What a fun day out that was, thank you for having me along Mr WC21! Great work on the finished product here, as discussed "offline" I think the voiceover bits worked really well, and what an embarrassment of riches here in terms of all the different media involved. It's a privilege to get to see this all being filmed as I really appreciate the amount of kit involved - that backpack of yours is jammed full of camera gear and related paraphernalia! Not even space for such fripperies as a bottle of water on a scorching hot day as this one was. I'm happy that at least one of your cameras forgivingly shows me as being not quite as lobster faced as I really was! I feel like we've really done the Long Man justice here! Although after my possibly ill advised attempt to defend ley lines (in the much-more-mundane way that Alfred Watkins originally described them, sans the "mumbo jumbo" they later acquired) I doubt any of your viewers will want to hear my crackpot theory that the Long Man actually depicts a very well known Norman!
Thanks Tweedy! It was a good day indeed and worth being temporarily lobsterfied for! Hopefully they’ll do a Cerne Abbas on the Long Man and we’ll be able to do a follow up. Someone else has suggested the Norman idea in the comments - I think you might be onto something! I was pleased with how the camera on a monopod idea worked out and the extremely silly “holding” the graphic was funny - well, to me, anyhow! Thank you very much for all your help with this - hugely appreciated.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd You guys give me a chuckle from start to finish in any collaboration you produce ..Naughty monks and Phil Harding making a cameo in a nice pub, what more could a viewer want?.
@@philcollinson328 thank you Phil! I was going to say, middle aged men behaving badly, but I don’t think I can get away with that description any longer. Unless 110 is a realistic life expectancy?!
Two of my most recently discovered and favorite you tubers pull off a fantastic collaboration. What a great Sunday this is turning out to be! A marionette Sir Tony would be a welcome addition.
Thank you very much - it’s so rewarding to get such lovely comments. I agree, but sadly still no contact from the BBC! Channel 5 would do, to be honest!
@@tweedyoutdoors Indeed, a superb collaboration of good gentlemen... I can't get over your Bear Grylls adventure post filming Mr Tweedy, if Mr WC21 allows ....you should attach your wonderful co - vid here. It shows the efforts you guys go to to create your wonderful content.
Thank you, Helen! We had a lot of fun making this. It’s probably a better known site than most I cover, but somewhat surprisingly, I couldn’t find a video that went through the origin theories in any detail. I think it’s the only video that shows the painted concrete blocks up close too!
I really enjoyed this video. I particularly enjoyed the discussion you two had in the pub about the Long Man. You can’t do a discussion on your own (well you can but you look like a nutter). Thank you so much for the effort you put into the filming, editing and dialogue. I always look forward to your latest production!
Thanks Jane! I echo what Mr WC21 said, it's really nice to get that feedback on the pub discussion as we had a lot of fun doing that bit! To be clear the whole day was enjoyable but some of the outdoor bits were a bit #TooHotForTweed!
Hi Darren and John, this was excellent, really enjoyed watching. Very skilfully editted too especially in the pub. It must have taken quite some time to plan, script, film and edit. One of your best!! Very interesting to see the previous incarnations. Must admit I thought these figures were made by simply taking the turf off to reveal the gleaming white chalk below, surely that's how they once were, maybe some still are. I do find them fascinating and we will never really know the details. Maybe it was a fad that swept round pre-roman Britain with each tribe competing to have the best one, they are a truly magnificent sight. The dimensions on this one are truly enormous. A few years ago we were fortunate enough to travel to Peru and went to visit the Ballesta Islands, travelling out on the launch to the islands you can see the Paracas Candelabra 600' high (182.8 metres) the outline is carved 2' (0.6 metres) deep into the ground and lined by stones. Apparently you can see it 12 miles out to sea. The Nazca lines are nearby, not sure if this one is part of them. Pottery found nearby dates back to 200 BC. Are they contemporaries? did someone travel down to South America to carve it? Or did an Inca travel to England? Maybe there is a leyline that links them? You two work very well together always very entertaining, however be careful on future videos I'm not sure if Tweedy can be trusted with the props ....... All the best!!
