This might be the most dangerous obstacle I’ve ever come up against [ENGLAND PART 2]

Day 1 of my most ambitious adventure to date continues and not only is there plenty more farmland to sneak through, but there is also unforeseen trepidation ahead. Completing this epic 14 mile day would deliver me to the freedom of the remote and rugged lands of Northumberland. If the farmers don’t have something to say about that however, ghastly swathes of fallen trees left by recent storms certainly would…

*Some speech might be difficult to hear – use good speakers/headphones if possible and use the man made subtitles*
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*OFFICIAL MISSION ACROSS ENGLAND POSTER COMING SOON (AROUND A WEEK OR SO)*
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[Music] this is unbelievable I thought it was over then no I’m not doing it I’m not doing it to myself it’s too dangerous I don’t know what this means for the mission but it could mean the end welcome back everyone to the mission across England my most daring and ambitious quest to date by some margin and one that I’m desperately hoping will result in me being the first person across my home country in a completely straight line and not my Posh young rivals in episode one I was given a wakeup call by the industrious farmers of Cumbria who I just about managed to stealth my way past without deviating outside the Platinum Zone in Theory episode 2 should see me complete the second half of this action-packed first day but if the remainder of the farmers don’t have something to say about that plan surely this ocean of Fallen trees would we resume proceedings on the side of this tracto Country Lane restored and ready to dive back into the fields right I’m going to head off cuz I’m going to myself soon so thanks for the water in a bit Tada T and there the house right there I like the look of this land coming up though just want to get away from that road and all the farm traffic that was using it but it wasn’t the farm traffic I should have been worried about there he is it’s right God he’s a leg in it he’s leg in it I feel like he turned around probably looking at us think wondering if we’re a farm hopefully he knows that’s weird I’m going to get away from that it stopped I don’t like that hopefully that’s the van and they’re filming me support crew or fuming farmer I was now entering the safe haven of this gentle river valley where I could finally shed some white hop over the river we go and continue into this much more undulating and Scenic type of Farmland where the boundaries are skimpier and in theory the farmers fewer and hopefully more lenient feel pretty safe up here there were faint Rumblings coming from somewhere though and all too soon I was back on another serious Farm okay this Farm is quite far off to the left but I’m very in view of it on top of that we had the added Factor this time of mud couldn’t run if I wanted to on here engine sound getting louder from behind I hurried myself over the next abnormally tall fence where the view of the farm became even clearer yeah I don’t like that one that is really loud but I think it’s quite far away it’s that that I’m worried about now and I can’t can’t run if I run my running shoes will come off up till now the farm to my left had been the main concern but how quickly things can pivot on a straight line Mission and we do have a farm to the right a bad feeling about this for some reason I don’t know why I was now sandwiched between two big farms and as soon as the ground allowed me to run I did so there was no movement among the farm vehicles to my left but on the right the very opposite oh what’s that that’s a van up there oh and that’s moving Jesus WEP mate a white car had pulled up next to a van in the car park windscreen pointing straight towards me they would have seen me for sure let’s get over this the road was good because while I was stood on it I was safe the question now was what to do next don’t know what to do yeah they are a bit peeved I think tackling this awful hedge while they were watching me could easily ignite a Chase but equally it might not be their land whereas if I stay put they’d probably keep watching me and potentially come down and question me speed was still yet to fail me though and it didn’t take too long to make a decision I think I’ve just got to go for it this is going to be painful for all I knew keys were already in the ignition so speed was key here even if it did mean copping a few Hawthorns to the cranium right let’s go just lightly jogging as if I’m jogging down the road then sure enough the unmistakable sound of a car came whoosing down the road is that the same car I think it is yeah without wanting to look back too much it was clear that the car had slowed right down to a crawl I stopping but just as I prepared myself for the incoming shouts no they’ve gone wow this is unbelievable not that I’m safe now now but I thought I thought it was over then cuz that’s the first time I’ve clearly been seen doing