you were on Lower Road in Chalfont Saint Peter and it looked like you had my old heart throb's house in the frame for a second. You also got to Missenden just at the end without showing it. However. My old home. The whole area. Makes me want to cry. Thanks for the walk.
Many personal stories I could tell along that walk. However you asked what went on in Little Missenden Village Hall. Well John, that is the where I play my home games in The Chiltern District Table Tennis League. Love your work, thank you.
Great walk John, we used to live near Chesham so many great walks in the Chilterns. Used to swim in Shardloes lake, and catch brown trout at Little Missenden. The ‘save me’ on the tree at Great Missenden no doubt is for felling for the HS2 route which is an environmental disaster for the Chilterns especially the route you’ve followed along the Missbourne valley.
Love this film, I am from wooburn but this area is my stomping ground, particularly loved the references to paganism and wicca, such a delightful walk , such a pleasure to watch, cheers John, looking forward to the next journey, wherever that may be 😀
Thank you for doing this walk. It gives me a good idea of where some of my ancestors came from. The Style family lived in Amersham, and Little Missenden, dating back to the early 1500s. There are apparently brass memorials to the Style family in Little Missenden's church. I didn't know about the history of non-conformity in the area, which is a big "AHA!" moment for me. That clearly would be the connection to the Finch family. It's great to get a visual sense of the area. I really appreciate your work. Oh yes, sipping a glass of Fat Tug IPA as I watched.....
Excellent John thank you. It took me back to my childhood when I used to visit my cousins in Aylesbury and play in the fields nearby. As you mentioned Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull i will have to get out my record collection. Bob.
What a beautiful walk. Thank you for taking us along! As a folklorist, I think of something a little different when I hear the words "folk horror," but I know the type of film you're talking about. Horror in general, and particularly the more violent kind, often tends to be about enforcing a dominant value system and punishing those who stray from it. So your comments on "folk horror" films make a lot of sense to me; I think you're spot on.
I enjoyed every second of this vlog. Thank you John! I used in my teens to cycle round these places and still love Amersham although I have not been back for decades. Wonderful stuff!
Great walk John. Also lovely to end up in Great Missendon on Roald Dahl story day as this is where he lived. Look forward to Sunday evening uploads. Keep up the great work.
First time I’ve heard the term “Folk Horror” it gives me something to think about. Witchfinder General, the first English Western, must be part of that, Violent film but beautiful score and stunning countryside. I think I must be an armchair pagan. Venerate nature and all be nice to each other. Keep up the good walks John.
Rochester in Kent is also full of history and one of the most intact castles. Also Caerphilly Castle in Wales for a similar experience but on a grander scale but true Market Town/Castle experience. Bury St Edmunds too for everything historically that the town has to offer: makret town, thatched buildings, abbey ruins, cathedrals and you'll find so much more than the average man I know. SO much to see and so much time.
Oh yeah, Rochester for the SOuth East has the most Bohemian feel to it. like Bristol in the West. Montreal in Quebec and the ShoreDitch area in Central London, before the recent major commercial makeover. Any graveyard in that area is worth popping into if you're into Find-the-oldest-grave games in random churches acros the country or the world though I prefer any church in the UK In fact, if you do ever end up in Maldon, do check out the graveyard of the Maldon Cathedral at the foot of the SOurce of the Maldon Water Source and also the rear exit door at the back of the church which insprired the writer of Lion Witch and the Wardrobe to conjure up the idea of the Wardrobe world, complete with 1880s gas lamp, if you're there in the winter, ye shall see Narnia from inside the church looking out to the yard. Also, there's a 16th century pub at the top of the hill overlooking the valley where it is said many a famous writer/poet/artist of the 1800s would frequent and would discuss their latest projects after having indulge in some wild mushrooms whilst up in the hills behind the town! in fact, the table that they would drink at has been kept in their latest social distrancing refurbishment - so thumbs up to the landlord for that decision. but just last year it was still in its original format - I'm sure there's photos of the interior.
Magic circle of mushrooms! Lovely walk John, definitely enjoy waching you get to the station, you should show more of how you get home. Have a nice week!
Another fascinating video John really makes me want to get out there and discover what I am missing which I have decided to do I live in the bough of Havering Essex which I have seen you walk through the Manor up to Navestock South Weald and area’s around my patch of the woods thanks for another great video .
I recall a great depiction of lingering paganism literally in the shadow of christianity in Golding's novel The Spire. If memory serves, in one poignant scene the cleric, obsessively building far higher than his architects advise, sees distant fires in the forest from the vertignous building site of his cathederal. The workers who build his church, or ego, ever higher by day, worshiping the pagan gods by night. Great video as ever John, thanks.
