Part 1 Thankful Villages 2024 Cycle Tour

First 3 of nine Thankful Villages in Northern England on my June 2024 Cycle Tour

#cycletour #cycling #cyclinguk #ThankfulVillages

What are Thankful Villages?

An Introduction to ‘Thankful Villages’

About the 2013 bikers Thankful Villages ride

Thankful Villages Run 2013 – Join Us

The 2013 bikers slate plaque run (photo album)
https://www.captainsmurf.co.uk/thankful/villages.htm

The ’10 Commandments of a Church Crawler’
https://www.the-shire.co.uk/news/blog-10-commandments-church-crawler

this morning Monday June the 17th it’s about4 to 10: in the morning I’ve just soaked from my hometown at bath up to Bristol Parkway station in about 45 minutes I’m getting a train up to leads and I’m going to start my summer cycle tour I’m visiting nine thankful villages in the north of England I’ll see you when I get to Leads Here we are at leads then after a hot sweaty journey of about 4 hours the train was absolutely s impact I did get a seat soon after the first station luckily the cycle uh cubicles were all free so I managed to stand B up to all up felt very secure once got a seat it was a nice C for Journey trying to get off it was just like side in in in the Vesti area and had to get the pan off get back on as people were trying to get off and on and then get me bike off uh extracting eight to many people so I’ll tell you more when I get to Travel Lodge it’s about a mile so that way I’ll see you there during the course of this tour I’ll be using several resources so I’ll tell you what they are first of all I’ve got a hard copy paper list with all the villages on and they’re accumulative miles and I’ve broken the trip down into three sections there’s three different GPS files on my garment there this is the first section so you can see there’s for thankful Villages that section takes him from here up to north of Newcastle this section is where I turn westwards at Newcastle head over the penin all the way down to the laner Cambria Coast to Nether kellet so that’ll be the remainder of them four thankful Villages and five thankful Villages then at the end of the thankful villages want to do another 127 miles just exploring the lha coast the total distance is going to be 391 I’ve got eight days to do it in that works out a minimum of 49 miles a day I feel confident I can do that with full camping kit and allow myself time for there’s going to be some setbacks I don’t know what they are yet and you know just plenty of stopping and touring and just relaxing I am on holiday after all this is the way I come in last night luckily it’s at Grand level walk straight in the main entrance is actually up a flight of steps so that was just a coincidence that worked out well been studying the map this morning where my rout starts it starts down there I had a walk down there last night you can cut through there get on the Main Street so hopefully the garments would have been loaded by them because they sometimes take a while to pick up a satellite signal in a built a like this see we’re right next to the railway station here the Tren is come by so the start of my cycle tour day one let’s get going okay you can see I’m on a cycle segment of the main road heading north out leads Sun posted towards weatherbe and that’s why I looked up my route this morning I just got a few mental mile markers and I know I’m heading through wether be so you know Center that helps me make a quick decision if the Garmin is a bit confusing and it was at times there was cycopath which would cut off Junctions although rejoin that Main Road few hundred yards away and I guess for the locals is brilliant but for a traveler who’s unfamiliar it was a bit confusing and now I’m heading on this Main Road out of leads and in a few miles time I’ll be turning right over believe and then getting on some minor roads I’ve turned on to a much quieter Road although there’s no overtaking l so I’m just riding on the pavement seems perfectly okay to do it here no pedestrians about if it’s busy if there’s people walking I wouldn’t do this but here it just seems to make sense after about 6 miles I’ve turned off left I knew this was coming on my much nicer roads it was a bit of a pull out of leads lots of traffic lights which I don’t mind and also there was a lot of cycle lens and a couple of times there was a slight drag up a hill and it was only single carriageway I just rode up the pavement you know just not to impede traffic it feels safer as well but anyway now now on nice quiet roads heading up towards weatherbe well I’ve just passed 13 and 1/2 miles and I’m just coming into weatherbe probably better known for its race course is still in the lead city council reach didn’t realize that been to it a few times before when I was about 18 19 I used to Hitch up to Stockton on to visit me girlfriend I’ve met her on day WTH that summer and it is always a good place to be dropped off because you were pretty much guaranteed to get a lift I’m pretty sure hit choke in these days is not that easy to do but in those days I would not even leave home till at 9:00 in the morning I knew I could be up there by tea time it was literally that easy in those [Music] days just leaving Weatherby I thought I was been roted onto a main road literally running parallel to this I don’t think this is an Old Railway I think this is possibly what used to be the old road feels like that it’s nice little alternative anyway I really