A cycle ride to the south east of Nuneaton along a series of footpaths to Burton Hastings

THIS VIDEO
This ongoing Video Diary by myself John Neal, sometimes known as John Longcroft-Neal, as the whim takes me.

TODAY’S SUBJECT is a cycle ride to the south east of Nuneaton along a series of footpaths to Burton Hastings then to enjoy Thomson’s Lane with its tree lined tunnel. Great drone shots and nearly losing a muddy trainer.

GENERAL STUFF
I am retired from two careers of primary school teaching when I was deputy head of a Middle School and Primary School, and as a self employed Chalkboard Artist from 2002 until I reached the grand old age of 65 in 2016. Since I retired it’s like a second childhood but with more expensive toys.

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I play guitar and write songs and have written about 14 songs for the local BBC radio station. I run a weekly (weakly) evening Acoustic session at a local pub and have been doing so for 14 years now. I also started an afternoon acoustic session in a quite large cafe in Nuneaton. Both premises were former songwriting clients of mine.

Much of the music I use on this channel is taken from epidemicsound.com free to use on Youtube for a reasonable monthly fee, and sometimes I suffer you with my own music.

Gear that I use:
DJI Mavic Mini 3 Drone.
Iphone 15 Pro for camera, generally front facing so I can see myself in frame. Super quality especially if I keep the lens clean.
Go Pro11
Gimble is a Q2 Smooth by Zhiyun, I ought to use this more often because it was expensive.
Canon G7mk2
Sony IC recorder

Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone

Rhode videomic to do voice over on computer
Video editing with Final Cut Pro X
Polarduck Mini Tripod for mobile phone. This is so good and under £10.00 I bought two.
Lamcou bendy leg tripod
Smatree Tripod / mono pod
Mono pod is a Manfrotto Compact MMC3-02 and is very useful for getting high angles that look like low flight drone shots and so easy to carry on my bike along with the mini tripod.

My bike is a e28 Estarli electric bike.

https://www.estarli.co.uk/

Money from ARTWORK SOLD will go to the MONA FOUNDATION
for details see https://www.monafoundation.org

I am a follower of the Bahá’i Faith and some of my philosophical ideas may show through in comments that I make, but, by and large, I’ll not make direct reference to my beliefs.
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/131048357093583
See www.bahá’i.org

To hear my Bahá’i INSPIRED SONGS, (and others) GO TO:
https://soundcloud.com/jrwren/sets/bahai-inspired-songs

I also enjoy gardening but lay no claims to have any expertise, and you might catch me out in the countryside of Warwickshire and nearby Leicestershire on a walk with my wife or on a bike ride.

Please comment below to inform further plans for my vlogs. I’d love to hear from you. If you don’t you will just get whatever bubbly ideas float to the surface of my slightly muddled elderly mind.