Hi John, I'm sure you are doing this deliberately, but your reference to your goalscoring ability made me smile. I was a professional at Grimsby Town in my youth and also was at Leeds United ( during the Revie era) Port Vale and Ipswich amongst others. ( I was very mediocre) but it's strange how the football memories linger. I often wish that technology had been around to record some of my games, both professionally and in local leagues. Not a smidgen of footage. Happy days though. Thanks so much for these illuminating, informative and very relaxing uploads. Never played at Leyton Orient, although I was a sub there once.
so glad you picked up on that Paul. What a fantastic career. I've watched enough Isthmian League football to know that you must have been quite some player to play at that level, particularly at Revie's Leeds. You must have some amazing memories
@@JohnRogersWalks I was very mediocre John ... just got lucky. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some old footage ... even if it was only to laugh at ourselves.
Lovely walk John, I was born in Amersham...some things I remember along the route.. Chalfont St Giles was used for the 1971 Dad's Army film..the church in Old Amersham has it's graveyard just above the Misbourne and is the final resting place of Ruth Ellis the last female to be hanged in the UK..The lollards is a pretty grim story..Rectory Woods above Old Amersham was the execution site, while most were burnt to death it's alleged the ringleaders were placed in barrels of tent pegs and rolled down the hill from the woods into the Misbourne...The Chequers Inn a nearby pub is where they spent their last night and is alleged to be haunted by their sprits...there is a memorial to the 'Amersham martyrs' off a path from Stanley Hill...and you mentioned Dirk Bogarde...my mother tell's tales of him pushing me in my pushchair one afternoon in Amersham.
Beacons Field as in field with a beacon. My mum was born there and it infuriated her when the bbc started calling it Beckonsfield! Any way another great walk ... I was born near Hainault forest so your walks bring back the memories
Hi John Great video. I have travelled all over the UK but know nothing of Bucks. I must get out there. On the folk horror thing I am reminded of a Sherlock Holmes story 'The Copper Beeches'. Holmes and Watson are travelling by train from London to the Hampshire countryside. The dialogue goes.. Watson 'Are these farmsteads not fresh and beautiful'. Holmes ' You look at these scattered houses and are impressed with their beauty. I look at them and the only thought that comes to mind is a feeling that their isolation and the impunity that which crime maybe committed there. Watson ' Who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads.'. Holmes ' They always fill me with a certain horror and its my belief that lowest and vilest alley's in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling beautiful counrtyside'. Interesting thoughts from Mr Conan Doyle. Looking forward to the next video. Gary
Great to see you got your snack from the Co-op! Long may it live. I was interested to see that Little Missenden Parish Church was originally built using Roman bricks! It puts me in mind of the village I grew up in which has several buildings, walls and a local lock-up reputedly built using stone salvaged from the monastery complex at Dale Abbey when it was flattened during the dissolution of the monasteries. Cheers 👍🏼
Really enjoyable. I remember a Sherlock Holmes story where he said something like the country was much more sinister than the city. That put me onto folk-horror which I really enjoy, America too has its share with Deliverance and such like.
A wonderful synchronicity, John, in you discussing folk-horror and then walking up Amersham High St and passing within feet of both the house and grave of the daddy of such stuff, Arthur Machen. Perhaps nameless forces were at work on you? :-) Love all your stuff, but this one particularly poignant- writing this sat in my dad's old house in Little Kingshill, clearing it out for the last time. Spent my youth on endless rural derrives through these hills, discussing anarchist philosophy and obscure Parisian art movements with my alsatian dog. And now do similar with a border collie in Gloucestershire. You and I are of similar vintage, so may well have flicked through the racks at Scorpion Records alongside you at some point. Ramble on and go well, fella.
BEAUTIFUL WALK INDEED. cyced a bit in the area when I was 15/16 years old with the Luton Wheelers..Loved it but had to go for National Service.. 1957 I was demobbed and my kin had moved to Northants so I formed and ran a cycing club here... Came to Youth hostels in the Chiltern area and loved it again,,When I see power Pylons it reminds me when they appeared in an advert on TV. I imagined that when they walked they would trample you to death.. were all still here John...no worries.
What a lovely time I've just spent with your informative and soothing video. It couldn't have been a most pleasant and relaxing experience. Good to be in connect fellow UK traveler. I'll return I'm sure.
Loved this, my neck of the woods- very familiar from start to finish! And r.e. folk horror, I think you are quite right, it is a kind of fear of what happens in these places behind closed doors/far from civilisation/an unseen and hard to regulate area. When in relit they are pretty quaint and the magic is just the very natural beauty of the area. Perhaps some of it is metaphorical too, like the suburban horror speaking of the banality of life and the day-to-day horrors, like saying cheating or abusive people. Speaking of that, there is a horror film based in Chalfont St. Peter called 'Victims' which is a pretty great snapshot of the area at that time :)
"Praise the pylons!" Yes indeed. I always liked them as a kid, but I also seem to be remembering a dream I had of them all starting to walk along the landscape - could have been a dream or in a cartoon.
Amazing walk, John, really great, including the 'cheers' at the end, haha! Interesting comments re hauntology and folk horror. For me hauntology seems to be mainly a socio-political concept, although I guess the term has acquired different meanings and uses. As always I have learned something new from this walk - I didn't know about the Lollards - and have now read up a little. Interesting etymology of the term 'lollard'. And I can just imagine how their 12 dissentious yet completely reasonable Conclusions must have gone down with the RC Church. Long live dissent and long live the heretics!
