker A
Question is, can I get through to that churchyard? Maybe in this back corner here.
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Oh, yes. Come on. (gate clanks and squeaks) Here we go. Look at this. We've got flowers and flowers need water in.
Speaker A
Don't they, Peter Colin Phillips? This is lovely, let alone anything else. But priority now is the tap.
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Please be a tap. Oh my God, I can see a bottle on the side there next to what looks to be a tap.
Speaker A
Oh, yes. That's exactly what it is. One of you lovely viewers commented, with a really useful tip.
Speaker A
If you put your thumb on the end of the tap and turn it on and you can stop the water coming out effectively, it's from a water tank and therefore probably shouldn't be drank.
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But if you can't stop the pressure of the water coming out, it's from the mains.
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So let's give it a go. Yeah, that's from the mains all right? Oh, thank God.
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Literally, and oh my God, this is gonna be so satisfying. Oh God. Sorry. Ah, talk about holy water.
Speaker A
Couldn't have paid me a thousand quid to stop downing that then. More please. (water trickling) (Thomas exhales) Thank you tap.
Speaker A
All right, let's check this church out. Well, it looks like an old one. And speaking of old ones - [Tom] How do? - [Man] Hello.
Speaker A
- [Tom] You all right? This is lovely. - [Man] Beautiful church. - [Tom] Yeah, yeah- I could have talked to this lovely 80 odd year old couple all day.
Speaker A
The man had grown up in a tiny hamlet not too far from here and they were out exploring all the nearby villages and churches he never got to see as a kid before his time was up.
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- [Tom] What was it like growing up in a village like that? - [Man] Wonderful. - [Tom] Was it?
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- [Man] We lived in a tight cottage and we were free as the birds.
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- [Tom] Yeah. At one with nature. - [Man] and there was nothing to see- I mean, there was no buses- - [Lady] They played in the fields. - [Tom] Yeah, you made your own fun.
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Made your own toys. - [Man] We had to walk three miles to school and three mile back.
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- [Tom] Really? - [Man] Yeah. - [Lady] A lot of fields. - [Man] In ‘47, we were snowed in for six weeks.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Really? - [Man] And we still had to go to school. The school was still open. - [Tom] What?
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- [Tom] You don't know anywhere nicer than Shropshire? - [Man] No. - [Tom] Well, I can see why.
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- [Man] Anyway, good luck. - [Tom] Lovely to meet you both. - [Lady] Yeah, it's been nice talking to you.
Speaker A
Be careful how you go. Well, you heard it there. No better place on earth than Shropshire.
Speaker A
And we are gonna be able to explore this church, guys. Oh God, St. Mary's Stottesdon.
Speaker A
Wow. Right, let's see what nuggets of history we can unearth here. Sheela na Gig, quasi-erotic stone carving of a female figure.
Speaker A
There she is. John Fitzwalter Camel. In the reign of Henry I. That's pre-1240. That is how old this church is.
Speaker A
I told you it was old. Is that the time? Shit. Look, you can make yourself a cup of tea.
Speaker A
With two of the oldest kettles I think I've ever seen. But I don't drink tea.
Speaker A
But if there's some biscuits though. I wouldn't mind a biscuit. That's not why we're here.
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Then, as if to punish my greed, a demonic sound began to emanate from the altar.
Speaker A
What the hell is that? (squawking) Lord, what is happening? (squawking) (roof scratching) Who Trod These Tiles.
Speaker A
These medieval tiles from the 1300s are probably from the original floor. Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker A
My ancestor made that. Turns out it's even older. This ancient and beautiful building dates from before the Norman Conquest.
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A truly enchanting place. One that we have to leave though. That's one of my favorite churches I've ever been to.
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Not really a religious man, but I just love churches, beacons of our history and culture.
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And that one just provided me with some much needed water and shade. That's the thing.
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All I wanna do now is go straight into a village, but I've just gotta go back into the middle of nowhere, the middle of the countryside, such as the nature of this adventure.
Speaker A
First though, it's into this farm. You never know. I might meet someone here. (crickets chirping) Eggs. Eggs for sale.