well good morning it’s John Neil here uh welcome it’s uh Friday the 10th of May 2024 yeah it’s another bike ride let’s go come on [Music] well finally the uh sun has come out it’s a little bit hazy so far but it’s uh it’s just nice not too hot we’ve had one or two hot days the sun is out spring is here late spring maybe even summer so it’s really good and uh yeah great day to go and have a look at um a little Lane over near Brut which I think will be a bit of a surprise oh by the way do you like the new specs um because it’s become more spring– like uh there are more flying bugs in the air and uh it said though that there are 60% fewer bugs than there were 20 years ago which mean I’d say that would be true because uh you drive out in the car nowadays and you don’t get the the front of the car all splattered with bugs have you noticed um that’s the case here in the UK anyway anyway let’s press on with this uh ride I’m going to go down the road here which is a busy one but then it’ll be off-road around the back of the uh golf course here in Nan so I’m setting off down eastboro way which is a very busy road and so I’m going to stay on this foot path cycle way to one side but the surface is terrible look at it Oh look The River anchor as featured in one of my previous videos I don’t know if you can see from this video but the surface of this cycleway pathway is absolutely atrocious it’s terrible look I see the Crow’s Nest pub at the bottom of crowhill Road he’s waiting for the apostrophe to turn up from the sign writers and this is where I turn off the main road thank goodness and take this foot path to the back of the golf course the beautiful horse chestnut trees have flowers which are either pink like these or white absolutely stunning then bit by bit the path gets a little bit smaller and narrower and less grally and more muddy a point of Interest here because this is a shot from the Drone and as I go underneath the Drone and then off into the distance you might think hang on you’ve got to make your way all the way back to this point to pick the camera up well of course with a drone you don’t you just fly forwards to where you are and despite the hot sunny weather these shaded areas are still quite muddy but it’s still quite ridable and there are far fewer dog walkers here as well it’s getting a little bit warm and I don’t need High viz along this little path this tiny Track by now has led me to some Open Fields so I can have a bit more fun with the Drone [Music] looking you can see that over the other side of this hedge they are starting to build houses at the end of Golf Drive I had to keep the Drone low below these power lines but this shot along here was just fantastic the Drone was doing a great job sometimes I can feel her arms holding me as forever time changes everything and [Music] everything the Drone was traveling sideways of course and the obstacle sensors don’t work so I had to LEAP it up over this hedge which is slightly in the way but otherwise perfectly [Music] safe I could now dip it down low to just a few feet skimming this crop and go past this Farmhouse I love this I will tell you when you get older I place a hand upon your heart every beat is taking me over and I will hold you in my arms pretend we’ll stay here forever time I can also set the Drone to keep me in frame so as I ride past it keeps me in the shot and as I said before I can ride off into the distance as far as I like really and then just fly the Drone forwards to catch me up [Music] here’s a little quiz is this me holding the camera or is it the Drone flying just about head height answer it’s the Drone I am getting closer to uh the quest this morning but these Open Fields at the back of the golf course at Whit Stone are brilliant I think I’ve just had the best drone shots for a while so really pleased with that um but this uh foot path apparently goes in the thick of all these this is fairly uh used as a foot path quite a nice environment look look at all this marshy grass butter cups it’s a pleasant day one other thing by the way yes it’s shorts which are essential cuz it’s hot but if you end up going through undergrowth like that you’re in trouble particularly if there’s any stinging nettles that’s the biggest bug bear fortunately no of that today so [Music] far [Music] as a lock of gold a secret smile little things I remember your upon my heart I’ve got to stop filming look at it need two hands on the wheel see you in a minute oh have I stung myself for you my friends I will do it oh you can’t see I know how I’m suffering look I’m covered with these things just have to come through here here and this is the golf course over this way that’s the trouble with cycling through foot paths that for people on foot here’s another um Hazard look at this Thorns who fortunately I say fortunately I shouldn’t temp fate no punches so far here we go well I went down a private road I I’ve done this before but it was a long time ago um there’s a quite a nice uh track going across the field completely open Green Field with short grass on it so that was good and uh that’s over here look and uh brings you here and who doesn’t like a beast of old crepid Machinery to lean on to talk to the camera right I’m near Burton Hastings um the canal is just here and uh I’ll go up here onto the road and then over towards Bram coat to find this uh tree lined tree canopied little lane for you just north of Burton Hastings I cross over the river Anor loock in its early stages not far from its source clearly a case of see what you can see when you’re out and about and who doesn’t like a rookery past the entrance to game cop barracks and here we are Thompson’s [Music] Lane looking for my mother his eyes as I’m staying close to the a lock of gold oh no well that was mud can’t actually get it out one in you know I said you just got to expect what you expect I didn’t expect that well it appears to be called Thompson’s Lane but I’m going to rename it uh the lane of the muddy boot oh look at that who would have thought it off right this is it Thompson’s Lane look completely covered over really with trees and there’s a ren singing for you it’s quite pretty really right all I’m going to do now is cycle home well there’s a lot of stuff there the Drone and the going through where Burton Burton Hastings and then down here put me foot in the wood in the mud you got everything things I do for you right I think I’ll sign off here and I just managed to get home in time for lunch okay thank you very much for watching you will see me next time and possibly me new glasses and uh yeah take care I’ll see you soon bye-bye [Music]