I stuffed a tenner in my pocket and walked north…

Adventure comes in many forms. Today we indulge in one of the simplest and purest forms of adventure there is.
Join me as I grab a sleeping bag, stuff a tenner in my pocket and walk north from my front door into the countryside for as long as fate sees necessary. Along the way we forage for food, gasp for water, sleep in questionable places, bump into countless generous countryside folk and explore the glorious hobbit-like English countryside with a sense of childlike wonder and freedom.

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What is adventure? Is it climbing Mount Everest, trekking through the Amazon rainforest, or crossing a country in a completely straight line? It could be all of those things, of course. But what if I told you that one of the best adventures you could ever have starts right at your doorstep.

I’m Tom Davis, a.k.a. GeoWizard. And ever since I was about ten years old, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of leaving your house, picking a direction, and simply walking into the countryside. so nice! as is usual in my intros, we ask: why? Well, directly east from my childhood home

In Aldridge was a massive school playing field. From the age of 4 to 11, I had football coaching on this field every Saturday afternoon and I would always gaze over and wonder towards the far end of the field where the older boys would play their matches.

With each year that passed, I progressed further and further east down the field until I was one of those older boys. The once forbidden and mysterious eastern reaches of the field were now familiar and normal. But there was a world beyond the boundaries of that playing field, and I wanted to explore it.

So one day I did just that, venturing boldly into the chain of cow fields beyond the school field, which then became my theatre of exploration. They were the fields that I pictured in my head when I first read The Hobbit, where Bilbo Baggins bravely strays beyond the Shire for the first time.

There was something fundamentally exciting about going one more field further away from home than I’d ever been before. Fast forward a few years to the age of about 15, and this extreme urge to explore gets a bit out of hand when a very young Welsh, Greg and I decide to blag a favor

From our parents and simply head east towards this far away mysterious television mast. Within an hour, we’d crossed the Chester Road and went into the endless expanse of countryside that lay beyond it. Within 3 hours, we’d been chased by a farmer, floated down a murky, swollen

Brook and found an ominous old newspaper in an abandoned caravan. Within 6 hours, we’d snuck into a village wedding with the intention of pinching some cake to solve our impending starvation. For many, it would have been quite a stressful day for us. It was one of the best days of our lives.

For years, we tried to recreate the highs of that day, hopping thousands of fences, wading across streams, and forging countless stories in the Staffordshire countryside. But just like the far end of St Francis playing field, one day it became normal. We’d outgrown it. A decade later, and with countless

Proper adventures under my belt, I wondered whether I could ever recreate the magic and excitement of those innocent days. Not the mischief for the thrill, because that’s well and truly been covered, but rather the carefree feeling of not knowing where you’re going or where you’re going to end up.

Yeah, let’s look for escape routes. So what if I took the model of the old school mission. Toned down the trespassing, but made it difficult for myself in other ways. It might not be as thrilling, but maybe through human interactions, natural beauty, and personal highs and lows.

I could make this an equally compelling adventure for. I figured it was worth a try. So with the weather forecast in early September looking splendid, I woke up one morning, made myself a packed lunch consisting of ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches, a scotch egg and a pork pie

Stepped out the front door and started walking north. okay this is it this is it how’s it going, everyone? that over there is the city of Litchfield, the place where I now live. and that there is the countryside so… with a £10 note in my pocket, a sleeping bag in my backpack, among

A few other little crucial things a toothbrush, a pack lunch and a bottle of water. join me as we get away from all this noise. and simply head north let’s go and it’s as simple as that I find it so exciting the fact that we’re just heading into this vast expanse of countryside,

Not knowing where I’m going, not knowing what’s going to happen, who I might meet, places I might find places I might sleep what food or drink I’m going to manage to get for myself and the jeopardy that might result in in that. any concerns, however, were instantly forgotten,

Thanks to the overwhelming sense of peace quiet and freedom that hit me one field in it was a Thursday morning and I could literally hear the hubbub of the city getting quieter and quieter with each step. now, many years ago, when me and Greg had exhausted all of the fields