Speaker A
That's what I want to ask, isn't it? That's the next step is finding some more food.
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And could I sleep in something like that? That's the other question, isn't it? The answer is yes. Of course I could.
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My exit from the farm didn't give me high hopes for the next section of footpath.
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And no more than two minutes in my watch was telling me to walk straight through these crops.
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I ain't doing that. Again, all you can really do is hug the edge of the field or in this case, a neighboring field, 'cause it was clearer, and hope that you can reverse the wild veer from the line
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that inevitably results. The only danger with doing this is that you might have to cross a horrendous boundary further down the line.
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And would you believe it? Oh no. This could be rough, man. (beeps) That, man.
Speaker A
Ugh. I can't go through that. I literally can't. Ooh, that looks like the old fence potentially.
Speaker A
Ow, thing is, it's not even fun for you to watch. It's not even good content.
Speaker A
It's just awful in every way. I can't go through that. I'm gonna have to...
Speaker A
I'm gonna have to backtrack, man. Oh, I've been stung to shit there and I didn't even make it through.
Speaker A
Here, A bridge, an old forgotten stinging nettle-filled bridge. My clothing today, like, ow! It's neither here nor there.
Speaker A
It doesn't protect me one iota from stingy nettles. But I've worn them because, mainly 'cause it protects me from the sun.
Speaker A
Oh, God, I've gotta try and get up on this. This is not the most trustworthy thing...
Speaker A
that I'm on right now. It's very risky. Ah! Damn you! Okay, what's this stuff?
Speaker A
I'll just go through this. This can't sting you. Tell you what, the way I'm going, I'm really gonna struggle to get where I need to be today and tomorrow.
Speaker A
Can't have too much more of this bollocks. It's just a shame because these are footpaths, so, you know, older people or just people who aren't mad like me, they're not gonna get through that.
Speaker A
They're not gonna... It's just not worth it. A few hummingly hot and thankfully reasonably well-connected fields later, a chance to cool down, refuel and take stock.
Speaker A
Oh my God, it's good to be out of those fields and in the shade.
Speaker A
It's just hard going in them fields when the footpath is non-existent. a few bites out of my gelatinous pork pie later though, i was a changed man.
Speaker A
a hardened medieval traveller ready to continue on his journey. cue the Runescape music. These next two miles were pretty lovely, but definitely not without their difficulties.
Speaker A
Bloody hell, you're joking, aren't ya? My approach was to make quick decisions, plow through everything and hope for the best.
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And this served me quite well up until this river where Mother Nature brought me right back down to Earth.
Speaker A
Ah! Ah, you idiot. You absolute effing idiot. Ah, shit, I hope I haven't broke my finger, 'cause I punched a rock when I landed then.
Speaker A
I could feel it was gonna go, but I just though it would like lower me down like a sort of cherry picker onto the other side, but it...
Speaker A
No, it went like that. That's bad. That is quite bad. I'll tell you what, at the very least, I'm refreshed.
Speaker A
Cooled me down nicely, that did. (chuckles) Two fields later I reached my next naughty shortcut, plotted to avoid these village lanes here.
Speaker A
Ah, it's a bit annoying 'cause we've got a church over there for a start and I can do some more water, but also we've got cows in this field and it's not on a public footpath so they're not used to walkers.
Speaker A
Predictably these randy cows ended up chasing me up a fence post. Shit, this is precarious.
Speaker A
I've gotta jump. (beeps) Whoa oh. They were bloody running. (angry moo) Oof, they were not happy.
Speaker A
And a bit further on, it really was no more Mr. nice wizard as I christened a new path across this crop field.
Speaker A
Feel a bit bad, but I'll be the one to forge it. As you know, ordinarily I wouldn't trample on crops whatsoever, but when there's a public right of way, you do have your rights to walk that path.
Speaker A
There you go, look, I've done a pretty damn good job of staying online there.
Speaker A
There's a phrase I didn't think I'd be saying today. And that is the stile. So I think that was legit.
Speaker A
In other news though, we've got another hamlet coming up. A lovely church and a few other buildings.