Amazing and beautiful walk/video. I am afraid that the "laying a new water main" was actually the dreaded HS2 preparations. I walked that path by the fence just before Anersham earlier this summer whilst walking the Chiltern Heritage Trail. On 10th. July 2020 I had another encounter with HS2 on the other side of Great Missenden to where you were- this time large numbers of footpaths were actually closed, although when I finally battled through with a badly bleeding hand from encounters with barbed wire fences, a local told me the footpaths were due to reopen in September. Hope you go back to complete the South Bucks Way soon.
@@JohnRogersWalks Both those walks- and indeed the whole Chiltern Heritage Trail- are on my channel if you're interested, although in the video of the 10th. July 2020 walk I don't make much mention of my HS2 problems.
Hi, Are you sure the water main isn’t HS2? The tunnel goes under the Misbourne around there. Sorry if you cover it later in the video, not got to the end yet. I still hope HS2 will be stopped - money can be better spent on other things
That was my first thought and HS2 was a real feature of the South Bucks Way near Denham carving up the land. There was an information board on the fence explaining the water main
Another great video. Lovely light towards the end. We laughed when you were talking about getting lost as we thought it was only us that always get lost despite having a route map! We went for a walk I. Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk today and... got lost again ! 😂 (Incidentally, I think it was finding a video a couple of years ago, of you walking Rendlesham Forest UFO trail that first got us connected to your channel)
Hello John, I was watching Jooles London tours the other evening and I think he has solved the puzzle of the Tyburn crossing the Regent canal. It crosses over that bridge you suspected in your Vlog but not through pipes, the bridge is a viaduct the top of which has been covered over to form a footpath. I expect you may have discovered it yourself by now, but just in case you haven't..... the Jooles vid is a trip from Paddington lock up the canals by electric boat to Regent park (bird aviary) . Thanks again for your great walks wish I could walk them too.
Interesting video John. The circle of mushrooms you showed towards the end of the video is called a Fairy Ring. There are three types of fairy ring, and they are a big issue in sports turf (golf courses, lawn tennis etc)...... that was my not-so-interesting-fact-of-the-day 🤓👍
I am of like mind as you. To me the green places are for us to reconnect with the land. My ancestry were very strongly rural. farm labourers, gardeners, Gamekeeper even and I think its in your DNA to some extent. Talking of heading out of London. as a small child we went to Devon every summer and stayed on a farm.
So you do venture out of London John! Wow. Well.....erm...Maldon (near Worcester definitely worth a visit plus a quick hike up to the water source that made the town famous. Yes it was basically a SPA town but on steroids due to the unique properties of the local rock. see pictures of Maldon Cathedral and you'll see something you've never seen before (colours wise). If you can stay in a place near to the house where Charles Darwin stayed many years ago for very sad and tragic reasons (don't want to delve into that here!), you'll have commanding views over the valley - like a miniature London, you shall see. Plus Waitrose car park in the foreground!! Enjoy the walk Sir.
I’m thinking you’re spot on about the folk horror intent for sure. Same with the scary stories about the woods and forests. The powers that be would be keen to have us clinging to cities and mecha.
Fantastic video John, not many people I would like to meet but you are one of them! So knowledgeable! Any thoughts about going further afield more regularly? History walks maybe? Hadrians wall ;0)
Rob Young's - Electric Eden (2011) book refers to pylons as modern day Wicker men! Some of the 'Horror' films of Spanish director José Ramón Larraz come close to portraying the sense of dread townie's may experience within the English countryside. Also Jorge Grau's - The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti.) - captures Winnats Pass in the Peak District to suitably disorienting effect.... the unease of the landscape is palpable even without the brain munching zombies! In televisual terms; I guess Penda's Fen (1974) alongside Robin Redbreast (1970) both attempt to capture the darker folkloric aspects... there was others usually with a typical atonal and jarring Early Electronics Radiophonic score to add to the bleak dystopian mood. Hauntology has become a catch-all phrase, far removed from Derrida's first posit - but, also typically British in its slanted and skewed appropriation of the liminal spaces between.
thanks for those thoughts - I suppose to be fair Penda's Fen is a good celebration of the latent paganism in the land and the Church horror at such power. I have the Rob Young book on my desk, must actually open the cover
"The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue"! I paid real money to see that at the cinema when I was in my teens back in the 1970's. It blew my mind. It was paired in a double bill with "I Don't Want To Be Born" which had a pretty good cast but awful everything else 😀. Cheers 👍🏼
@@Mick_Holland True - even St. Joan could not save that one. It isn't even in the 'So bad, it's good/ Check your brain in at the the door.''' category! Still, it HAS to be seen - just don't ask me to explain why...