Within a three mile radius of Aldridge we used to get the train up to Lichfield and walk from there instead I do know these areas quite well. I know that we’re approaching the little village of Elmhurst, but… what I’m hoping is that it if I move quickly today,

I can go beyond anywhere that me and Greg walked and we walked pretty far. sometimes the further north we go today, the more scenic it’s going to get, because I’m going to be heading towards the Peak District with its quaint little villages and rolling hills, and then it will really feel

Like a hobbit’s adventure. in sleepy Elmhurst a friendly cyclist preparing to set off on his own little jaunt pointed me in the direction of and old footpath before warning me about some overly curious cows in the field that it led into I’ll try my best. they turned out to be the opposite,

Which is more than can be said for some of the cows I would encounter later down the line. so some of you will probably be wondering what is it that you want to get from this? are you just walking? that’s pretty boring, isn’t it? well, what I’m hoping for is

A lot of social interactions like that with people who live in the countryside, who are generally much more friendly and have more time for you. and those social interactions may well lead somewhere a bottle of water, maybe even some food maybe even somewhere to sleep or better still, some sort of quest

Can you run down to Mr. Miller’s farm and grab me some carrots? if you do that, I might have a place for you to sleep tonight, you know, that sort of thing. you never know If I speak to enough people, maybe we can get our own little quest. once i’d passed the

Impressive walled garden from the long demolished Elmhurst hall It was back into the fields where the adventure really started to breathe the sun was already beating down and I was able to relax and enjoy these unfamiliar fields rather than have to dart across. It wasn’t long, though, before

I found myself in an all too familiar setting I think I’m allowed on here this golf course was the arena of many a mission all those years ago the main aim being to sneak from one side to the other without being seen today I chose to walk around the edge

With a view to exit on the north side but… memory had not served me well okay, I do actually need to find a way I need to be over there it’s too dense, man can’t go down there I’ll get stung to shit oh, a golf ball and there’s golfers coming now

I’ve got to hurry gotta burst through into the stingers ow (in pain) ah, yep well and truly stung yeah I’m out I’ve escaped that one no golf balls being pinged over the top of my head, which did happen to me and Greg one time on that very golf course but the next field

Wasn’t much better I don’t even know if I can get through this next hedgerow CCTV in operation see this is exactly the kind of thing you get to when you go off piste and you’re not following paths over there a sludgy pond here… private property could never climb in there

And then you have to turn around and go back. so that that is why I’ve chosen to attempt to follow footpaths today surely, the next field over would offer a path to freedom okay, I’m going to attempt this, but… definite farmers in the next field can’t see anyone let’s see what happens here

But little did i know that sitting 75 yards away was a shirtless farmer so I should be all right here shit… did he even see me? don’t know that he did he wouldn’t have been happy about me climbing through the hedge Yeah I don’t think I’m meant to

Be in here at all let’s get down here can’t believe that guy didn’t look up from his phone. The modern farmer aye this could be a bad exit It’s pretty well fortified this place and there we’ve got a manor house oh god I know what that is I’m not going through there again

Gonna have to find another way out this looks gruesome but, I think it’s my only hope he’s moving again already f*** hope he’s not after me after enduring one of the spikiest hedgerow escapes of my entire life this is not what today was meant to be about (laughs) ahhh

I was once again, on public ground ah! that is rank I’m going to ruin my nice Oregon t-shirt a scary looking fence suggested that the farmer can’t have seen me or so I thought that farmer wasn’t a very good surveillance guy. shit… he was just driving up then f*** there he is

He’s opening the gate look can you see that? the timing of this shit not only was that whole episode time consuming and quite painful, but it simply wasn’t what I wanted this adventure to be about I wanted to travel great distances and I wanted my farmer interactions to be friendly and productive.