ridiculous HED RS but he drove off maybe it’s not his business or he could of course be coming around to meet me you never know so I’m moving quick as far away from there land as possible just like me and Ben did that fateful day soon I was beyond the be eyes of the neighboring farm and into the safety of this wooded Valley can let the heat die down in here where I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting my strategy spot on that might have been an incredible decision to leave when I did two Fields later though although the heat had died down there were more shiny roofs God I’m exposed here there are windows oh God that is not good I was planning to stop for a breather on this road but I thought better of it I think I’m just going to keep going you know once out of view again I entered another leafy area this time a lot more privately owned definitely their land and a couple of fences later the sound of a raspy old tractor stopped me in my tracks that’s not a good sound where is that yeah there is a road about 300 M up there I just don’t want to enter a field when there’s a quad bike in it although it sounded like a tractor right I can’t hear the tractor anymore so I’m going to go for it the tractor had in fact traveled along this road and into this nearby Field okay that’s not good what do I do hope that he goes into his yard I feel like I’m slightly sheltered here but not very unless I happen to resemble a small tree but again I felt okay to go for it and although the gradient wasn’t in my favor this was what the training was for and I was able to continue the pace keeping an eye and an ear on the tractor all the way up to the road and there was no crouching behind this hedge oh god oh no oh that’s awful that was so deep I may have reached safety but just two Fields away was real free Freedom a large Forest that marked the end of the main chunk of farmland and a chance to rest and refuel with the support crew ready for the final push have a listen peace and quiet that is safety there one final sneaky Farmhouse kept me alert until I was close enough to see that it was actually abandoned the back end isn’t very lived in so I think we’re all good by which point I could smell the pine resin okay oh that is US ah yes that is a big moment can’t deny it this is not easy to get over I’m glad it’s not that though what’s so tough about this mission is you got the Farmland element which is the biggest I’ve ever had but then you’ve got this awful mass of other things that I just if the Farmland could make me fail the other stuff could make me cry and want to quit at this moment in time though I was perfectly content yeah this is it they’re not here though for some reason oh here they are they’re coming hello mate yes gone well yeah more really close Shades but made it through time wasn’t really an issue today like it would be on so many others so I was able to take a few minutes to recharge refuel and catch up with Ben and Verity before tackling the final seven kilometers of the day right we’ve got people walking up so I’m going to get out of here right see in a bit hi good over that easy peasy overall it promised to be less stressful but slower going from now on how slow however I could never ever have imagined first up the first of many many acres of pine trees to come on this mission right here we go it’s our old friend the pine H up and in we go oh Christ I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared for this this first forest was pretty annoying with its brambles and slippy Fallen logs but thankfully it didn’t last very long we’re at the trees I then entered a pretty strange abandoned chicken Coupe type place this is weird with Ben and Verity watching over me from the support van I approached the only property that stood between these two forests standing briefly on the safety of another public foot paath so I’m allowed to be here good luck getting to me before passing gingerly through their lovely little private Woodland yeah it’s where the kids play and then this looks pretty pretty open access good that’s one little Farmland section out the way now into the forest may your pine trees be tall and spacious which it looks like they are one thing I didn’t consider was Fallen trees and that’s an absolute wobbler let’s hope that there aren’t too many in here here we go it was a good start I had to re familiarize myself with the GPS’s erratic signal whilst ducking and Diving through the Twigs but for the most part at least the trees were remaining upright wow listen to that I actually started to feel quite weak at this point and had to stop for another sugary refuel this is the comfiest natural seat I’ve ever Sat On by the way so and it was just as well because very soon I was going to need all the energy I could get it’s never good when it turns green that means moisture and that means unstable ground and that means Fallen trees oh no no no no no this looks bad though this looks bad right it was only a matter of time until we came to one of these right I would