Speaker A
At the very least, I want some water. I'll tell you what, this looks beautiful.
Speaker A
I hope I bump into someone here who lays eggs. Not literally. That would be terrifying.
Speaker A
I might sit here a while just in case someone comes up to me. But no one did and I was all out of water to boot.
Speaker A
I am out. Frustratingly, it did seem that there was some sort of shop or workshop or kitchen 50 yards up the road from me.
Speaker A
But despite the door being open, no one emerged from it. So I went in search of the church and quickly found myself in the most curious graveyard I've ever seen.
Speaker A
Look how randomly these graves are situated. Look at this one. Robert Green. Well you’ve put him in the right place.
Speaker A
There it... Oh no, that's not it. That's incredible though. Not sure I'm supposed to go in there.
Speaker A
There it is. I can see it. There's the church. (chuckles) Or was it? Oh my God.
Speaker A
An actual stone from the church. What's happened here? (chuckles) Oh. I think it's abandoned, isn't it.
Speaker A
Shit. Yeah, I think it is. I think this is private. Is it? I couldn't tell for sure so I was forced into a risky scout.
Speaker A
Can’t be. Do you know, I actually think that might be a house now. And I am on their land, so I'm going to get off.
Speaker A
Shit, no tap though. Ooh (beeps). There's the confirmation, just in case we're in any doubt.
Speaker A
So I was to leave this village with nothing, not even its name. And I won't lie, this was a bit of a low point.
Speaker A
I think we've got a long way to go today. I think I'm only just over halfway through the day, to be honest.
Speaker A
And it's like four o'clock, so I'm still gonna be going past 9:00 PM, I think, which isn't the end of the world, but, yeah, long way to go in general.
Speaker A
And yeah, it's tough. I'm not as fit as I was last year. I can feel that. And obviously just the paths and the heat.
Speaker A
And I've just remembered I've gotta sleep out in the rough as well. Shit, yeah. This is harder than I thought. (chuckles) I could really do with the paths being well trodden now and to my delight, they seem to be.
Speaker A
But that's partly because the landscape was about to dramatically change. Definitely looks like we're heading up into the hills here.
Speaker A
The biggest hill of the entire trip in fact. And it was pretty brutal. I'm grateful for the nice clear paths.
Speaker A
I just wish they weren't so bloody uphill. The views at the top were sublime though.
Speaker A
In fact, I'm pretty sure I could see my hometown of Aldridge 30 miles away.
Speaker A
I certainly didn't expect that or this for that matter. Topless people. A lake. Okay. Well, I'm gonna drink the water from the lake.
Speaker A
Second thoughts, I'm gonna give that a miss. I'll find some water. Shortly after that, a slightly more triggering sight.
Speaker A
You can (beep) off. Made way for another very welcome one. Oh my God. The borderlands.
Speaker A
Probably Wales right in the distance. Probably see where we're gonna end up tomorrow all being well.
Speaker A
At the moment I can't see it. I am struggling. I'm a weary man. Gladly, we were gonna be going downhill for a while now on more lovely, well-trodden footpaths.
Speaker A
The only problem was there wasn't a drop of water up here on this hill thanks to the lack of rain it had had.
Speaker A
(beeps) Sake. By the time I'd gotten myself up and over it, I was seriously dehydrated.
Speaker A
Made some good ground there, good mileage, but my God, am I thirsty. And just as I say that, I've just come across a campsite.
Speaker A
I don't believe it. Okay, not gonna film 'cause there's kids, but I have got to get some water from in here.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Hello. - [Lady] Hello. - [Tom] So sorry to bother you. - [Lady] All right.
Speaker A
- [Tom] I'm a bit of a weary traveler, to be honest. I've - - [Lady] You want some water? - [Tom] Yeah. Is that possible?
Speaker A
- [Lady] Yeah of course. - [Tom] I feel really cheeky asking, but - [Lady] No, don't be silly. - [Man] No, no, don't be daft- - [Tom] I'm quite dehydrated.