enjoyed that stopping weather be that little recreational part was lovely and the flowers on the way out was stunning really does seem to take a lot of Civic PR at weather be I’ll remember that for sure this is just the wonders of GPS I would have never found that back there and I wouldn’t have been sure what this was doing and I’m still not but the GPS has sent me down here so it must make some kind of sense it feels like it does this is really nice I’m enjoying this I’m actually loving this roading right alongside this main road you can see it’s not that busy but it is quite narrow just crossing the river here the my track is just to the right of the road facing this way it be carrying on just the left you can see cuz this bridge they’ve just sort of merged but then we’re always be behind the tree and the Hedge RS so you don’t hear it absolutely wonderful this I’m really enjoying this so unexpected also embrace the unexpected that’s what I tried to do really really enjoying this section just crossing the A1 M so that’s heading north that’s it heading south you can see the services sign there telling you the a1m whether be services to Mars and then the M1 leads 17 miles gosh look at that M of traffic so I’ve been hearing it on that really nice quiet Lane but this is the first time I’ve seen it so got across it then head left by the look it and then carry on that noise I’m on fairly flat roads making good progress the wind must be benefiting me I keep seeing lots of poppies here’s a good example I was able to stop and film them here look at that list so I’m aware that the first thankful Village won’t be too far it’s going to be Norton lay at 32 miles into my road I’m currently on 20 and 3 quarters so not quite yet but within the next hour I would say really looking for that the first of today probably two thankful Villages there’s another one 2 miles later here I just had to stop back here there was a queue waiting for level crossing see the red flashing lights a train rent by and you just automatically expect the automatic barriers to gra don’t you not so a guy came out in the High face and did it manually haven’t seen that for many many years there it is that the Keeper’s Cottage oh right by the station what’s the name of this station oh Catal cat not the world life variety c a w t a l Old 74 type signals look just doing a direct crossing of the a59 York harate Road got sign there that’s a perfect example of why I like come into places I’m unfamiliar with especially on the Eastern side of the country I love place names where well I love sign post like this where I don’t recognize one of those place names Kirk Hamilton Catal and witley I just love that I get so much enjoyment out of just signs where I don’t recognize one of the names I don’t quite know why I enjoy that so much I thought about this whether it’s novelty seeking or I think it’s possibly one knows to be a postman you had to have a very very good work and knowledge the local area so consequently I know all the local Village names I know them quite intimately so I think when I’m on holiday away from work that’s what does it for me possibly I’m on this a road for cut the miles it’s not too busy it’s very straight I’ve Just Seen there’s some hills over there which has sort of thrown me a little bit because I thought the coaster was over there I thought the hills were in land but I can see right in front of me I’ll try and zoom in shortly it looks like there’s a white horse up there right in front of me near the summit of the Hill about there I think it’ll be I’ve done a quick bit of mental geography and I was thinking that probably the North York Ms over there I know I’m going up through this Corridor of lowline ground in between Hills so yeah that would probably be the North York M I remember years ago when we walked Wayne White’s Coast to Coast you come off the pen and then there’s this big Veil I can’t remember what it’s called and that’s what I must be in now and then you climb up for the final section if you’re heading eastwards onto North ymore is where you end up at Whitby I’m going to have to Google that later on and see what that white hores or if it is a white horse it looks like one from here this road is very very straight and I nearly said early on it feels like an old Roman Road but you can’t say that about every straight road CU it’s just simply not true but I think this one might have been cuz look there’s a Roman town just off it if R about lunchtime I’m loving passing through these Yorkshire Villages this is barbridge and I’m about 3 miles from my first thankful Village so I’m pooping that’s where I have my lunch so I thought I’ll pop in The Spar there pick up some supplies you know bit of a a sweet treat I’ve got sandwiches from this morning and I saw this and I thought I’m because I’m a history nerd really Dre drew me over and it’s always interested to read about the local history and something caught my eye here it says if you walk through the town’s boundaries takes you on a journey which includes a touch of history of bsite the works of a blind Road maker okay so that just fascinated me so I found it here it says a short walk along Fisher gate brings you to a bridge over the river T Built by the remarkable blind Jack born John meta in 1717 he contracted small pox at the age of six and became totally blind he became an incom fiddle player Huntsman Stage Coach driver and entrepreneur and in his