@@davidberlanny3308 many thanks David - it was quite an editing challenge so it’s lovely to get this feedback. You are right - it’s enormous. I was a bit surprised by the blocks when I got up close - difficult to see anything older there. I’d assumed exposed chalk like you. I think the Tudor bricks/tiles are interesting - could that have been a restoration of something older? Your adventures sound amazing. I really should overcome my reluctance to leave this silly island!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI forgot to mention, did you look at lidar? just wondering if anything might show up. Actually It's about time I discovered how to do this myself!! I've been watching Isaac Moreno's latest video on the Nimes aqueduct, now this is one I would love to visit might be hard to convince Nuria to go scrambling about in aqueducts but the pont de Gard is just amazing and only 15 hours by train from Lancaster!!
Hi guys, what an informative and and entertaining video you've made, is a pleasure watching. We met on the day of the recording in the open field, two Dutchmen who were trying to complete their walk of that day, on that beautiful sunny day, and who were wondering what these slighty overdressed men were doing. We hope the pictures we made are succesful, best Ron & Albertine
Hi Ron and Albertine, thank you so much for checking in - it’s so nice when the people we meet do that! The pictures were great, thank you! Hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did and glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I've learned even more facts. Tweedy's, unlike duck calls have a bit of an echo. That could be worth a million quid one day if I ever appear on Who wants to be a millionaire. Few others would know that fact ....haha. The Axons appeared in re-runs of Dr Who from 1971...I saw that in 1975 ....Ah..I forgot, we're both '68 kids.
Yet another great pairing with your friend, Tweedy! The voice amplification bit, “Like and Subscribe!” absolutely cracked me up! Looking forward to my South Downs-English Coastal Path hike next month (especially a visit to Harvey’s), all inspired by you and Tweedy. Great video…Thank You…CHEERS!!!🍻
Thank you Ed! Glad you enjoyed it. I hope you get the sort of weather we did for your hike - it was glorious up there and the views were sublime. Tweedy made a good point about how you can really get away from houses up on the South Downs, in a way that is not that common in the south.
An excellent collaboration with Tweedy, most entertaining and very informative. I live not far from the Long Man. More in the south-east of England would be great. Keep up the good work.
Hi Darren. A superlative collaboration with Tweedy. You two were on fine form, both outside and in the pub. Informative and entertaining content. The Longman will never be seen in the same light now I know it’s no more than a 1960’s concrete disfigurement! Onwards to the next collaboration 👏👏👍😀 PS Now I’m off to see if Tweedy’s video is better than yours 🫣😂
Thanks Andrew! We had a fun - if somewhat hot day - that pub was a sanctuary! I was a bit shocked when I got up close to those concrete blocks! I’m sure you’ll enjoy Tweedy’s video which is very different. Hopefully you’ll conclude they’re both equally enjoyable - like 2 very fine bottles of wine from different regions!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Having just watched Tweedy’s video I can report that you both undid each other. Two very different views of such a memorable day. Here’s to the next collaboration 👍🍺
A marvelous, fun vid. I always enjoy seeing you fine gents working in collaboration. I am left wondering if the latest change to the Longman shows him sporting a smart tweed jacket.
Thanks Phil! I think he could do with some kind of necktie, personally! If you look at the second picture of him from the 18th Century, he looks to have perhaps a cravat?
Wonderful, informative and always refreshing to see those collabs of the two of you - Wish I could have been there! I think the British countryside always wins hands down no matter what you compare it with. I now copy-pasted this exact comment from Mr. Tweedy...except for 6 little changes... The two of you beat me to it, but I have been wondering for a while what might lie under the tiles and how to turn that into a video. Perhaps the LMOW is from the same period as our friend at Cerne-Abbas. Just about the time those abbeys were founded - How intriguing...Good work, gentlemen! Let me just add one buzz-word to spark further discussion: Geo-magnetic scan with a flux-gate magnetometer - that's what the doctor orders here!
@@MattMesserPics I thought about you when we filmed this and your excellent Cerne Abbas video! We really need to get under the ground, and past those concrete blocks, to understand this one. Now we have a range on Cerne Abbas, I do wonder if this one is similar. It would be great to find out. I was a bit shocked by those concrete blocks - very difficult to see any physical signs of what was there before!