I'm a tad late on this one, John, but are you planning on finishing that last little bit of the South Bucks Way between Great Missenden and Coombe Hill, Wendover? I've walked that section many times, albeit in the opposite direction, and can safely say that it is lovely for an afternoon stroll :)
Could I also suggest, John, if you do decide to finish off this part of the walk, it's easier to do the section in the direction from Wendover to Great Missenden. I've walked both directions, but lost the path somewhere in the woods when heading out from Great Missenden, and I'm sure it took longer. Besides, the walk up to the Monument at the top of Coombe Hill is very pleasant in itself :)
Ha, I thought you’d caught a ghost on camera around 18:40 but then realised it was following the speed of your camera pan, so probably a lens reflection thing... 👻😂
Hi John great walk as always , I learn so much each time thank you, two points,firstly I never thought of Wicker Man as folk horror, to me it uses paganism as a vehicle to turn basic notions of society and especially Christianity on its head and at its heart is the ancient rite of the summer king who is cut down and sacrificed for the good land and comes back as crops and fecundity in the next cycle, this is also reflected in the stories of Odin, Osiris and of course Christ who died and was sacrificed for the good of mankind to mitigate sin.....it's also set in a mythical island a mirror land of ancient worships and practice, I feel Witch finder a General, a sixties historical horror set in 16C East Anglia a bloody tale of witchcraft trials to be much more in that vein, rooted in real place and history......of course there is much debate and literature about this ..... Also when you were going through the little villages I kept thinking of the sixties TV show The Avengers , Mrs Peel, John Steed, I think it was filmed nearby,all the best sir ...... Leslie When you
There was an education horror made about climbing pylons which we were shown at school in the 80's. Swiftly followed by the dangers of farms and drowning in slurry pits. A bit odd for us East End oiks. That's the nearest I can think of folk horror for the mighty pylons. Never felt the urge personally LOL :-)
Wicker Man? look into the Green Man legacy of Wales and other areas near Glanusk Park, Crickhowell, Powys. This indeed msut have been the inspiration for Burning Man in US but itself is an awesome place to experience the energy of the green man aka Festival - most family friendly too for those with young-lins.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Nothing like sunset in an English field xxx
I’m sitting in my home in Washington State, literally sealed in because of the surrounding wildfires. Your video is much appreciated today.
best of luck Lisa - glad the video could provide some comfort
DO Keep safe Lisa my thoughts go out to you all Dave in the UK🤞
We’re very lucky to have so much free content from John on RUclips. I bought This Other London on Audible and really enjoyed it
Terrific. Haven't seen those towns in 35 years! You are completely right about Folk Horror
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MAN
you were on Lower Road in Chalfont Saint Peter and it looked like you had my old heart throb's house in the frame for a second. You also got to Missenden just at the end without showing it. However. My old home. The whole area. Makes me want to cry. Thanks for the walk.
Thank you John, truly inspirational walk.
Many personal stories I could tell along that walk. However you asked what went on in Little Missenden Village Hall. Well John, that is the where I play my home games in The Chiltern District Table Tennis League. Love your work, thank you.
I really enjoy your casual attitude to walking, it makes it a real pleasure to join you on these walks. Thank you.
Walking is like philosophy.... Too true! Great walk.
Great walk John, we used to live near Chesham so many great walks in the Chilterns. Used to swim in Shardloes lake, and catch brown trout at Little Missenden. The ‘save me’ on the tree at Great Missenden no doubt is for felling for the HS2 route which is an environmental disaster for the Chilterns especially the route you’ve followed along the Missbourne valley.
Loved the vignettes of your dad.
it was great to include these in the video
Back in my childhood territory. Looking forward to this with my dinner
By the way John, I really love the track at the end. Thanks for introducing us to Chris Haugen - another Wizard of the Audio Kind. Thank you Chris.
A Great walk John
Lovely John - I’m a couple of episodes behind, so nice to see this weather compared to all today’s rain!
Moored at Denham on our way to the Thames a couple of years ago. Beautiful walk into Denham village..
Love this film, I am from wooburn but this area is my stomping ground, particularly loved the references to paganism and wicca, such a delightful walk , such a pleasure to watch, cheers John, looking forward to the next journey, wherever that may be 😀
Thanks Gabriella. I’m going to write a book about Wooburn one day
How amazing is England just beyond the M25 and outside the major cities and towns. Hopefully it will stay that way for a longtime.
I love your enthusiasm John, very infectious. Superb walk, some interesting pubs as well. Didn't realise the tube goes to Amersham!
Great walk. Thanks mate. I love the long shadows of a late afternoon.
Thank you for doing this walk. It gives me a good idea of where some of my ancestors came from. The Style family lived in Amersham, and Little Missenden, dating back to the early 1500s. There are apparently brass memorials to the Style family in Little Missenden's church. I didn't know about the history of non-conformity in the area, which is a big "AHA!" moment for me. That clearly would be the connection to the Finch family.
It's great to get a visual sense of the area. I really appreciate your work. Oh yes, sipping a glass of Fat Tug IPA as I watched.....