mid-30s a builder of roads and bridges in harate leads Skipton Halifax Doncaster Hadfield and Beyond he died in 1810 age 93 here we are at the bridge about to across the river T so I’m going to walk across stop look down at it there’s another one of these local history boards telling you about the Battle of Burbridge pretty good graphic there telling you where it was and a little bit about it wow look at that it’s a lot of white Frost coming down there’s a guy up there in his way to us in the middle of the river fly fishing I’m just really really enjoying this at the moment looking forward to lunch at the first thankful Village in a few miles time Norton L clay right let’s get there so a mile from bur bridge I spotted my first sign for Norton L clay two miles we’re just coming up to right hand turn I can see on my Garing there and I can see it says n in the clay half a mile or quarter and there’s the North York mes over there we’re running parallel to it there’s the White Horse I start think well then the pen oranges over there I can just see them in the very very far distance but what I have got on my left is the motorway going along there see all the traffic and a blue sign up there there must be a big Junction so we’re heading towards our first thankful Village of the nine on this tour so a bit closer to the sign I can see it actually says three quarters of them are down there look heading towards the Moors the North yor moris and the White Horse but I thought CLE that rings a bell I think that’s the second thankful Village and I’ve just checked my paper list and it is so they’re both down this road there’s a boundary sign for n in the clay nearly missed it overgrown no reference to it being a thankful Village sometimes you see it on the boundary signs sometimes you don’t if you seen my previous thankful Village Cycle rides I tend to head for the churches or a Village Green because I’m looking for dedicated slate plaques when I find one I’ll show you the first one of this trip and that’s why I tend to hang my poppy they tend to be in church yards or inside the churches or somewhere obvious like a war memorial or a Village Green not all of the villages have got them and I’ll explain why shortly but anyway that’s what I’m doing and one of the Villages today doesn’t have a church I can’t remember if it’s this one or the next one but I’ve got the keyh holder up with me so I can quickly check that a minute I found someone nice to have lunch okay I’ve just ridden through the village and I couldn’t find anything and there’s the national speed limits on there so obviously I’m leaving the village I was thought right I’ll stop here check the key holder up cuz I know one of today’s two Villages doesn’t have a church I had seen a church back there what used to be a church but it’s now a private residence and then this old chapel looks like it’s a private residence I was just about to get the key holder up and I said oh I wonder what that gray plaque is over there and right next to it is what I’m looking for I’ll show you even though that’s what I’ve come to find it was that caught my eye I thought oh I wonder what that’s all about if you’re new to the channel and you haven’t seen any of my thankful Village trips before I only found out about their existence through a YouTube subscriber James so once again many Thanks James said he thought and might be interested them and it turns out samet’s got nine more than any other County in England and Wales sadly Scotland do hary and so I started exploring local ones and I kept seeing these SL plaques and then about a year later I decided to revisit all the places i’ been to and leave AED poy there which is what I’m doing now and I wasn’t quite sure what those plaques were about until I started my psycho tour last year from bass up to York and in a church I think it the first Village I came to there was the plaque and there was a newspaper article right above it and it told you the story in 2013 some bikers visited all the thankful villages in the country and I think it said there were 53 listed then it’s now up to about 56 or possibly 57 so obviously some of the villages don’t have these because when they were presented they weren’t even known that they were thankful villagers later research proved that they were and then when I did some more research I found a guardian online article about it and then that gave you links to their Facebook page so there’s lots of photographs there and they did I forget how many thousand miles it was but they did it all in one go and they presented these villages with these plaques and to me they’re just like shrines that’s what I come to look for and as I understand it from my research there was such trauma and loss after the first world war The Villages that didn’t have any deaths we’re almost ashamed of it and it was only in later years people said you shouldn’t be ashamed of it you should celebrate it and that’s what these bikers did I think that was their mission to actually give each Village a memorial because these Villages were ashamed of not having a war memorial because at the time it felt embarrassed they were ashamed of it they hadn’t suffered loss and so later generations said No it should be celebrated and that’s what these plaques are about so I find them quite evocative when I come to them and that’s why I believeing the puppy again I won’t tie it I just hook it over I don’t want to be sort of