I well remember back in the 90's I was on my way to the Kent Custom Bike Show (motorcycles) with my friends and had to stop for fuel. As I was filling up at the pump I happened to look up and to my sheer delight and amazement, there was the Long Man gazing silently down from his hillside at me. Although I had known about it before, I hadn't realised I would be going straight past him. That was a good day. As you point out in your video, there are quite a few examples of 'Anglo-Saxon' imagery (like on the helmet at Sutton Hoo as well) which are strikingly similar to the Long Man. It always amazes me that, given the dating, and the fact that as far as I can ascertain, the figure was in the original estate of Wulfnoth 'Godwinson', nobody has yet postulated that the Long Man (and possibly Cerne Abbas???) could well be a representation of the battle standard flown by the English King at the Battle of Hastings - Harold Godwinson's 'Fighting Man'. Which would have presumably been created by the monks in the nearby abbeys, in recognition of their patronage by the family. Seems eminently plausible to me.
Hi Alex, it’s funny you should say that, because Tweedy did actually postulate that. It does seem possible and of course, the scientific date range on Cerne Abbas does now support that idea. I’ll have a look at this idea again when I cover off Cerne Abbas at some stage. Thank you!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Interesting theory Alex! I too thought it might originate in that Norman era, but my theory was that it was depicting the other side of the battle - William the Conqueror. Largely based on the fact Wilmington Priory was founded by Herluin de Canteville - William's stepfather.
@@tweedyoutdoors But couldn't Herluin be trying to curry favour with the locals by using a pre conquest image in an attempt to legitimise the new regime?
I love you two collaborating, its the best thing ever! Its my 2 favourite RUclipsrs in one. I have a theory that Tweedy is WC21's son. Tweed seems to run in the family. lol
Thank you! It is always fun working with Tweedy and I think that comes across. We had a great time doing this one - it was actually a very warm day and that pint at the end was needed!
I enjoyed Tweedy Outdoors vid ..a must see in collaboration to this vid! I saw him open a gate...He does it well, but not with the same panache MR WC21 opens a gate. It was a posher gate opening however.
The next time you collaborate with Tweedie and you're wearing your shorts, he could bring along a pair of black rimmed specs. The problem of an ending would be solved........An Eric and Ernie dance into the hinterland whilst singing 'Bring me sunshine'.
Thank you for a fascinating view into the murky-ish past of the Long Man. I've long held the romantic view that this mysterious figure must appeared before the Romans but I'm with you on the logic that, inspite of the earliest dating evidence and like its previous incarnations, there's a case for earlier forms in existence that have subsequently been built on or restored. Great video!
Thank you! Yes, I don’t think the scientific dating to 1550 rules out an earlier date - the poor chap seems to have attracted re-brickings! Who is to say they weren’t restoring something older then? Having got up close to his current breeze blocks, there’s no readily apparent earlier form there, so they’d need to get down under the soil like they have with Cerne Abbas. Hopefully they will one day and I can get another video out of it!
I'm with Alfred Watkins, he's a dodder man. Those are ranging poles. Like the river itinerarys (lists of places that described a journey with resorting to a map) I see merit in recognising the way place names and landmarks can be used to describe routes where there are no roads.
Great video. All that was missing was a physical reenactment of the various designs by you and Tweedy, with scythes and such. But please please please, no visible members.
A cracking video Darren. Someone always has to mess with history. I'm surprised he wasn't destroyed as a tenuous link to slavery too. I see you still aren't convinced by the laylines theory 😂. I love the way you bounce off each other. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Chris! I’m currently re-evaluating ley lines, Tweedy made a strong case for them - devoid of the mumbo jumbo factor! Even though I knew about the concrete blocks, I was still shocked when I saw them up close!
@WC21UKProductionsLtd I was thinking it was topsoil scraped away from chalk. Well, that's what my mind thought. Ley Lines, oops. I can't even blame autocorrect for that error. Have a great week, Darren.
The Long Concrete Man of Wilmington. When Restoration walks hand in hand with Cultural Vandalism. Thoroughly enjoyable Sunday Morning video ....well done
Thank you! I was a bit shocked when I got up close to the 1960s blocking. Whatever was there before seems to have been obliterated. It would be good to get some scientific dating here, like they’ve done at Cerne Abbas. Cheers.