Speaker A
Turns out the campsite was actually their garden and the people camping in it were their daughters and grandchildren.
Speaker A
That made me quite relieved that I didn't hop over this gate, but not half as relieved as my parched throat when my bottle was returned.
Speaker A
- [Tom] I really appreciate that. - [Man] It's all right. - [Tom] Cheers. Oh, this is gonna feel good.
Speaker A
- [Lady] (laughs) It should be cold anyway, so - - [Tom] Thank you very much.
Speaker A
- [Man] Okay. - [Tom] Enjoy the rest of your day. - [Lady] Thank-you and you!
Speaker A
Oh my god. I'm so happy I got the water. Only one bottle's worth. I've already drank half of it, but still, (chuckles) far better than nothing.
Speaker A
Further on down the hill, I got a bit confused about where I was supposed to go.
Speaker A
Can't figure out whether accidentally had me going down a road here. But we can't do that, so it's into this field.
Speaker A
(grunts) Private or not. The watch then told me to leave this cow field and enter this strip of land.
Speaker A
It felt right at first on account of the track, but then I became a bit skeptical.
Speaker A
Shit, is this public? Don't think it is. Sensory garden. Am I supposed to be here?
Speaker A
I really doubt it. Oh, it's so tempting to get some water from the tap.
Speaker A
Definitely not meant to be there. Someone might be in that. Literally. What is this route I’ve plotted?
Speaker A
Definitely no path here. (scoffs) Oh God Tom. What are you like? If there was a footpath here, which apparently there should be, it was gone.
Speaker A
But thankfully, once I'd squeezed out of this hedge, I was quite literally back on track and starting to make plans for the evening.
Speaker A
(sighs) Right. It is five o'clock now. I've done 29.2 kilometers. I don't really know how much longer I've got left to do.
Speaker A
Maybe three or four miles roughly for today. Depends where I sleep. Maybe I could go on a bit longer.
Speaker A
What is this though? Another weird place we are entering. Surely no one lives in there.
Speaker A
No, that's a husk look. Too eerie to sleep in. Too spidery to sleep in.
Speaker A
But, yeah, coming towards the closing hours of the day and obviously water is gonna continue to be a thing.
Speaker A
But food as well, I've got one... No, I've got half my sandwich left still, but I am gonna get pretty hungry later, I think.
Speaker A
So if I can find anything else, box of eggs. I found nothing. Not a sign of anything for sale today.
Speaker A
Probably 'cause I'm not on the road where the cars would see it, you know?
Speaker A
So I might even need to make a little detour through some fields to some sort of shop or pub.
Speaker A
That is an option, but it's not gonna be easy 'cause of things like this.
Speaker A
A hearty meal in a pub was an incredibly appealing thought and a pretty medieval one too.
Speaker A
But the problem I had was there really weren't many pubs near my route. Pubs tended to be in larger villages and towns or on main roads, none of which I was really going near.
Speaker A
I was gonna have to find food some other way. And a mile or so later after a brief confrontation with a rusty gate...
Speaker A
(beeps)king hell. My most promising looking farm yet appeared on the horizon. Out front, a farmer sheared his sheep in the sunshine.
Speaker A
- [Tom] How you doing, mate, you alright? - [Farmer] Yes alright, you? - [Tom] Good.
Speaker A
And over in the farm yard, past more tempting hay bales, a young boy appeared and assisted me with my poor directional skills.
Speaker A
I've plotted a route and it's taking me sort of that way. - [Boy] If you wanna walk that way, you can.
Speaker A
Then just as I was kinda hoping, his mom came out. - [Mom] There is a route that goes straight up there.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Okay. - [Mom] But I don't know where the other one goes. - [Tom] Fair enough.
Speaker A
All right. No worries. Thanks a lot. - [Mom] You got plenty of water? - [Tom] To be honest, no.
Speaker A
I am a bit dehydrated, I think. Thank you. I appreciate that. - [Mom] It’s okay.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Weary traveler, dehydrated. So weary and dehydrated, I forgot to ask if she sold eggs.
Speaker A
(sighs) yes. See you later pal. (Dogs barking) Would they attack me if they were out?