thought of as littering if people don’t want it there they can easily remove it I’ve stood back a little bit and I think I can read it it says in this house lived UND died a noble woman Madame Maria filamina a Belgium Refugee victim of the Great War which is is sort of appropriate to what’s happening these days and she spent the rest of her life here W off my cap up just for a minute and that was such a small village it would have been easy to ride through that I nearly missed the boundary sign coming in but as I leave I’m heading towards that white T he just got obscured by some trees there’s the hill line in the distance and there’s the White Horse just disappeared behind some trees I’m heading towards kundle so that was obviously the village without the church within a couple of Miles here we are at cond so I’ve just come in this way there’s a Crossroads here little grass triangle I stopped here just in case there’s any sort of recognition here the thankful Village cuz this is the sort of place you can find the plaques I’ve actually find one hidden before just below a tree on a Village Green my garment sending me that way so I will go down there and see what I can find having said that that looks like the boundary sign coming in so it’s probably the boundary sign going out no through road that looks quite nice up there isn’t it look at Garden there outside clock there nice little area again I’ll check all the obvious places I think my first thought is I’ll get the key hold wrap up and see if there is a church here the church is as I said not always where they are but it’s nor nor the first place I head for unless I find the plaque before okay well I wanted to know where that road went and you can see it sort of goes up to River Ben R just re rejoins this road further along there but this is the Jun chn at you can see there there’s the Blue Dot and there’s where Darren heyman’s dot is you can see if I touch it CLE but what I’ve just spotted along there is St Mary’s and all sense church kle and there’s a school along there so that kind of looks promising even though it does feel like I’m leaving the village I was just checking that sign I thought possibly that is a boundary sign but you can see it’s clearly not so we’re still in the village CLE even though it does feel like you’re about to leave it so there’s a school and a church just around the corner let’s go and see what we can find there okay I’ve just seen the church stand one of these right hand turns there’s the school looks like the church is possibly down there I’ve just seen it service here on Sunday yeah oh here we go that beat we just did was my Garmin give me an off course alarm oh what a delightful place and again if you are a new subscriber another one of my big interests hobby for want of a better word I love country and Paris churches and this is a perfect example I just like them so much it’s a location and it’s also a pretty damn good place about some lunch I think I’ll find a seat somewhere seeing lots of military aircraft flying over you may hear one over nownow please respect this churchard and don’t allow your dog to follow the area he doesn’t know any better you do yeah that’s quite good Commonwealth wargraves I would suggest possibly this is where the plaque will be if there is one here that’s going to be my lunch stop a lovely Sun trap here there’s a wi gate over the porch to keep the birds out whether it’s open or not I don’t know because obviously if the plaques in the church and the church is locked there just nothing you can really do is there so let’s go and have a look it kind of looks promising from here is when I see Yale locks I caught off inum I W there there’s the plaque there right before we do that let’s go and see if we can get in the church oh it’s jacked that’s a shame this wonderful stonework and the arch been trying to teach myself how to read a church because there’s lots of symbolism and meaning one of the things I discovered recently that ecclesiast shape which you’ll quite often get in a lot of doorways and arches inside churches is very prevalent in a church whenever you go in there it’s representative they think of hands praying and it’s one of those things once you sort of are told that you s think that so blind and obvious the same as the pillars have symbolism I’ll wait till I get into church to maybe explain that more once again I’ve just looped it around anybody really doesn’t want it there they can easily remove it just m way of paying respect and Remembrance CLE 1914 to 2014 thankful Village I will have a look when the church sh after lunch going to go over there charge my devices and do the scores on the doors I’ll just get an idea of you know my progress and make some plans for this afternoon B Tara that be the Nave one Chanel there Facing East as all the graves do facing towards the sunrise of the new day s blowes rebirth and Rene oh what a shame I couldn’t get in there I just sense that must be really really nice in there okay after that walk around the church and been back in the porch taking some photos I thought I’d get the ride the GPS app Hub and just sort of check my progress so I always wanted to get to the first two thankful Villages today I knew I’d do that by an accidents and illnesses and get to 49 miles tonight where the next thankful Village is at 53 so I think I may aim for that or the vicinity so we’ve been heading east that’s where the hills