Really interesting stuff. It's hard to know what should be done, half of me wants to see it restored to an earlier design but then i'm so used to the image of what i now know is 1960s breezeblocks i sort of wouldn't want to see it changed.
Thank you. Yes it’s a tough one! Even though I knew about the breeze blocks, I was still a bit shocked when I saw them up close. I couldn’t make out anything of the earlier form. Unlike any other hill marking I’ve seen before! Still impressive though, and a fascinatingly complex history. Cheers.
Great presentation, however I'm certain the opto luminescent tests were done 20+ yrs ago by Reading uni, showing likely date around reformation ie. Henry 8th
Thanks and yes they did. It is mentioned in the video - that's the earliest certifiable date. Some have proposed that those "bricks" could have been a re-bricking of an earlier version of the giant, or equally, they could be when it was created. Cheers.
In the image at 4:30 is that one of the original builders in the bottom right corner? It could be the origin of the term builder's bum. Another enjoyable video.
Watkins connected "Dodderman" with a local nickname for Snails, with their twin antennas. Also old men "Dodder" with their walking sticks. Men could easily survey substantial distances with a pair of sticks, but it only works in straight lines. By the Neolithic period they would already have fallen out of use owing to field systems and tribal lands. We can still find ancient field systems butting up against fossilised Leys.....there I said it ! As there was no writing everything was done with verbal agreement, which lasted down the hundreds of generations till the present, though writing forced agreements to be worthless till committed to legal documents. I found a perfect example of such an field/Ley interaction here in the midlands.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd A start point is to disregard the present belief that "Ley" is the Danish word for a clearing (try finding one on a Danish map). The next step is to admit that all place names ending in "Ley" do in fact align SW/NE or SE/NW and are engineered to connect the now mainland of europe with the land recently freed of Ice revealing sources for oolitic stone for axe heads, or, from the southwest coast for its sealife/game to the "Silver Pit" lake in what we call Doggerland.
@@andymcgeechan8318 and @tweedyoutdoors I have subsequently recalled that way back in the 1980s I read a book called “Ley Lines in Question” and it’s one of those examples of a book having a long influence. That provided a detailed debunking in effect and it has stuck with me. Tweedy actually corrected a faulty memory in the respect that I had conflated Alfred Watkins ideas with later ones involving energy flowing down the ley lines and space ships using them as landing strips! By and large, apart from the occasional opportunity for a joke in a video, I’ve just not thought about the subject. I think I’ll read Watkins and possibly do a video on it at some stage.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Watkins believed them to be relevant to medium length journeys across the west (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) some reaching the sea, I find that they are all coast to coast SW - NE (Kernow to Doggerland) and, primarily, off mainland europe (we where yet to become an island) SE to NW, trading Flint and Chert heading up along several parallel lines, for the very hard stone axe heads at Great Langdale and suchlike places. Starting around 9600 BC they became completely unusable due to forestation, between 7300 and 5000 BC, due to a rapidly improving climate causing what is known as "The Wildwood" (I wonder if that inspired Paul Weller ?). There are a few places locally called "Burnet Iron Leys" and "Burnt Hurst" straddling two such lines, showing attempts to beat the wildwood. The "magical Ley Lines" seem to come from the Neolithic or Bronze ages as do many of our myths and legends (The sword in the stone ect) Merlin is a likely spin off from the Dodderman depicted as folklore on that hillside. We cleared the forrests eventually by which time rivers, coastal shipping and other trade routes became the norm. Many european myths and legends came from their forestations which persisted for longer.
Fascinating collaboration. LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE. Some brilliant editing, informative and well-researched story. Does Mr WC21 have a thing about Phil's? Thank you
Well, it turns out that I know now, exactly who the Cerne Abbas Giant represents. It's not Hercules or Oliver Cromwell. And if you've seen my video on the White Horses, I've now figured out what the geometric pattern, that the White Horse alignments make, is intended to represent. It ties perfectly into the identity of the Giant. As you can see below, I've always been fascinated with this figure - even more so than Cerne Abbas. My guess is that he does indeed represent the same figure as at Cerne Abbas. But the staves don't figure in the theory one bit. I have an explanation; When the figure was being outlined by Reverend St Croix (however you spell it) he noticed that the staves were half missing. No they weren't. They were the result of wear in the chalk by people walking up and down the field boundary either side of the giant. So they were actually half-made, not half missing. The staves are therefore modern, although the figure is (like Cerne Abbas) ancient - Bronze Age, like the White Horse of Uffington. They are all of the same origin and meaning -all of them.