Not hostile and stressful I did have a feeling before I even set off that it probably wasn’t possible to simply walk north in a leisurely manner without a map especially with the thick hedgerows you get in these flatter lands so I brought with me a GPS system now, I wasn’t going

To be following a preplanned route but what I could do was use it to aim for footpaths when necessary right now, in this patchwork of fields, there was no north facing footpath but with no hedges or crops to slow me down, I was able to enjoy myself again. and relish the feeling

That each step now was one step further from familiar ground and one step closer to unexplored territories at the end of the fourth field, a gravel track led me into a fruit farm where I helped myself to the sugary moisture of a solitary strawberry surely I wouldn’t have to give in

To such temptations once I’d encountered a bounty of wild plums or apples, I figured a PVC palace like this one, though, might just offer me something even more useful. see that would be a great place to sleep picnic benches under the cover of that shelter so no dew that’s the kind of thing

I’ve gotta look out for in slightly more worrying news, there was a high speed railway track right up ahead it looked like there might be a tunnel under it, but they’re sometimes fenced off at this early stage, the thought of walking down the main road into the nearby town of Armitage

Would have ruined the sense of adventure so with a farmer watching me from his field to my right, I marched boldly into what felt like a big construction site and to my great relief, the tunnel was clear on the other side of the tunnel confusingly, there were locked fences. forcing me

To squeeze myself down another slither of nettle filled land and into a nearby crop field the field after that led me onto a peaceful country lane where I indulged in my first blackberry of the day and yards later, I decided to join the irresistible tranquility of the canal always loved canals

Not only is it so peaceful but you’ve got these people living on barges almost in their own world separated from the world of the road and the automobile so peaceful… no one bothers you you can do whatever you want and you see the countryside from a completely different angle

To everyone else I was using the canal to get a bit further west, where the countryside was more remote and unfamiliar to me but soon I would need to cross the railway track once more in order to once again escape northward I was very much hoping that this little dotted line

On my GPS’s rudimentary map was another passageway underneath it but it seemed this time I was wrong that’s not open f*** sake man i’m not crossing that line on the map oh… public footpath, yes ha does this go underneath then? ah, buzzing the passageway was well and truly real

And at the other side of it, a stunning sight that is wonderful I’ve actually waded across this river with Greg escaping from a farmer, and it’s quite deep at points as you can see. the river Trent and the railway line with their sporadic crossing points had cock blocked many an adventurous

Rhythm in the past so it was a good feeling to be beyond them and into even newer pastures Tom: how you doin’ mate, you alright? Bloke: yeah, not too bad thank you Tom: good good now I’ve come across quite a few sheep in my time and I can’t recall a single specimen

That didn’t up and run away at the first hint of danger excuse me, ladies I’ve gotta get through haven’t I move! you’re not going to move? what’s wrong? ah it’s too hot they are struggling I’m gonna climb over this then you’re not very well, are you? you would definitely be running away otherwise

I can’t give you any of my water I’m afraid but this this is what it’s all about, man these little bridleways that just cut their way through the countryside put your mind to very Victorian or even older ages very hobbit like in nature. just enough for a horse and cart to pass through

What a gorgeous way to travel through the English countryside I reckon there’s a good chance I’ll be sleeping on one of them later If I can’t find anything better right now, though, it was my tummy that needed some attention. I wanted to eat my lunch in an idyllic churchyard or village green

The only issue with that was I had no idea where I was or when I’d arrive at the next village this was a flat landscape and there were no church steeples on the horizon just a sea of crops just to make things easier the footpath I was following then completely disappeared

Forcing me to wander through the crops like a poor man’s Pocahontas. need to get through here this is fucking mental where has the footpath gone? I’ve got to go through the crops this is how shit even the footpaths are guys just so seldom trodden wouldn’t it be funny if we

Heard the rumblings of a not a quad bike, but a combine harvester then it would be panic stations when I did finally find the footpath again, it was completely overgrown but luckily for me, the next field was an empty cow field what could possibly go wrong there? f***, look at that

I’ve just tripped up a bramble and scratched myself whilst getting cow shit all over those scratches I need wipe that off ASAP after using my only tissue to wipe fresh cow shit from my wounds I figured it was time to take a seat and enjoy a well-earned lunch okay…

I have walked 20 kilometers so far, seriously dehydrated that is nowhere near enough so that’s got to be filled up but no walk through the English countryside is complete without a packed lunch, a picnic my god I’ve been looking forward to this not the lunch spot I was envisioning, but it’s pleasant enough