appear to be getting closer but now from here we’re going to head North again so I think that means the wind should be with us and you know progress should hopefully be a bit easier and we’re running up parallel to the a1m it’s a Motorway and we’re going to be on the right of it the east of it for a few mils and then we’ll eventually cross it again and then we’ll be on the left of it the west and then soon after that we hook around and that’s where scrutin the third of the thankful villages will be at 53 miles so I think that’s what I’m probably going to aim for I learned that with longdistance riding you know sort of have a plan obviously a big picture plan but don’t think too far in advance you know just think of the morning then think of the afternoon and possibly the evening don’t even think about going into a different day just just compartmentalize it that’s that’s tomorrow is a different topic all together so keep keep each day as a separate ride really so the second part of this ride I think I’m going to put me head then you know not race but I think I’m going to aim for scrutin and just see what’s up there whether it’s possible to Camp somewhere around there or we’ll see I’ve now just come in the wonderful sanding Village of borders look at that church CL Tower it’s like oing guard isn’t it and the Lich gate as well the Lich gate is like a cathedral says Church open Wow since James the great borders B and Ron how is that for a church on some really nice quiet roads now and I’m looking across at the North York Moore is that ridg line and cuz the sun’s sort of further down that way now that’s much crisper that Hill line it’s lost the glare ear on and I don’t know if it’s coming up on the microphone you can just hear the Roar the motorway it must just be at the end of this field down down a dip here we are crossing the a1m on the bridge with wi Grill so it came up what looks like a service Red it almost looked like a glorified slipway but it was legal to ride on there was even a cycle track a pavement cycle track this is part of it actually just between Leeming Leeming bar just cross over this River Bridge another bit of rough stuff says no through Road for Motor Vehicles so that suggest it is a through road so anyway give it a go see where we end up we’re not too far from screwton this is lovely I’m enjoying this all the time in the world well I got plenty of time so I can afford to make a few mistakes where we heading here off to the right so the fact there was a sign back there saying no through Road for Motor Vehicles suggest that it must look doable on the map so they try it let’s see round the left skirting man is f aren’t we slippery oh and the sun’s just come back out okay here we go another grassy track this definitely looks like four-wheel drives use it quite a lot if the Garmin has rooted me down there I always give it a go most of the time it works sometimes it doesn’t or you may get to a gate and you have to DEC count the piers I’m okay with that I’m loving this Quick Glance down at the garments here I need to bear under the right yeah that corresponds with what’s happening and here we come onto what looks like the gravel track yeah back onto metal road then you end up here down a little industrial cold sa by look it yeah we’re coming up to main road so next stop scrutin it can’t be that far away couple of miles I thought maximum this just looks like it’s following what was the original road before they put the Rand in straightened it up a bit you can see it’s all Lorry Parks now is it where Lor’s Hold Up Cycle Lane down here alongside the road just until we get opposite our turning then we’re going to go down there hopefully that’s toward scre I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of hours and I just saw this tap I thought great I fill both my water bottles up I think what I’m going to do is fill me water bag up I bought a new water T carrier recently my old one was so old I do clean it and stir down to every year but I just thought I’ll get a new one I saw a motorcyclist using this on YouTube he was camping and he swore by it so you know I thought yeah that’d be good enough for me it’s called a water Cell It’s Made by CA Summit that’s a good brand I trust it and also this motorcyclist said it’s really good for carrying on the back of a motorbike so you can see why it appealed got these carrying straps and it’s got a good aperture there for the water so going get some water when we came out of covid I started wild camping again but obviously we had to be very cautious still and I wouldn’t fill up out of water taps for a long long time I just used to buy bottles of water and strap them in a carrier bag on the back of me bike but what it did do is pretty much educate me on how much I get through so I would buy two 2 L bottles of mineral water and I would find that was probably just about enough I sometimes have excess and so that’s why I went for the 4 liter option cheaper and why have a bigger bag than you need I think need go up to 6 lers and higher but I went for the 4 ler so I got 4 lers there one and a half lers on the bike so I’m okay for wild camp tonight I’ve got an M um meals ready to eat an army russing pack if I have to but I have bought little bags of rice and pasta I’ve got seven or eight whatever it is for however not many nights I’m camping so ideally a tin chil can Cony somewhere but I’m just not seeing any shots so you know M