The image at 6:18 is Woden/Odin his weapon of choice was the spear and those apparent horns coming out of his helmet are in fact his two Ravens Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory) I've reasoned, and I'm probably not the first, that images like this of Woden might be a cause for horned helmets equal Vikings and predate Wagner's use in operas.
-"the long man of Wilmington is bricked up...", "dating the long man...", "100 women went up to the giant...", "woke up to their giant having an oversized member..." gawddamned Long Man of Wilmington has a better sex life than I do apparently, not sure if I should be jealous or proud for the boy -feels like Time Team? I'll allow it if Darren gets on some of Phil's mildly scandalous short shorts. Actually, on second thought, maybe Tweety should do it. -after a period of sober introspection followed by a third thought, I retract my short shorts suggestion, as neither Pinky nor The Brain are really built for the class of airing those types of shorts provide. -looking at the bright side, at least now y'all can tell everyone you know that you really are "built different"! -and finally, and ending? a zoom out (or in) on the star of every episode they were in, the Phil style jean cut-off short shorts!
Oh gawd, I’d forgotten about Phil’s short, shorts! The shorts of nightmares. I’d have to draw the line at those, but I did consider growing my fingernails and dirtying them up for that added authenticity! Cheers!
It's obviously Woden dancing with his spears. I say obviously, I have no idea. There is something much more interesting than leylines connecting monuments and that is geography
I did think Woden for a bit with those 18th Century images. It’s changed so much in the last 300 years, who knows what it was like 1,000 years back - if indeed it was there then.
Appropriate ways to end your vids ideas, given it seems to perplex you ... "Land of Hope and Glory" only to be interrupted by the Sergeant Major shouting "SHUT UP!!!" The Tweedy on the mount experiment would suffice ....'Ain't half hot mum' style ...Or a BBC end of broadcasting for the evening spinning globe circa 1980's would work.
@@philcollinson328 it looks like that’s backfired on them. Disney not happy. I’m not bothered - the 2005 revival has never appealed to me - a very different show to the original run, of which I’m a huge fan. Feel a bit sorry for the fans who do value it, though. Future is in doubt now, I’d say.
Tweedie and Tweedum, I was surprised you could make such a long winded presentation out of an act of vandalism by a bunch of religious twits. If it was created by monks would it not have been created with a religious iconography in mind. Any old tales of the “ritualistic” behaviour by the monks or other nefarious groups? Any dancing by the local Morris jugglers? Maybe advertising for the cloistered boys being available for special treatments? The minds boggles at the thought. I enjoy a good mind boggling.
@@andrewbarnett5542 thanks Andrew - “Tweedie and Tweedum” is excellent, I might “borrow” that! I’m not sure about the monks. At least we now know it was there in the 1500s and I’m tempted by the idea of that being a restoration of something far older…
Keep the wig, the Time team hark back to wonderful Phil Harding is a classic ending to a vid. Roman to medieval British history is fun, It'll always Trump modern history ..I'm Biden my time until you celebrate your 10,000 subscribers. SEO words ..
What a fun day out that was, thank you for having me along Mr WC21! Great work on the finished product here, as discussed "offline" I think the voiceover bits worked really well, and what an embarrassment of riches here in terms of all the different media involved. It's a privilege to get to see this all being filmed as I really appreciate the amount of kit involved - that backpack of yours is jammed full of camera gear and related paraphernalia! Not even space for such fripperies as a bottle of water on a scorching hot day as this one was. I'm happy that at least one of your cameras forgivingly shows me as being not quite as lobster faced as I really was!
I feel like we've really done the Long Man justice here! Although after my possibly ill advised attempt to defend ley lines (in the much-more-mundane way that Alfred Watkins originally described them, sans the "mumbo jumbo" they later acquired) I doubt any of your viewers will want to hear my crackpot theory that the Long Man actually depicts a very well known Norman!
Thanks Tweedy! It was a good day indeed and worth being temporarily lobsterfied for!