Lovely walk video chap going on my list walks to do
Excellent John thank you. It took me back to my childhood when I used to visit my cousins in Aylesbury and play in the fields nearby. As you mentioned Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull i will have to get out my record collection. Bob.
As a teenage scooter driver, I used to ride my scooter on the roads beside the Misbourne, used to really like that little river.
What a beautiful walk. Thank you for taking us along!
As a folklorist, I think of something a little different when I hear the words "folk horror," but I know the type of film you're talking about. Horror in general, and particularly the more violent kind, often tends to be about enforcing a dominant value system and punishing those who stray from it. So your comments on "folk horror" films make a lot of sense to me; I think you're spot on.
I enjoyed every second of this vlog. Thank you John! I used in my teens to cycle round these places and still love Amersham although I have not been back for decades. Wonderful stuff!
Thanks Lulu
Great walk John. Also lovely to end up in Great Missendon on Roald Dahl story day as this is where he lived. Look forward to Sunday evening uploads. Keep up the great work.
First time I’ve heard the term “Folk Horror” it gives me something to think about. Witchfinder General, the first English Western, must be part of that, Violent film but beautiful score and stunning countryside. I think I must be an armchair pagan. Venerate nature and all be nice to each other. Keep up the good walks John.
Thanks Richard - Adam Scovell wrote an interesting book about folk horror that might be worth a look
England is paradise on the earth.
Rochester in Kent is also full of history and one of the most intact castles. Also Caerphilly Castle in Wales for a similar experience but on a grander scale but true Market Town/Castle experience. Bury St Edmunds too for everything historically that the town has to offer: makret town, thatched buildings, abbey ruins, cathedrals and you'll find so much more than the average man I know. SO much to see and so much time.
Oh yeah, Rochester for the SOuth East has the most Bohemian feel to it. like Bristol in the West. Montreal in Quebec and the ShoreDitch area in Central London, before the recent major commercial makeover. Any graveyard in that area is worth popping into if you're into Find-the-oldest-grave games in random churches acros the country or the world though I prefer any church in the UK
In fact, if you do ever end up in Maldon, do check out the graveyard of the Maldon Cathedral at the foot of the SOurce of the Maldon Water Source and also the rear exit door at the back of the church which insprired the writer of Lion Witch and the Wardrobe to conjure up the idea of the Wardrobe world, complete with 1880s gas lamp, if you're there in the winter, ye shall see Narnia from inside the church looking out to the yard.
Also, there's a 16th century pub at the top of the hill overlooking the valley where it is said many a famous writer/poet/artist of the 1800s would frequent and would discuss their latest projects after having indulge in some wild mushrooms whilst up in the hills behind the town! in fact, the table that they would drink at has been kept in their latest social distrancing refurbishment - so thumbs up to the landlord for that decision. but just last year it was still in its original format - I'm sure there's photos of the interior.
Great walk and video John.
Another great walk with John.
Thanks Grant
Thanks John. I’ve been looking forward to this...
Magic circle of mushrooms! Lovely walk John, definitely enjoy waching you get to the station, you should show more of how you get home. Have a nice week!
Thanks Fiona, I think I’ll make the journey to the station a regular feature from now on
Last time I was in Little Missenden church was at my christening, seven-two years ago. Happy days
great place to get Christened.
@@JohnRogersWalks The holy water burned !!!!!!!
As was mine Rob, think they all ended up in The Red Lion after, apart from me of course 😄
Fantastic filmaking result, very professionally. You are my favourite walking channel
Thanks very much Andris
Folk Horror is really about loving the very feeling you described... goes without saying, loved this pylon-heavy video! 🔥
I captured those pylons just for you Marco
John Rogers Praise the Pylons!
Another fascinating video John really makes me want to get out there and discover what I am missing which I have decided to do I live in the bough of Havering Essex which I have seen you walk through the Manor up to Navestock South Weald and area’s around my patch of the woods thanks for another great video .
Thanks Brian. This Sunday’s video is a walk along the Ingrebourne from Harold Wood to Rainham
Look forward to seeing that video
I recall a great depiction of lingering paganism literally in the shadow of christianity in Golding's novel The Spire. If memory serves, in one poignant scene the cleric, obsessively building far higher than his architects advise, sees distant fires in the forest from the vertignous building site of his cathederal. The workers who build his church, or ego, ever higher by day, worshiping the pagan gods by night. Great video as ever John, thanks.
Thanks for that reference Mark, will have to seek out the book
Wish i new you were doing this when I visited from America
I kept thinking of Ben Wheatley’s, ‘A Field in England,’ John.
‘O'Neil : A man can hold a great deal inside that he does not comprehend.’
As enjoyable John - looking forward to the next one ....Cheers Kev
Even when you get lost it is very interesting.