if it has to be that was really good cyclopath all the way down this road I’ve picked up some water that I probably would to notice if I was on the road it’s brought me right opposite this Minor Road across the catle grid I’m assuming scru there somewhere oh this is really nice and it is a proper Road and the circleway was leading you down here anywhere in the next mile to possibly two 2 and 1 half miles course it’s like we’re crossing the valway oh that looks a little bit overgrown oh this is really nice course wonder where all this water’s come from flowed off the fields possibly go there a lot is there gosh this FL really water L it’s quite R sh see that car just go by cuz otherwise I’d be having a dates whether this leads anywhere can’t really see anything obvious that would be Co it it’s not as though you got sloping field either other side anyway that’s the worst fit by look at it okay it looks like we’re coming into some kind of settlement can see houses starting to appear another car has just passed me going that way is this scrutin even where the roads dry here at the you can see plenty of what looks like water damage just trying to W me brains trying to think what it’ be oh we’re going up a bit of a slope now here you go look more sediment so the water must flow down into that little dip but where on Earth is it coming from is there a river up here or Street here’s some sign posts be down North aleron what have we got there ham Hill Lane we’re being same posted this way me this could well be scrutin for L though because I’ve come in on a minor Road would have missed the boundary sign need to keep me eyes peeled here so you come up this tree approach to the rectory and here’s the Gate of the church and straight away I was drawn this seat and there’s a board here lots of Interest here but a reference to scrutin being a thankful Village it says scrutin is designated as a thankful Village also known as a blessed Village because all its servicemen returned from the first world war when towns and Villages throughout the country were erecting memorials commemorate the Fallen scrutin raised money for a peace symbol as a symbol of its thankfulness a memorial clock made by pots of leads was installed on the church Tower in 1921 I guess that’s it there we’re going to have a look in a minute knowledge of scrutin thankful status faded from memory but was reestablished in 2004 when research confirmed that all the soldiers resident in the village had indeed come home by 2018 the Centenary year of the end of World War I further research identified the names and stories of all the men who returned so this is what I came in ham Hill Lane and then as I said to leave the village you would take that way but I came up here because that’s where the Garian was sending me it’s you can see it’s a no three Road and here we are up here radigan’s church but I may go and see if I can find that that looks really nice it says scrutin station was originally opened by the York Newcastle and bur where in 1848 obviously closed there’s a picture of it in 1910 but it’s been restored with support from the railway Heritage Trust the station was fully restored and reopened by the Heritage Trust in 2015 scrutin station has established a new life as an award-winning raway education resource so I think that must be done there it’s called Station Road and I passed over r ear on that I said wasn’t used and that would have been round about there so it’s possibly that the wedley Dale Heritage rally so that could well be where the station is actually thinking about yeah that’s scrutin station yeah there it is right I think I’ll go and look for that cuz that looks really nice first of all I’m really looking forward to going in the church and it’s about halfast 6 so it’s getting on a bit but the sun’s still way up in the sky oh this is lovely this is so so nice okay hat off let’s go and see if we can get in I hope we can trouble is it’s getting late in the day isn’t it there’s the plaque oh sunglasses up as well and the church itself looks open put the guarden in the rest plaque way oh look thankful Village scrutin is a thankful Village one of the only 4 1 in the United Kingdom where all who served in the Great War 1914 to 1918 returned safely as I say it’s constantly being updated at list when the bikers did their thankful Village tour in 2013 there were 53 and it’s now up to 56 some sources 57 others and then it says what we read outside the church clock was installed in 1921 for following a public subscription as a mark of The Village’s gratitude and to commemorate peace in Europe we remember those who died in the world war 1939 to 1945 and there’s the pluck some thankful Villages are known as doubly thankful Villages and what that means is every soldier who went off to serve in the first and the second world war returned safely I believe there’s 16 of the 56 or 57 I’m going to get my poppy shortly but the church looks open let’s go [Music] inside oh this is nicest time the evening isn’t it oh look at the stained glass up well what a difference you can tell sort of like the dark ethereal what a difference you can tell the dark ethereal atmosphere in the chel that wonderful triple stained glass window as I said earlier on representative of the TR Holy Trinity but look the West window is really nice as well of course being this late in the evening West Windows catching the Sun and it’s in the Bell Tower and that’s