Speaker A
- [Boy] That one wouldn't the other one, but not the big one. - [Tom] Oh, okay. That's good to know.
Speaker A
Well, that was another lovely interaction, wasn't it? With these country folk and another bottle of water in the bag.
Speaker A
It really is lovely out here and so I don't know, I've just got this good feeling about tonight.
Speaker A
It was only as I sat in the yard of this next farm eating my third now very warm half a sandwich that I realised I'd forgotten to ask for eggs at the last one.
Speaker A
And obviously I didn't see a soul at this one. Just more inviting hay bales.
Speaker A
It's so easy to get wrapped up in all the food and shelter stuff, but a couple of cow fields later...
Speaker A
Nope! A magical hidden little corner of a field reminded me why I was really here.
Speaker A
Well, if I haven't just found the most mystical little spot, apart from that tornado of mosquitoes, ignore that.
Speaker A
But these ancient trees, but look at that. If that isn't just the most Bilbo Baggins structure.
Speaker A
Look at it, it's- Oh God. I'm almost scared to stand on that, but this is where my route's taken me.
Speaker A
Don't want a repeat it earlier, but with brick. Ooh, what is that? What the F is that?
Speaker A
I'm really starting to love Shropshire. I really am. One final deserted farm yard and its tempting stairwell led me past more bovine beasts.
Speaker A
Stay back, you curious... cows. But it was in this prickly uphill meadow of thistles that my stomach rumbles crossed a threshold and I decided that something needed to be done.
Speaker A
So on the map, I've got a little waypoint called village hall. Can't remember the name of the village hall.
Speaker A
And it's maybe half a mile off my route. Quite hard to get to, but it's literally one of the only things on this route where I might be able to get some food.
Speaker A
Now I know what you're thinking. Village hall won't have any food. But I saw on Street View a little sign outside and unbelievably it said bar open on Wednesday nights.
Speaker A
Now that's not the newest imagery. That might, you know, they might have stopped doing this.
Speaker A
That might be old. But I think it's worth a punt. A little mission through five or six fields to go to this village hall this evening, see what's going on.
Speaker A
You never know where it could lead. So in a couple of fields' time, I'm gonna be hooking a left.
Speaker A
Just one field later, however, these bullocks had other ideas. Can't get through here, can I?
Speaker A
So I hooked an early left into this field, but... Oh, and there's loads more cows in this field.
Speaker A
This handy gate popped me out into the quiet end of the first cow field.
Speaker A
Outfoxed them, didn't I? But there was a farm on the other side of the hedge.
Speaker A
So I snaked around a few more fields, one of them home to yet more cows.
Speaker A
God, it's been a cowie affair. And one of them home to a tiny baby bunny.
Speaker A
Aaw hello. Watch out for Mr McGregor. And through this thorny hedge, the rooftop of what has to be one of Britain's most remote village halls appeared.
Speaker A
Might not be anyone in it. I might be the only person who goes in there.
Speaker A
They’re can't be many people around here. Just all the farmers that I've just pissed off probably.
Speaker A
In the corner of the field, however, just past this potential emergency sleeping spot, I ran into a problem.
Speaker A
Oh God, how am I gonna get out of here? That is impossible. And I'll be in view as well. Shit Shit. That's impossible, Tom.
Speaker A
Why did you think you could do this? You silly, silly boy. The corner was completely unexitable, forcing me to venture north in search of an exit point that was in range of this gate, which I could hop over
Speaker A
and skirt around this farm instead. Maybe I could do that. It's gonna be painful though.
Speaker A
And it was. Okay. You're probably thinking this all seems a bit ridiculous. And you're right. It is.
Speaker A
But I have to draw the line somewhere with my rules and sometimes that results in silly outcomes.
Speaker A
All I really cared about now was whether this place was actually operational. Here it is. And handily, I can go through the back way.
Speaker A
10 hours I've been going, almost to the second. When I touch the door, it will be 10 hours.
Speaker A
This is the moment of truth. Of course it's shut. Ah, that is gutting. That was a completely pointless endeavor.