have touched on this in the intro but Fallen trees is going to be be a huge problem on this trip I can’t climb over them all it’s dangerous and it would add on two days I would say I’m really hoping I can stay within Platinum but basically I’m going to have to go round some of these let’s see I can go right here to begin with it was all right and although it looked bad ahead me look at this maybe there’d be decent paths through I told myself okay there’s a way through there but blind optimism only gets you so far that’s a dead end If Ever I saw one the problem I’ve got is and I can’t even talk too long for this reason but it could slow me down to the point where it gets dark and I don’t get to the desired Camp spot one day imagine trying to get through this in the dark I’d be almost certain to fall and hurt myself and good luck finding me in here in the dark look at this this is this is a potential trip Ender not this spot but this issue I’m going to get up high for a moment to see the extent of this this is absolutely horrendous I don’t know how I’m going to do this with slippy logs and 10t drops below them I was reluctant to make climbing my strategy do I stand a top these things no I’m not doing it I’m not doing it to myself it’s too dangerous but there wasn’t really an alternative oh my God look at the drop down here now it’s one of it’s if one of them goes in my throat or Worse up my ass to prevent either of those things from happening all I could do was go slowly and very carefully but it still felt like an awful long-term plan just goes on for ages goes on for at least 100 meters this does and I’m already taking risks here I can’t go under either there’s no there’s no room underneath it’s got to be over Archie and Adam are going to have the same issue as well thing is I can’t keep filming either cuz I’ll waste all my battery but if I stopped filming I could miss well something terrible but yeah as I Venture deeper into this sea of rotting Timber Roots underneath the logs presented themselves to me but to be honest that felt even less safe speed definitely felt sensible when passing underneath logs everything was interlocked nothing was guaranteed to be stable and I had to be really careful which things I knocked into or pulled on that was stupid Tom in terms of deviation though I was sticking pretty damn close to the line if I had have decided to avoid this altogether it probably would have taken me over the 100 met Mark which I would consider an instant fail but since I’d committed I figured I might as well give it a good go 35 minutes and just 130 m in the end was at least in sight okay it’s pretty bad is it but at least I can see the end high up here though w too high up don’t do this at home guys I’ve got very good balance don’t say that now Tom shortly after this I went down under again and entered what could only be described as a series of brown rooms look at this it was hard to know which way to go at times but somehow I always managed to find a way through without having to go back on myself too much how am I supposed to get through that I don’t really know what’s safe one of the many frustrating things about these fallen tree sections is that you’re never quite sure when your ordeal is going to be over look at that look at that man it’s very easy to become impatient you make careless decisions combine that with fatigue cramp Etc and that’s where accidents happen I don’t know what this means for the mission but it could mean the end I managed to remember calm though and eventually after 55 minutes it seemed like I was finally out of the woods oh that looks like the actual end now is it is that too good to be true no I think it is there’s obviously going to be more we were doing so well and that has put a serious I mean I’m through it and I’m haven’t hurt myself which is great news I’m good at getting through through them but it’s dangerous but if there’s anything like that again I’m not sure I want to do it I’ll speak with uh Ben and ver but I think I know what they’ll say especially my pregnant wife feeling pretty gutted about this sudden blow to the mission’s hopes I trudged on down and up a little Valley through a section of very short Pine time for a pathside piss I think and into another damp Mossy section where I was finally treated Ed to a welcome site right it’s on to open land now that after this clearing we’re into another big forest and you can literally see the Fallen trees I mean they’re literally on the imagery I don’t know if I want to risk going through something of that scale again I don’t know if it’s worth it what do you think probably mixed opinions but it’s my call at the end of the day is my life what a mad Mission this is man intense farmland and now Spates of Fallen trees so bad and so dangerous that I’m now thinking that the mission suddenly might not be able to continue because of it a strange mixture of emotions and thoughts were now circulating in my brain and one that I had to repress was actually a sense of relief relief from deep