where the font is gosh the front’s up here really Grand I’m seeing quite a lot with pillars there all about that wonderful St class right my favorite part of the church really is a chancel chanels and Lich gates are what I like most that church I think anyway gosh a pull pit that stone pull pit all the ornamental artwork on it wow three dimension as well all pigmented colors look gosh that’s a work of art in itself let’s just go up in that looking down at the congregation microphone there look so the times no same plate above whether there was one once I don’t know okay and straight down into the chanta oh look at the rear do at the back one the car behind the water and then to step up to the water out wow stained glass there’s this wonderful Church quing website I can’t remember what it’s called now but there’s this wonderful lady she put in the Ten Commandments of church crawlers now Church callers are people like me people who like going to churches not for worship but for the sake of the buildings themselves whether it’s the architecture the history just to feel inside the sense of peace and one of The Commandments was thou shall look heavenwards and it’s so true I always do look up you’ll see amazing craftsmanship in the roof that’s one of her top tips but she’s like linked it to the Commandments and it was all written now it was all really good advice but written s of tugging cheek okay so here’s my poppy I have bought spares and I think what I might do is I might tie one that information board out there because it’s made a point of mentioning this as a thankful Village I may use one of my spares there this church is fantastic now look at the tower look all these stops there the carvings there it is as usual just wrapped around the plaque that could be removed if people don’t want it there my little personal tribute remembrance and respect scrutin 1914 2014 thankful Village I’ve decided to just tie one of my spare poppies onto that again that could be cut off if people really don’t want it there hope it doesn’t offend any anybody it’s really not meant to okay back that way and the station and then think about looking for somewhere to Camp so quite a way down from the church here’s the r look this is the wedley Dale Heritage rally so this is what I crossed early on and here is screw station locked this time of night what a wonderful little h w i’ love to go in there when that was open look really nice is it I can just see by the clock which is actually accurate on time 5 to S we [Music] at Old solid brick building in W Wednesday D Railway travel back in time with Kindle old memories and create new ones W you know I’d quite like to go on that I was here at the right time old AA steel plate look Kirby fle scotin leing bar oh that was back there that was when I got on that track actually London 230 okay we’re heading this way I might just get the phone up and see what’s coming up you you never know there may be a campsite there I doubt it very much that’s interesting so there’s my blue spot where I am there’s Darren’s red spot marking the thankful Village so we’re quite close to North alleron and there’s our next thankful Village tomorrow morning so there’d be supplies in North Allon but what surprised me is look we’re very close to Darlington I knew we were going by we don’t go in there we got rard just sto on teas I just zoomed in to see if there’s any possible Camp you never know cuz with Google Maps they give you all the businesses Village in bton no so that’s where the first file at 66 miles is going to end tomorrow and then the second far north west and then South to the N than for Village that’s going to be 197 miles right we’ll just press on see what transpires okay I’m filming on my phone now while my action camera charges in the P so excuse any wind noise about a mile back on the main road coming up to River Bridge I thought wherever there’s a river there’s probably a Riverside foot path saw this rest area and I think I found somewhere I’m just going to do a a foot wcky but this looks promising to here I’m sure I can find somewhere subtle around there to blend in maybe near that tree I’m going to do a foot Wy first and see what’s over there the river by the look of it and some Nettles so looking up at the river that’s looking up at the road bridge this fast flowing river how Brown and pey that looks don’t want to be too close to the river I used to think it was a peeling but you just get tons of midges after dark it does Des so I’ll probably try and camouflage myself do it discreetly somewhere near that tree okay so I’ve come back to underneath the tree the wind’s actually stronger than it may appear at the moment it’s coming that way so I’m getting a lot of protection from the hedro I did think of going over there but it was actually quite windy plus the fact I’ve got a Perfectly Natural L already made for me I’m going to try and use that as a tripod the action camera would just on that magnetically I’ve got my bik guy rope tape taught how to do that the first time I went off cycling and touring with a CTC I used to do it all the time and then I just stopped doing it but I think for the sake of a couple of go ropes and tent pegs that’s like a manmade that’s a readymade tripod isn’t it I’m just going to inflate my sleeping that there it is starting to take shape just takes all the hard work out been deflating a mat and deflating it and there you go it’s up about 