Hopefully they’ll do a Cerne Abbas on the Long Man and we’ll be able to do a follow up. Someone else has suggested the Norman idea in the comments - I think you might be onto something!
I was pleased with how the camera on a monopod idea worked out and the extremely silly “holding” the graphic was funny - well, to me, anyhow!
Thank you very much for all your help with this - hugely appreciated.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd You guys give me a chuckle from start to finish in any collaboration you produce ..Naughty monks and Phil Harding making a cameo in a nice pub, what more could a viewer want?.
@@philcollinson328 thank you Phil! I was going to say, middle aged men behaving badly, but I don’t think I can get away with that description any longer. Unless 110 is a realistic life expectancy?!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I know the feeling ...I call myself sprightly older.
@@philcollinson328 consider that term borrowed!
Two of my most recently discovered and favorite you tubers pull off a fantastic collaboration. What a great Sunday this is turning out to be! A marionette Sir Tony would be a welcome addition.
Thank you so much and glad you enjoyed it! I like the idea of that marionette!
Splendid video and collaboration with Professor Tweed, and some great editing as well.
Cheers Hedley! How are you getting on with the Ashdown plan?
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Pretty much ready, though I am about to scoot on hols. Will update you soon.
@@hedleythorne really looking forward to it! I’ve got some hols too, but we’ll make it happen!
Thanks Hedley! Alas my academic career ran out at a mere doctor - perhaps I chose the wrong subject?
Great fun and so well put together. You chaps should be on TV, witty and erudite. Thanks for this, please do more collaborations.
Thank you very much - it’s so rewarding to get such lovely comments. I agree, but sadly still no contact from the BBC! Channel 5 would do, to be honest!
Thank you for those very kind words! We had a lot of fun making this and I am confident there will be more of these collaborations to come!
@@tweedyoutdoors Indeed, a superb collaboration of good gentlemen... I can't get over your Bear Grylls adventure post filming Mr Tweedy, if Mr WC21 allows ....you should attach your wonderful co - vid here. It shows the efforts you guys go to to create your wonderful content.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Sod the BBC...Channel 4 is the best for this kind of history content.
Love the humour and the really interesting facts as well ❤
Thank you, Helen! We had a lot of fun making this. It’s probably a better known site than most I cover, but somewhat surprisingly, I couldn’t find a video that went through the origin theories in any detail. I think it’s the only video that shows the painted concrete blocks up close too!
MUCH FUN. Thanks Gents. Great watch.
@@pwhitewick thank you Paul - glad it was fun - it was to make!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I'll admit, I did have a quick nap whilst tweedy was talking leylines... ;-) (Just kidding, love you Tweedy).
Full marks to him for going public on the subject, I say!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd only a brave man would!
Thanks
Thank you so much Jane. Really appreciated.
I really enjoyed this video. I particularly enjoyed the discussion you two had in the pub about the Long Man. You can’t do a discussion on your own (well you can but you look like a nutter). Thank you so much for the effort you put into the filming, editing and dialogue. I always look forward to your latest production!
Thank you Jane that is lovely feedback and I really appreciate it! It was a fun day and we both really enjoyed the pub - very hot for once!
Thanks Jane! I echo what Mr WC21 said, it's really nice to get that feedback on the pub discussion as we had a lot of fun doing that bit! To be clear the whole day was enjoyable but some of the outdoor bits were a bit #TooHotForTweed!
My favourite comedy trio. Some fine pointing at 5:33. Chapeau. More on the mighty Barry Cunliffe, perhaps? Carry on.
Thanks Barry! The other Barry - Cunliffe - probably is worthy of a video!
Hi Darren and John, this was excellent, really enjoyed watching. Very skilfully editted too especially in the pub. It must have taken quite some time to plan, script, film and edit. One of your best!!
Very interesting to see the previous incarnations. Must admit I thought these figures were made by simply taking the turf off to reveal the gleaming white chalk below, surely that's how they once were, maybe some still are.
I do find them fascinating and we will never really know the details. Maybe it was a fad that swept round pre-roman Britain with each tribe competing to have the best one, they are a truly magnificent sight.