And this is much needed protein half an hour later, over in the next field, the two year old Branston pickle from the back of my fridge was starting to kick in how you doing over there, you alright? I’m struggling over here your farmer has plowed the field here and he hasn’t

Really given much room for the path, huh… Yeah, I know. watch out by the way he looks a bit horny back there I’d saved one sandwich and a pork pie for the evening time and I still had my tenner, but I was really hoping that the land would conjure up a few treats yeah, basically I’m on the lookout for

Apple trees plum trees blackber- I’ve seen loads of blackberries, none of them have been that great, so I’m waiting for a really good bush maybe when I get a bit further oh my god… I don’t believe it that is an apple tree and they look like really good apples as well they’re definitely

The ones you can eat I mean, how about that one? I mean, I can’t live off these because… I’ll be shitting through the eye of a needle but… it’s going to give me some energy isn’t it and keep me going let’s try it then hmm it ain’t the best

But it ain’t the worst either that’s the one I really want that one there look at that beast not the right one but I got one conscious that I may have outstayed my welcome at the apple tree I continued on down this peaceful country lane one down but when I reached

The part of it that was supposed to become a footpath the local foliage once again, had other ideas no, f*** sake another path that’s just completely and utterly overgrown now I’ve got to find another way round through private property it was quite sad actually because it was one of those ancient tracks

That would have felt like a tunnel burrowing its way through the trees instead, I had to borrow my way through hedges into more private property before eventually rejoining the path on the other side just feel like I’m the only bugger in the country right now which is good in some ways

But in others it’s not because we do need interactions if we’re going to make this trip work either that or incredibly cheap food when we finally reach a village left here wouldn’t you love to live there that is beautiful if I could sleep in something like that tonight oh my god

That would be perfect but once again, a seldom trodden footpath forced me into the corn every now and then I would find the footpath only to be forced wide again I did come across some pretty cool places whilst doing so though which eased the frustration barbed wire was the penalty for this meandering

Until the track returned for good, giving me and the hunks of meat in my bag. a brief but much needed break from the sun the landscape was changing now and becoming more “countrysidey” with each turn the adventure coals inside me were being firmly stoked the only problem was all

The moisture in my body was quickly dissipating that is the river Blithe and is it wrong that I want to drink that water? I think it probably is oh Jesus! how am I going to do that then? do you propose? shall I just jump? ow! I got stung, anyway that’s 25km done

So about 17/18 miles hoping to do about 26/27 miles today a marathon but, it depends we’ll see how we go most importantly, for now though, there were just a handful of luscious grassy meadows between me and the first village I’d encountered in over seven miles the historic village of Abbots Bromley

There it is, in the distance I can confirm that Abbots Bromley is a lovely place me and Greg actually did end up there at least twice one of the further destinations that we ended up to be fair Here we go it is so hot look at this lovely sports field Abbotts Bromley cricket club is it drinks time yet? no, seriously look how flat that pitch is oh that is absolutely incredible how have they done that? got to have some more I know I’m nearly there,

But I’ve got to have some water man absolutely gasping f*** off ah boiling hot just how I like it so it cools you down ha okay Abbots Bromley is going to be a quest to find water, hopefully for free let’s try it the footpath that led from the cricket field

And into the back end of the village gave me time to think about how I would approach a potential gardener this was a good vibes adventure and I didn’t want to hassle or pressure anyone unless I was really desperate my strategy was simply to strike up friendly conversation

And put my faith in the goodwill of the people urgh finally oh but just like its ancient 13th century church yard the streets of Abbots Bromley were quiet haven’t seen a soul already fighting a losing battle against a particularly strong lemonade craving I prayed for a village shop

Obviously I went to the wrong end of town and had to come back on myself but a local lady brought good news there is the cash oh great great, thank you that’s a relief ah, get in Tom: hiya Shopkeeper: hi Tom: you alright? with guidance from the friendly Scottish shopkeeper

I ummed and ahhed over a £0.99 bottle of water or a £0.95 bottle of lemonade but it’s beautiful bubbles, which is too hard to resist Shopkeeper: who set this challenge, yourself, or a friend? myself for some reason yeah… Yeah… thank you very much no problem there you dear cheers £9.05 left some of you are going to say; that was a stupid decision, but I just couldn’t resist so excited this is the mo- i anyone interrupts me now, I’m gonna chin them ahhh ohh that is what these