Another great video John
Hi John, I'm sure you are doing this deliberately, but your reference to your goalscoring ability made me smile. I was a professional at Grimsby Town in my youth and also was at Leeds United ( during the Revie era) Port Vale and Ipswich amongst others. ( I was very mediocre) but it's strange how the football memories linger. I often wish that technology had been around to record some of my games, both professionally and in local leagues. Not a smidgen of footage. Happy days though. Thanks so much for these illuminating, informative and very relaxing uploads. Never played at Leyton Orient, although I was a sub there once.
so glad you picked up on that Paul. What a fantastic career. I've watched enough Isthmian League football to know that you must have been quite some player to play at that level, particularly at Revie's Leeds. You must have some amazing memories
@@JohnRogersWalks I was very mediocre John ... just got lucky. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some old footage ... even if it was only to laugh at ourselves.
A great walk, John, thank you for sharing. My wife was a High Wycombe girl.
brilliant walk.
Great Walking tour. Thanks for sharing
My pleasure thanks for watching
Great walk John. I needed it too!
Lovely walk John, I was born in Amersham...some things I remember along the route.. Chalfont St Giles was used for the 1971 Dad's Army film..the church in Old Amersham has it's graveyard just above the Misbourne and is the final resting place of Ruth Ellis the last female to be hanged in the UK..The lollards is a pretty grim story..Rectory Woods above Old Amersham was the execution site, while most were burnt to death it's alleged the ringleaders were placed in barrels of tent pegs and rolled down the hill from the woods into the Misbourne...The Chequers Inn a nearby pub is where they spent their last night and is alleged to be haunted by their sprits...there is a memorial to the 'Amersham martyrs' off a path from Stanley Hill...and you mentioned Dirk Bogarde...my mother tell's tales of him pushing me in my pushchair one afternoon in Amersham.
Great work John, beautiful video.A pleasure to watch.
Beacons Field as in field with a beacon. My mum was born there and it infuriated her when the bbc started calling it Beckonsfield! Any way another great walk ... I was born near Hainault forest so your walks bring back the memories
The pronunciation of Beaconsfield always caused a lot of discussion
Hi John
Great video. I have travelled all over the UK but know nothing of Bucks. I must get out there. On the folk horror thing I am reminded of a Sherlock Holmes story 'The Copper Beeches'. Holmes and Watson are travelling by train from London to the Hampshire countryside. The dialogue goes.. Watson 'Are these farmsteads not fresh and beautiful'. Holmes ' You look at these scattered houses and are impressed with their beauty. I look at them and the only thought that comes to mind is a feeling that their isolation and the impunity that which crime maybe committed there. Watson ' Who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads.'. Holmes ' They always fill me with a certain horror and its my belief that lowest and vilest alley's in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling beautiful counrtyside'. Interesting thoughts from Mr Conan Doyle. Looking forward to the next video. Gary
I think you've found the source of the whole genre Gary
That was a great distance John. I have been on Furlough since March, and racked up another 1300 miles.
that's great going
Another lovely walk, John. Thoroughly enjoyed!
Great to see you got your snack from the Co-op! Long may it live.
I was interested to see that Little Missenden Parish Church was originally built using Roman bricks! It puts me in mind of the village I grew up in which has several buildings, walls and a local lock-up reputedly built using stone salvaged from the monastery complex at Dale Abbey when it was flattened during the dissolution of the monasteries. Cheers 👍🏼
Really enjoyable. I remember a Sherlock Holmes story where he said something like the country was much more sinister than the city. That put me onto folk-horror which I really enjoy, America too has its share with Deliverance and such like.
Thanks John keep safe mate .
The ring of mushrooms are horse mushrooms perfectly edible if you can peel the skin 👍
A wonderful synchronicity, John, in you discussing folk-horror and then walking up Amersham High St and passing within feet of both the house and grave of the daddy of such stuff, Arthur Machen. Perhaps nameless forces were at work on you? :-) Love all your stuff, but this one particularly poignant- writing this sat in my dad's old house in Little Kingshill, clearing it out for the last time. Spent my youth on endless rural derrives through these hills, discussing anarchist philosophy and obscure Parisian art movements with my alsatian dog. And now do similar with a border collie in Gloucestershire. You and I are of similar vintage, so may well have flicked through the racks at Scorpion Records alongside you at some point. Ramble on and go well, fella.
BEAUTIFUL WALK INDEED. cyced a bit in the area when I was 15/16 years old with the Luton Wheelers..Loved it but had to go for National Service.. 1957 I was demobbed and my kin had moved to Northants so I formed and ran a cycing club here... Came to Youth hostels in the Chiltern area and loved it again,,When I see power Pylons it reminds me when they appeared in an advert on TV. I imagined that when they walked they would trample you to death.. were all still here John...no worries.
What a lovely time I've just spent with your informative and soothing video. It couldn't have been a most pleasant and relaxing experience. Good to be in connect fellow UK traveler.
I'll return I'm sure.
Great stuff.