The dimensions on this one are truly enormous. A few years ago we were fortunate enough to travel to Peru and went to visit the Ballesta Islands, travelling out on the launch to the islands you can see the Paracas Candelabra 600' high (182.8 metres) the outline is carved 2' (0.6 metres) deep into the ground and lined by stones. Apparently you can see it 12 miles out to sea. The Nazca lines are nearby, not sure if this one is part of them. Pottery found nearby dates back to 200 BC. Are they contemporaries? did someone travel down to South America to carve it? Or did an Inca travel to England? Maybe there is a leyline that links them?
You two work very well together always very entertaining, however be careful on future videos I'm not sure if Tweedy can be trusted with the props .......
All the best!!
@@davidberlanny3308 many thanks David - it was quite an editing challenge so it’s lovely to get this feedback.
You are right - it’s enormous. I was a bit surprised by the blocks when I got up close - difficult to see anything older there. I’d assumed exposed chalk like you. I think the Tudor bricks/tiles are interesting - could that have been a restoration of something older?
Your adventures sound amazing. I really should overcome my reluctance to leave this silly island!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtdI forgot to mention, did you look at lidar? just wondering if anything might show up. Actually It's about time I discovered how to do this myself!!
I've been watching Isaac Moreno's latest video on the Nimes aqueduct, now this is one I would love to visit might be hard to convince Nuria to go scrambling about in aqueducts but the pont de Gard is just amazing and only 15 hours by train from Lancaster!!
hello again Darren and Tweedy, very interesting video, really enjoyed it , well done and thank you 😊
@@davie941 thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun making this.
Hi guys, what an informative and and entertaining video you've made, is a pleasure watching. We met on the day of the recording in the open field, two Dutchmen who were trying to complete their walk of that day, on that beautiful sunny day, and who were wondering what these slighty overdressed men were doing. We hope the pictures we made are succesful, best Ron & Albertine
Hi Ron and Albertine, thank you so much for checking in - it’s so nice when the people we meet do that!
The pictures were great, thank you!
Hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did and glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers!
Tweedy certainly said ''Like and subscribe'' ...That fellow abounds with knowledge and sound advice.
And I think there was a bit of an echo!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I've learned even more facts. Tweedy's, unlike duck calls have a bit of an echo. That could be worth a million quid one day if I ever appear on Who wants to be a millionaire. Few others would know that fact ....haha. The Axons appeared in re-runs of Dr Who from 1971...I saw that in 1975 ....Ah..I forgot, we're both '68 kids.
Yet another great pairing with your friend, Tweedy! The voice amplification bit, “Like and Subscribe!” absolutely cracked me up! Looking forward to my South Downs-English Coastal Path hike next month (especially a visit to Harvey’s), all inspired by you and Tweedy. Great video…Thank You…CHEERS!!!🍻
Thank you Ed! Glad you enjoyed it.
I hope you get the sort of weather we did for your hike - it was glorious up there and the views were sublime. Tweedy made a good point about how you can really get away from houses up on the South Downs, in a way that is not that common in the south.
An excellent collaboration with Tweedy, most entertaining and very informative. I live not far from the Long Man. More in the south-east of England would be great. Keep up the good work.
Thanks John - glad you enjoyed it!
This week's is in the south east, in case you haven't seen it. (I'm giving it a plug!).
This was fun and witty , i had a great time watching guys
Thank you so much! We had fun making it and I’m glad that came across. Cheers.
Well done, with great collaboration; (and a cameo by Phil Harding of TT!) What's not to like?
Cheers from the (chalk-man-less) Oregon country
Thank you - glad you enjoyed it! We had a great day and I enjoyed being Phil Harding for a bit!
Hi Darren. A superlative collaboration with Tweedy. You two were on fine form, both outside and in the pub. Informative and entertaining content. The Longman will never be seen in the same light now I know it’s no more than a 1960’s concrete disfigurement! Onwards to the next collaboration 👏👏👍😀
PS Now I’m off to see if Tweedy’s video is better than yours 🫣😂
Thanks Andrew! We had a fun - if somewhat hot day - that pub was a sanctuary! I was a bit shocked when I got up close to those concrete blocks!