Speaker A
You gotta gamble sometimes. Oh, there's a bloody tap. There's a tap at least, get in!
Speaker A
That's a silver lining if ever there was one. And someone might come. Maybe it's not open yet.
Speaker A
Ooh, that's a point. It does say 08:00 PM till late. Bar open every Wednesday, 08:00 PM till late.
Speaker A
Well, that's in an hour's time. Decisions. Do I stay or do I go? And that was two years ago as well.
Speaker A
For a while, I waited in the evening heat, mooched around a bit to see if it looked regularly used, which I suppose it did.
Speaker A
This promising sign confirming that. Until suddenly a frantic whoosh of wheels. (vehicle whooshing) How you doing, mate? - [Man] All right?
Speaker A
- [Tom] Yeah, I'm all right. Cheers. - [Man] Just letting everything ready for the bar for later.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Yeah, that's why I'm here. - [Man] Oh, yeah? - [Tom] I've been trekking across Shropshire.
Speaker A
- [Man] Oh, have ya? - [Tom] And this is roughly at my midpoint, so I thought...
Speaker A
- [Man] Oh (beeps) hell fair play. - [Tom] Why not? - [Man] Got something to eat have you or no?
Speaker A
- [Tom] I've eaten my sandwich, but, yeah, do you have any sandwiches? - [Man] I’ve got some crips? - [Tom] Yeah, great. Great, great, yeah perfect.
Speaker A
Do you get many in, do you? - [Man] Normally do. Yeah, yeah. - [Tom] Oh, nice. - [Man] So how come you're doing this then, charity or what?
Speaker A
- [Tom] No, just, I'm just a bit mad. (chuckles) I'll have a can of pop. Yeah?
Speaker A
- [Man] You can have a beer after- - [Tom] You're spoiling me now. I wasn't expecting this hospitality. Thank you.
Speaker A
- [Man] You’re alright. - [Tom] As I say, I’ve got cash. - [Man] I’m AJ.
Speaker A
- [Tom] I’m Tom. - [AJ] All right, Tom. - [Tom] Nice to meet you. to meet you.
Speaker A
- Hoo-hoo. Oh my God. I'm not a big fizzy drinks guy, but when you need it, you need it, don't you?
Speaker A
Oh. (can thuds) Oh. That's incredible. And it got better. Don't mind if I do.
Speaker A
The food itself couldn't have been less medieval, but the feast element was. AJ had to set up the bar and then nip off to chase some cows around, funnily enough, giving me time to devour at least four bags of crisps.
Speaker A
I could already tell he was an exceptionally lovely bloke, but the best bit of news was yet to come.
Speaker A
- [AJ] Field's there. - [Tom] Yeah. - [AJ] Pitch on the field there, not hurting anybody at all, on there. - [Tom] Okay.
Speaker A
- [AJ] As I said, there's twits and everything else in here in a bit like, so, sort yourself out and whatever else is needed on there like- - [Tom] That's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker A
He's just told me I can sleep on his field. It's gonna be so tempting to have a beer.
Speaker A
I haven't been drinking this year apart from on that Benidorm stag. This is gonna be one of the most tempting times.
Speaker A
I don't know why. I then scouted out AJ's field where there was some potential for a tarp setup with this hay bale and these branches.
Speaker A
AJ then returned with some more oldie worldy food in some leftover takeaway pizza and potato wedges.
Speaker A
And then sure enough, the locals turned up. (Locals chatting and laughing) It was obvious that these absolute characters weren't used to outsiders, but they welcomed me kindly and introduced me to the game of dominoes.
Speaker A
- [Tom] How much skill does it actually take in- - [Local] Zero (laughs). - [Local] It's just the luck of the hand what you get.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Is it? Yeah. But the funny thing was, of course, most of these guys were sheep or cow farmers.
Speaker A
People I've gone to great lengths to avoid on some of my more infamous endeavors and once or twice accidentally infuriated.
Speaker A
My aim was to keep a low profile, but they were really friendly and genuinely interested in my adventure and then my channel.