Walks are all about, man what is it about the bubbles? ahh quenched and slightly inflated I exited the northern fringes of Abbots Bromley and headed out into what was now completely unfamiliar territory going on, by the way, it was late afternoon now, and just like the local farmers,

I was keen to make hay while the sun was still shining despite the achy legs hiya hi, you alright? can I have a lift? I had no idea where I was going to end up that night, but there was still plenty of time and I did have my lemonade

And my sandwich as evening rations I was however, about to enter a big forest and while I was looking forward to the change of scenery and the shade it could be a pretty tricky place to navigate myself through here we are how well are we going to be able to move

In here though as it happened, I had an incredibly tough time even getting into this mysterious forest which begs the question. how does anyone get in here? the answer was they didn’t really slow me down. but this is a mad place, isn’t it? how do they keep this grass

So nice, is there sheep? I don’t know, but it’s lovely. unbeknown to me, at the moment, but I had entered a private hunting estate again and on the menu this time deer there are deer and I’m heading straight for them no but they’re off they are off maybe this is a hunting wood

Problem I’ve got here is I don’t really know where I’m going I’m just going from south to north it’s quite hard for me to navigate and I think there is a building coming up madly and a hunting tower so, could get told off huh to be honest, though

I don’t really give a shit I think we should all be able to enjoy this place just as I am doing now so, f*** ‘em bit of a construction site here guess I go over this gate don’t know whether I’m coming in or out, I guess I’m coming out there we are cool

And there’s cars down there luckily for me the heavily private area was just a tiny proportion of this wood okay, let’s try this this is pointing north and I could now focus on navigating my way through the rest of it naturally my plan was slightly flawed okay, this is what

I didn’t want to happen that one’s just sort of ended and just like that I was among the undergrowth. at first it was fairly roomy, but that soon changed too ah no this is haha this is inevitable, isn’t it? bloody inevitable but then… oh shiny path good and from there on in

The paths were kinder wonder if I could sleep in one of them no, it’s locked huh… the remainder of my time in the woods were incredibly peaceful I didn’t see a single soul while I was in there only more deer as the eventual whooshing of cars drew nearer. the thought of what lay

Beyond the forest excited me but unfortunately the moment was ruined by another sudden realization. I don’t believe it the f***ing lemonade I’ve left the lemonade where I threw it over that hedge I can’t go back for it now I’ll have to come back in a couple of days time it’s more annoying

Cause I need it I need to drink it there was about 25p’s worth in there so without a droplet to my name it was over the main road and its adjoining barbed wire fence and back into the fields right this really feels like the last chapter of day one now

And this is kind of the hardest part of it for me night falls it’s alright from the comfort of your screens but I’ve got to sleep somewhere tonight and it could be wet, dewy, cold, it could be bugs, spiders, unhappy people so this next 3 hours, will be all about

Finding a good place to sleep how hard is that? how easy is that? I don’t know we’ll see with no footpath showing up on the map the route now It was back into mission mode but the countryside here seemed much more suitable for my usual roguish roaming before too long

I had not just found myself a footpath, but something even better might be coming to a village here it’s only I think it’s half five ish but I think from this point on, I’ve got to be proactive with speaking to people if, if the opportunity arises tell them what I’m doing

Just in case they have somewhere for me to sleep god look at that old abandoned house just as I said that that is spooky, man. no chance I would sleep in there there is a car there it’s probably owned by the adjacent farm but yeah, we are in a village eggs for sale

Oh my god I can’t cook them why is everyone paying in 2P’s it’s good to know that that’s around beautiful property down here see look at that mattress there I would sleep on that mattress maybe I will this really is the sticks, this is really remote village and there’s the church

Look at that That looks Dutch, Belgium German King’s stone that’s where we are Diocese of Litchfield, makes me feel a bit shit let’s go and check this church out already that shelter that porch, you can sleep in. I don’t think the dew would would get you dew as in moisture on grass