30 seconds that was that’s about as that’s about as hard as I want it yeah maybe just a little bit more I find if you inflate them too much they’re too uncomfortable for me anyway and another new piece of Kit I’ve gone back to having expandable travel pillows just got this in Mountain Warehouse when I was on holiday in dorer back in February it’s a bit more bulky not that much heavier than inflatable pillow but I’ve tried several different brands and I just cannot get on with inflatable pillows there you go it’s about third of the size of a normal pillow so comfortable it really is I’m a slide sleeper so I toss and turn a lot during the night so with inflatable ones they’re n they just slip off the Sleep M uh and you do have to sort of stuff it into that stuff set the next morning if I was really short of space I probably would bring the smaller inflatable but I use that for the first time since I bought it when I bivi recently at that church and I had such a good night’s sleep I mean I that was only one night admittedly but yeah I’ve gone back to these pillows I’ve got my selection of KN and mat little foldable table and I’ve bought a windscreen cuz I’m cooking on a tranger transer mini it’s in there somewhere oh there it is right now I’ve got my bed made I can start getting the tent organized so for tonight’s menu I’ve got steak and vegetables with dumplings never had that one before we’ll see what it’s like the usual just scrunch it up put it in some boiling water for 8 minutes let it stand tear the perforations and eat out the bag but I’m also going to boil up some rice I think then I may DEC count it onto a plate just going to make it look a bit nicer I find loting these Tres can be a bit tricky so what I tend to do is just put a bit of mths in it get that Lit and then just hold it over you can’t always tell if it’s taken you see you end up burning your fingers I can see that has so that’s going just going to let that bloom up and then put some rice on okay I’ve got my rice in there I’m happy with that flame get that on and then I’ll be doing the m in the smaller one as I said I’m going to decant it out onto the plate it’ll feel much more like a meal then rather than an army Russian pack it’s 10 9 in the evening now look the sun’s still above the Horizon sinking but it’s still daylight okay part one the rice there it is and beef stew and dumplings with rice and I’ve got the water there that I borrowed that in that be ready for my washing up so I’m going to tuck in that and it’s about half 9 and still late B Appetit i’ put the wireless microphone on my phone so I should have the wind muffle on it so this is coming up to 20 P 10 on my phone it says 2219 you see it’s still light the sun’s set but it hasn’t been down long no intrusions whatsoever not saying I won’t have any but none so far I love this time of the air 20 10 at night look and you’re outside camping still so this is with the action camera they’re notorious for not doing very well in poor loes I noticed really the stabilization is awful it’s really good during the day but it’s awful like going through the two tunnels you just it’s unwatchable footage so it be interested see what this is like apparently the newer versions of this camera are much better in P I think it’s all to do with the processor or maybe the the lens software but this is the DJI action 2 and there’s now a DJI 4 I kind of got me eyes on that to be honest so the reviews I’ve read because I’m I’m I’m reading up about it I don’t want to just make an impulse purchase I’ve been reading up and that’s one of the bits of advice that’s come through from both the producer and users that the stabilization in poor light is much much better it performs better in low light today’s been quite relaxing had plenty of time to you know just sit around and relax so with that I think I’ll say good night and see you in the morning just give you a final sweep looking downstairs that’s houses just beyond the coast of course that be Westward I was trying to think why is the sunset over there and then North would be up there it’s got that very post World War II or ster fi uset the design right here we go underneath the river ttin this is requiring a lot of concentration obviously some big boulders and Rocks coming up so you got to be mindful of those and then you hit sand and you go into Sal Houston we have a problem some it didn’t feel quite right and I got off on the grass and another a look and I realized I’ve ripped a cleat at M shoe there just a very soft bit there I could feel the pedal going through I thought there’s no point going back to look for it cuz the Hazen’s all being ripped up and then I suddenly realiz it’s on the bottom of my pedal uh it’s only 94 miles to go to Lancaster where there’ll be a boat shop as you can see it’s starting to come apart already I’m going to have to put some more tape on that I used so much yesterday I’m sort of having to be quite spraying with it but I will need to top that that’s literally just getting off the bike here hitting a bit of gravel and teing that so flip-flop time I’m afraid wow that’s some skilled seamanship that is fighting that sort of current [Music] on the final day of this trip I’ve just got the train down from Manchester padilly to Bristol and I’ve had my bicycle stolen saor V what a way to end the tour I’ve now just got to figure out a way to get myself and two Hefty Piers back to my homet toown of bath ch