Loved this, my neck of the woods- very familiar from start to finish! And r.e. folk horror, I think you are quite right, it is a kind of fear of what happens in these places behind closed doors/far from civilisation/an unseen and hard to regulate area. When in relit they are pretty quaint and the magic is just the very natural beauty of the area. Perhaps some of it is metaphorical too, like the suburban horror speaking of the banality of life and the day-to-day horrors, like saying cheating or abusive people. Speaking of that, there is a horror film based in Chalfont St. Peter called 'Victims' which is a pretty great snapshot of the area at that time :)
"Praise the pylons!" Yes indeed. I always liked them as a kid, but I also seem to be remembering a dream I had of them all starting to walk along the landscape - could have been a dream or in a cartoon.
"Pylons, those pillars
/ Bare like nude giant girls that have no secret." Stephen Spender.
Amazing walk, John, really great, including the 'cheers' at the end, haha! Interesting comments re hauntology and folk horror. For me hauntology seems to be mainly a socio-political concept, although I guess the term has acquired different meanings and uses. As always I have learned something new from this walk - I didn't know about the Lollards - and have now read up a little. Interesting etymology of the term 'lollard'. And I can just imagine how their 12 dissentious yet completely reasonable Conclusions must have gone down with the RC Church. Long live dissent and long live the heretics!
Here Here! Mariana. And I agree what you re: Hauntology
Wonderful Journey. Thankyou John
I enjoy your walks, keep it up
thanks Life with the Gordons
Amazing and beautiful walk/video. I am afraid that the "laying a new water main" was actually the dreaded HS2 preparations. I walked that path by the fence just before Anersham earlier this summer whilst walking the Chiltern Heritage Trail. On 10th. July 2020 I had another encounter with HS2 on the other side of Great Missenden to where you were- this time large numbers of footpaths were actually closed, although when I finally battled through with a badly bleeding hand from encounters with barbed wire fences, a local told me the footpaths were due to reopen in September. Hope you go back to complete the South Bucks Way soon.
thanks Voxley
@@JohnRogersWalks Both those walks- and indeed the whole Chiltern Heritage Trail- are on my channel if you're interested, although in the video of the 10th. July 2020 walk I don't make much mention of my HS2 problems.
Was out in the exact same area this weekend with a DofE group. Lovely area.
Watching it now great vid john.i walked more of the new River upto Enfield Loop was so interesting walking more of it
Hi, Are you sure the water main isn’t HS2? The tunnel goes under the Misbourne around there. Sorry if you cover it later in the video, not got to the end yet. I still hope HS2 will be stopped - money can be better spent on other things
That was my first thought and HS2 was a real feature of the South Bucks Way near Denham carving up the land. There was an information board on the fence explaining the water main
Another great video. Lovely light towards the end. We laughed when you were talking about getting lost as we thought it was only us that always get lost despite having a route map! We went for a walk I. Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk today and... got lost again ! 😂 (Incidentally, I think it was finding a video a couple of years ago, of you walking Rendlesham Forest UFO trail that first got us connected to your channel)
Hello John, I was watching Jooles London tours the other evening and I think he has solved the puzzle of the Tyburn crossing the Regent canal. It crosses over that bridge you suspected in your Vlog but not through pipes, the bridge is a viaduct the top of which has been covered over to form a footpath. I expect you may have discovered it yourself by now, but just in case you haven't..... the Jooles vid is a trip from Paddington lock up the canals by electric boat to Regent park (bird aviary) . Thanks again for your great walks wish I could walk them too.
Thanks Tony - that makes a lot of sense
Should have said aquaduct
Fantastic walk thank you 👍
my pleasure Rob thanks for watching
Interesting video John. The circle of mushrooms you showed towards the end of the video is called a Fairy Ring. There are three types of fairy ring, and they are a big issue in sports turf (golf courses, lawn tennis etc)...... that was my not-so-interesting-fact-of-the-day 🤓👍
Buckinghamshire/Herts borders are amazing
Did this walk a couple of months ago.such a lovely walk John, such a shame hs2 is swallowing up half of the countryside next to it.
ha, the mask bit at the end was funny - but i'm glad you avoided the peril of the fairy ring, john 😉
I am of like mind as you. To me the green places are for us to reconnect with the land. My ancestry were very strongly rural. farm labourers, gardeners, Gamekeeper even and I think its in your DNA to some extent. Talking of heading out of London. as a small child we went to Devon every summer and stayed on a farm.
Great walk
Wonder what you've been up to today, it's been really sunny.
I’ve been out walking along the River Ingrebourne Jack, what a glorious day
So you do venture out of London John! Wow. Well.....erm...Maldon (near Worcester definitely worth a visit plus a quick hike up to the water source that made the town famous. Yes it was basically a SPA town but on steroids due to the unique properties of the local rock. see pictures of Maldon Cathedral and you'll see something you've never seen before (colours wise). If you can stay in a place near to the house where Charles Darwin stayed many years ago for very sad and tragic reasons (don't want to delve into that here!), you'll have commanding views over the valley - like a miniature London, you shall see. Plus Waitrose car park in the foreground!! Enjoy the walk Sir.
I’m thinking you’re spot on about the folk horror intent for sure. Same with the scary stories about the woods and forests. The powers that be would be keen to have us clinging to cities and mecha.