Speaker A
Turns out 60 year old farmers can operate smartphones too because all of a sudden, they were looking me up on YouTube.
Speaker A
Which one's that? Crossing Manchester without walking down a single road. Thankfully, my classic straight line videos are buried a bit further down my homepage these days and they remained unseen.
Speaker A
I'd gotten away with it, I thought. But then one of them asked me a question that I was really hoping no one would ask.
Speaker A
- [Tom] Sorry? - [Farmer] How did you find this village hall if you're using footpaths and no roads?
Speaker A
- [Tom] I had to do a little deviation. I was desperate though. I needed to get, you know, drink and food. Yeah.
Speaker A
For over two hours I engaged in interesting and at times hilarious conversation with these banterous blokes.
Speaker A
And if I had have caved and ordered a pint, God knows how long it would've continued for.
Speaker A
I was having such a good time, I completely forgot I was supposed to go and set up my tarp.
Speaker A
But when I did finally go to do it, the farmers began talking about nasty thunderstorms that they reckoned were rolling in.
Speaker A
I believed them and all of a sudden began to panic a bit. A night out in a thunderstorm under a poorly erected tarp had the potential to be one of the worst nights of my life.
Speaker A
Equally though, I didn't want to ask if I could sleep in the hall because they might not feel comfortable with that.
Speaker A
I was starting to prepare myself for the worst when AJ saved the day with a third option.
Speaker A
The garden shed. I'm grateful just for water. - [Lady] Are you camping? - [Tom] Well.
Speaker A
- [AJ] He might be in the shed in a minute or in the field- - [Tom] If it rains, I'm gonna go in the shed.
Speaker A
- [Local] I'm not trying to worry you but there's a thunderstorm down there, which just coming this way, which looks quite lively.
Speaker A
- [Tom] I thought you were gonna say there's a massive spider in there that would- - [Local] No, no, no, no.
Speaker A
We only have little spiders up here. We can't afford big ones. (group laughing) - [AJ] I'd stay in the shed if I was you, mate, on there out the way, I would.
Speaker A
There's a bin outside, just chuck it in the (beep) bin outside, mate - - [Tom] I've still got some wedges in here.
Speaker A
That's my breakfast. Cheers. (people chattering) Right, to the shed. Sorry to bother you. - [Kids] It's fine. Don’t worry. - [Tom] I’m gonna fill up my water in the tap and then go in the shed.
Speaker A
(teen laughs) (Thomas laughs) - [Teen] Are you sleeping in there? - [Tom] Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A
This is me for the night. I don't care. It's just the spiders. It doesn't look too bad for them, but there's bound to be some big ones in here.
Speaker A
And that just will put me on edge but what can you do? That's my view outside.
Speaker A
Got a couple still there. Young couple who find this hilarious. They're still in there getting pissed It's 23:23, mate.
Speaker A
Yeah, 20 past 11, I shouldn't still be up really myself, but I was kinda putting this off.
Speaker A
There's lightning going off all around. It's bizarre. It's quite rare actually for this country to have lightning like that.
Speaker A
I'm actually really glad that I've got this. Anyway, let's get set up. I've set the table up.
Speaker A
Hopefully this table doesn't collapse. Don't even need the tarp, mate. Needn't have brought it.
Speaker A
Okay. Table hasn't collapsed. Doesn't feel the most stable thing, but there it is. The other thing is is if I fall off, I suppose.
Speaker A
That's me. (chuckles) Oh, it's brilliant. AJ has been nothing but helpful to me since the moment he pulled up.
Speaker A
Huge shout out to that guy. He's a diamond. He didn't have to put me in this shed and move everything about.
Speaker A
Great guy. The world needs more guys like him. Anyway, night everyone. I'll see you in the morning.
Speaker A
shhh okay, your wool’s caught hello, are you open? woman: No. but i am absolutely in bits right now just need a vehicle to come now and i am literally stopping it
Topics:GeoWizardShropshirefootpathsno-road walkingmedieval style hikingBritish countrysidelong distance walkingadventurepublic rights of waywild garlic