within my body that it might no long longer have to go through this grueling ordeal oh look at that a little deer it was easy to suppress this by reminding myself how badly I wanted to succeed but I couldn’t force myself to believe that the forests would be kinder from here on in because they weren’t going to be come on be a nice wood all I could do was play it by ear and what better place to start than Forest number two If Only They all fell like that this Pine looks much more sturdy and organized let’s hope it stays this way but that once again was wishful thinking perhaps not look at that that’s actually a really bizarre sight to the eyes I’ve got roughly 25 miles of forest to go through imagine how many sites like this I’m going to see just based on what I’ve seen so far I don’t think it’s going to be doable I’m just being realistic see how bad this pit is lovely smell of pine in the air at least we’re drowning yeah but there’s a nice smell of Jasmine like before I began optimistic for ways through and like before I was badly mistaken awful awful again look at that look how high some of them go it was here that I knew I was going to have have to make a compromise one thing’s for sure it’s not going to be a platinum Run is it cuz there are going to be loads of places like this and I’m not going to be breaking my balls staying in Platinum when it’ll be unsafe let’s get up on some High Ground shall we yeah if we head down there maybe this is okay but again it’s it’s not a good omen is it I decided to give this section A good go but I was still taking too many risks for my liking ending up 11 or 12 ft off the ground at times hell that’s far down Jesus time and it was getting harder to stick to the line too I’m on the edge of platinum now and I don’t know where to go after a while you come to know which bits look dangerous and which bits look doable slippery dud mostly based on how much stuff there is to grab on to really again I can do it same as Alex honold can climb up Al Capitan without ropes but would he do it 10 times in a row I don’t know I just don’t know about this guys do you what do you think I’d love to know what you guys think I mean I’ve only got my own perspective here which is it’s kind of fun but it’s dangerous let’s carry on anyway and get through these bits of Farmland which frankly will be less stressful in light of all this I say that like there won’t be more look there’s more no this is what I’m talking about man it fatigues you and then you make a mistake the sight of this road and the open field Beyond was a curiously welcome one even more welcome than the lands of tomorrow which were now visible up ahead of course there was now the threat of people car coming looks like the guy from earlier okay let’s go another a farm vehicle but after the isolated hell holes I’d just been through that felt like more of a reassurance than a threat and with the support van less than 2 mil away I actually enjoyed this stretch of Farmland there was only one thing that could further lift my spirits I was looking at the map and it looked like there was going to be a horrendous forest with more visibly Fallen trees but they’ve all been chopped down or collected uh which isn’t much more fun but it’s certainly better and safer than the alternative this huge expans of branches stumps and man-sized craters stretched on for no less than seven football pitches ordinarily this would be quite an exacerbating exercise right now it was a chance to relax think and make some good ground in the process finally reached the end of that wretched Branch graveyard and I’m into the last section of Farmland of the day and it’s pretty bad I’ve got a around this Farm going around their hedge and through their horse fields and then later on is the Airbnb SL Farm where I go up their drive so see what happens okay there’s the farm this is where the line goes it’s actually more doable than I thought but I’m going to go around cuz it’s only 17 m yeah I’m just going to go here man and get another jog on cuz there are people at home and a trct around the corner there he is right this is the second property there’s no running away from this all uphill there’s that track out of sight or not what approach do I take here the fact that part of this property was an Airbnb did make it more tempting to Simply Waltz up their driveway and over the far fence but it was still risky what I opted for instead after a quick scan was a skirt along the edge of their Garden but I was stopped by some of the most p nutd sludge I’ve ever seen or smelt no that is disgusting that is really really really deadly instead it was a sneak through the Garden in plain view of their Windows past the smallest church ever constructed and over the fence well I don’t know if I’ve got away with that someone could be watching wow really right we pass that somehow and that’s it isn’t it oh no Mr dod’s Farm he’s at it it was it and although I’d be getting pretty close to it I had just taken my last steps as a platinum missioner my cautiousness back