Fantastic video John, not many people I would like to meet but you are one of them! So knowledgeable! Any thoughts about going further afield more regularly? History walks maybe? Hadrians wall ;0)
Thanks Stuart. I would love to go further afield, certainly Scotland. Will most likely be next year in reality
@@JohnRogersWalks I wish you would go to Scadbury park in Chislehurst Kent. An ancient stomping ground of mine.
Rob Young's - Electric Eden (2011) book refers to pylons as modern day Wicker men!
Some of the 'Horror' films of Spanish director José Ramón Larraz come close to portraying the sense of dread townie's may experience within the English countryside.
Also Jorge Grau's - The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti.) - captures Winnats Pass in the Peak District to suitably disorienting effect.... the unease of the landscape is palpable even without the brain munching zombies!
In televisual terms; I guess Penda's Fen (1974) alongside Robin Redbreast (1970) both attempt to capture the darker folkloric aspects... there was others usually with a typical atonal and jarring Early Electronics Radiophonic score to add to the bleak dystopian mood.
Hauntology has become a catch-all phrase, far removed from Derrida's first posit - but, also typically British in its slanted and skewed appropriation of the liminal spaces between.
thanks for those thoughts - I suppose to be fair Penda's Fen is a good celebration of the latent paganism in the land and the Church horror at such power. I have the Rob Young book on my desk, must actually open the cover
"The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue"! I paid real money to see that at the cinema when I was in my teens back in the 1970's. It blew my mind.
It was paired in a double bill with "I Don't Want To Be Born" which had a pretty good cast but awful everything else 😀. Cheers 👍🏼
@@Mick_Holland True - even St. Joan could not save that one. It isn't even in the 'So bad, it's good/ Check your brain in at the the door.''' category!
Still, it HAS to be seen - just don't ask me to explain why...
I played against Great Kingshill for Marlow FC as a youth
I'm a tad late on this one, John, but are you planning on finishing that last little bit of the South Bucks Way between Great Missenden and Coombe Hill, Wendover?
I've walked that section many times, albeit in the opposite direction, and can safely say that it is lovely for an afternoon stroll :)
Could I also suggest, John, if you do decide to finish off this part of the walk, it's easier to do the section in the direction from Wendover to Great Missenden. I've walked both directions, but lost the path somewhere in the woods when heading out from Great Missenden, and I'm sure it took longer.
Besides, the walk up to the Monument at the top of Coombe Hill is very pleasant in itself :)
When you are nearing sunset in such a beautiful location why not pitch a wild camp for the night and push on an extended walk the next day?
That’s a lovely idea Tom
Ha, I thought you’d caught a ghost on camera around 18:40 but then realised it was following the speed of your camera pan, so probably a lens reflection thing... 👻😂
Hope you enjoyed your packet of McCoy's crisps John I work in the factory that they are made in.
Hi John great walk as always , I learn so much each time thank you, two points,firstly I never thought of Wicker Man as folk horror, to me it uses paganism as a vehicle to turn basic notions of society and especially Christianity on its head and at its heart is the ancient rite of the summer king who is cut down and sacrificed for the good land and comes back as crops and fecundity in the next cycle, this is also reflected in the stories of Odin, Osiris and of course Christ who died and was sacrificed for the good of mankind to mitigate sin.....it's also set in a mythical island a mirror land of ancient worships and practice, I feel Witch finder a
General, a sixties historical horror set in 16C East Anglia a bloody tale of witchcraft trials to be much more in that vein, rooted in real place and history......of course there is much debate and literature about this .....
Also when you were going through the little villages I kept thinking of the sixties TV show The Avengers , Mrs Peel, John Steed, I think it was filmed nearby,all the best sir ...... Leslie
When you
Looking back at this in March 2024, I wonder how much of those footpaths have been rerouted or sadly, removed completely due to the HS2 works.
Hi john you are a chip off the old block of your father ,lived near in wye road
Thanks Paddy - I must’ve seen you around
Given your obvious love of rural landscapes John, why (like me)are you domiciled in London?
It’s childhood nostalgia really Eddie - I’m not sure I could live beyond London in the UK
There was an education horror made about climbing pylons which we were shown at school in the 80's. Swiftly followed by the dangers of farms and drowning in slurry pits. A bit odd for us East End oiks. That's the nearest I can think of folk horror for the mighty pylons. Never felt the urge personally LOL :-)
As a wise man once told me John 'Every mushroom is edible..... once!'' :D
Wise words indeed
PS... Rolf Harris lived in Maidenhead. My dad was a mate of his. Not that we admit that now....
very true - my Dad did his garden once
Little Missenden Village Hall?
Have you seen "Eyes Wide Shut"?
ha - I must go back
Wicker Man? look into the Green Man legacy of Wales and other areas near Glanusk Park, Crickhowell, Powys. This indeed msut have been the inspiration for Burning Man in US but itself is an awesome place to experience the energy of the green man aka Festival - most family friendly too for those with young-lins.