Not, not Jesus um, but yeah would it be spooky? probably but it’s an option it is an option after poking around the back of the church, I decided to keep moving towards the next village but just down the road as I was passing a pub called the Shrewsbury Arms

I met a lady sitting on the benches outside with her friends daughter she told me that the pub which she ran was closed but offered to go inside and fill up my water bottle what she actually did was nothing short of game changing oh my God that’s incredible oh, you didn’t have to

Oh that’s amazing got you some chocolate brownies, which is Heidi’s favourite that is very good and then a couple of bags of nuts and a couple of bags of crisps for you there you go that’ll save your £10 a little bit longer I owe you for that oh don’t worry honestly I donate

I’ll have a job fitting this bottle in my bag now and all these crisps you enjoy them, you’ll need them good problem to have yeah, thank you right, I’ll get out your hair no worries thanks again good luck I really appreciate that you’re more than welcome see you later see you later, bye

Absolute result I am set for water and so many crisps and nuts big shoutout to the Shrewsbury Arms for sorting me out there anyway it doesn’t solve the issue of where to sleep this time as I plunged myself back into the Staffordshire countryside, it was shadowy and slightly ominous

Even these chickens had a comfy place to get their heads down and while my romantic idea of sleeping in a hay barn was still a possibility I needed to at least aim for the safety net of a village If the paths would let me please don’t be overgrown argghh that’s ridiculous how much

I’ve just been stung from that Oh, boy these are just not used I’m not a heavy guy I couldn’t afford to be held up any more, so I was delighted a few fields later to reach a footpath that seemed to slice through the farmland for over two miles and straight towards another village

For a mile or so I saw nothing but trees and dirt until suddenly I hit metal hmm always worries me slightly when I come across these. lovely veggies I’m still not sure whether I was supposed to walk through this property, but I managed to do so undetected the question now

Was would the track on the other side be passable uh oh starting to get a bit spiky don’t really want to have to lift my legs any higher than I need to this went on for a while, but crucially didn’t get any worse and what little daylight was left

Soon emerged at the end of the tunnel oh good we’re out of the wood the next mile or so was spent searching for hay barns in the low evening light and indulging in the incredible brownie that the chef at the Shrewsbury Arms had lovingly baked How do you walked

But rightly or wrongly, I found myself more and more drawn to the hopes and promises of the village coming up here, we have hay bales, ah, they’re rounded I can’t sleep on rounded I did manage to spot some low lying bales in a field quite close to the village.

And although these offered me a decent fallback option, I was now committed to the quest of finding something better in the village of Withington, I stumbled across a pub called the Farmer’s Arms. that, is an option it’s an option to get my head down but I decided to move on to neighboring

Church Leigh still dreaming of gazebos or wedding venue tents on the way, I struck up a conversation with a 65 year old ex rocker, presumably, who I seem to have quite a lot in common with really? oh yeah, these days and I used to live in Litchfield he really dug the adventure

But unsurprisingly, there were no luxurious camper van offers and in this dim light, I didn’t really want to startle any more villagers my hopes rested firmly on whatever surfaces and shelters Church Leigh had to offer starting with the church itself could sleep in here definitely that’s a plus there’s a bench here

I could sleep on that’s better than the ground definitely slightly spooky spot, but… yep it seemed I was in for a spooky night in the churchyard until… ah, let’s try this recreation ground park benches? yeah, park benches that’s all I want, isn’t it? really there were kids

On the park when I arrived, keep the Juba so I pointed the camera firmly away and walked around the edge a couple of times scoping out which bench looked the least uncomfortable. when there was no one left to creep out, I settled down for dinner I’ve made it last what can I say?

I don’t know how think it’s the heat and aside from listen to the murmur of late night gossip coming from the village elders in the village hall car park there was little else to do but to tuck myself in for the night 27.2 miles was the distance traveled on day one and £9.05

Was the amount left in my pocket I’d done well, but tomorrow things were about to step up a notch the landscape was going to get beautiful but brutal the animals were about to go berserk for some reason and the quest for food, water and shelter was going to become more and more involved

Do give this video a like if you enjoyed it but more importantly, tune in next week to see what the hell is going on here hello?