at the last property tipping me into the inevitable clutches of the gold Zone please let me through can I think again the line takes me through their Garden here but I can go around yeah there’s a van there sticking to the plan I veered over to the right towards the back end of their Garden we can go around here aiming for the scrub land at the back of their property a quick glance around told me that there were no people watching me enter but maybe I should have been looking a bit lower what the that’s a dog they’re dogs can’t go in there can I they’re trying to hunt are they are they rat killing dogs have they been hired what are they doing hello they not even responding to me or looking at me and they gone just like that they’re gone do I go now they’ll still be in there but I’m going to conclude that because they didn’t bark at me once that they won’t bark at me again I guess and that was the last I saw or heard from those dogs there’s got to be a man around somewhere who owns those dogs they’re clearly doing a job but with not a soul over at dod’s Farm it remained a bit of a mystery it’s baffling that is deviation wise the whole thing threw me off kilter a bit and I only fully got back to the line once I’d wed across this foul smelling swamp oh man that is grim after that it was into a brief stint of Short Pine oh I think we’re coming out again and this scrub land would take me right up to the first of many strategically placed Camp spots where our toasty van waited patiently for me I just really can’t wait to get to that van now to be honest it has been quite a long day one of the longest days missioning I’ve ever done to be fair it’s quite a big fence nothing we can’t clumber over oh lovely view from up here there they are Hing through the grass all right you okay yeah I’m all right day one was done and dusted and I could finally clock off on the GPS and relax over at the van I’d done exactly what I’d set out to do today and put myself in a prime position for the rest of the trip but despite all this I didn’t feel like I could really celebrate um lots to tell but yeah yeah I think the main takeaway point is that I don’t know if it’s possible to cross England right now like don’t want to sound dramatic but what would you say you’re on now score-wise I think I’ve drifted just outside Platinum oh that’s I thought you were going to say it was worse than that no okay I think if you were to get to the end and you were like we’ve done it it’s Bron you’d be happier than if you were just like we’re just going to go on yeah true yeah that’s a good point but I actually don’t know if I could have done bronze yeah I don’t know well well you you did I did but but I me you mean forward going forward if I opted to skirt round if that was like my strategy to skirt around and not take any RIS even that might not I got you oh you’re an angel Fanta L the times we live in I are just little I know it’s the same color brand in everything and it tastes different it tastes more fany don’t like that no but thanks tomorrow promised to be an incredibly arduous day even if all the trees happen to be upright 10 miles of pretty much solid Pine plantations in freezing cold and wet conditions that I had to get through if I wanted to avoid a whole host of other problems if there was any of this again it would be far too slippy and dangerous to try and climb through but after a chat with the team I was at least more at peace with the idea of venturing into the silver or even bronze Zone if I had no choice a completed mission was a completed Mission and this one was still very much on I think you’ve done very well to not get caught bearing in mind the amount of farm even we saw when we were driving around we were thinking like God there’s a lot going on I’ve got to remember that halfway through today I was caking myself when I was 5 miles in at the idea of having to start again in the early hours of tomorrow morning that was a horrible thought cuz I would have had no excuse not to yeah so we we we’ve got to the end of day one we’ve done 14 miles and we’re still on schedule yeah and I think Al tomorrow’s got a lot of potential danger you haven’t got the worry of being rushed Along by potential Farmers kicking you off it’s just you and you can take as long as you want to get it you know if it’s not too bad with the Fallen trees I’m looking forward to seeing how far I can get tomorrow I’ll be over the moon if I can get to C to by the lake whether or not it would quite pan out that way you’ll have to wait until next week to find out for now it was time to kick back and indulge in some more of the perks of this thing they call Van life amazing stag chili with rice and cheese and the vapers in the background you leave some cheese for us mate you absolute idiot oh that’s up to my dick oh oh I’m in look at that this isn’t good this his fingers crossed now guys big time it’s moments like this I think why am I doing this person I don’t think you’re in a sh now so I think you should think we should stay here [Music]