I’m sure you’ll enjoy Tweedy’s video which is very different. Hopefully you’ll conclude they’re both equally enjoyable - like 2 very fine bottles of wine from different regions!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Having just watched Tweedy’s video I can report that you both undid each other. Two very different views of such a memorable day. Here’s to the next collaboration 👍🍺
@@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian thanks Andrew - phew!
A marvelous, fun vid. I always enjoy seeing you fine gents working in collaboration. I am left wondering if the latest change to the Longman shows him sporting a smart tweed jacket.
Thanks Phil! I think he could do with some kind of necktie, personally! If you look at the second picture of him from the 18th Century, he looks to have perhaps a cravat?
Wonderful, informative and always refreshing to see those collabs of the two of you - Wish I could have been there! I think the British countryside always wins hands down no matter what you compare it with. I now copy-pasted this exact comment from Mr. Tweedy...except for 6 little changes...
The two of you beat me to it, but I have been wondering for a while what might lie under the tiles and how to turn that into a video. Perhaps the LMOW is from the same period as our friend at Cerne-Abbas. Just about the time those abbeys were founded - How intriguing...Good work, gentlemen! Let me just add one buzz-word to spark further discussion: Geo-magnetic scan with a flux-gate magnetometer - that's what the doctor orders here!
@@MattMesserPics I thought about you when we filmed this and your excellent Cerne Abbas video!
We really need to get under the ground, and past those concrete blocks, to understand this one. Now we have a range on Cerne Abbas, I do wonder if this one is similar. It would be great to find out.
I was a bit shocked by those concrete blocks - very difficult to see any physical signs of what was there before!
I well remember back in the 90's I was on my way to the Kent Custom Bike Show (motorcycles) with my friends and had to stop for fuel. As I was filling up at the pump I happened to look up and to my sheer delight and amazement, there was the Long Man gazing silently down from his hillside at me. Although I had known about it before, I hadn't realised I would be going straight past him. That was a good day. As you point out in your video, there are quite a few examples of 'Anglo-Saxon' imagery (like on the helmet at Sutton Hoo as well) which are strikingly similar to the Long Man. It always amazes me that, given the dating, and the fact that as far as I can ascertain, the figure was in the original estate of Wulfnoth 'Godwinson', nobody has yet postulated that the Long Man (and possibly Cerne Abbas???) could well be a representation of the battle standard flown by the English King at the Battle of Hastings - Harold Godwinson's 'Fighting Man'. Which would have presumably been created by the monks in the nearby abbeys, in recognition of their patronage by the family. Seems eminently plausible to me.
Hi Alex, it’s funny you should say that, because Tweedy did actually postulate that. It does seem possible and of course, the scientific date range on Cerne Abbas does now support that idea.
I’ll have a look at this idea again when I cover off Cerne Abbas at some stage. Thank you!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Interesting theory Alex! I too thought it might originate in that Norman era, but my theory was that it was depicting the other side of the battle - William the Conqueror. Largely based on the fact Wilmington Priory was founded by Herluin de Canteville - William's stepfather.
@@tweedyoutdoors But couldn't Herluin be trying to curry favour with the locals by using a pre conquest image in an attempt to legitimise the new regime?
I love you two collaborating, its the best thing ever! Its my 2 favourite RUclipsrs in one. I have a theory that Tweedy is WC21's son. Tweed seems to run in the family. lol
Thank you! It is always fun working with Tweedy and I think that comes across. We had a great time doing this one - it was actually a very warm day and that pint at the end was needed!
I enjoyed Tweedy Outdoors vid ..a must see in collaboration to this vid! I saw him open a gate...He does it well, but not with the same panache MR WC21 opens a gate. It was a posher gate opening however.
We both have our own very distinctive styles of gate opening!
The next time you collaborate with Tweedie and you're wearing your shorts, he could bring along a pair of black rimmed specs. The problem of an ending would be solved........An Eric and Ernie dance into the hinterland whilst singing 'Bring me sunshine'.
That is an excellent idea and I’m sure you’ll get to see that one day! Thank you!
Are you suggesting Mr WC21 UK has short hairy legs? ..If he were not a gent he may resemble (I mean resent) that description. LOL.
@@philcollinson328 Happily I have pointed the similarity out to him. He agreed. Good sense of humour.
@@TheSonsofFalstaff Absolutely!
Mr WC21 has just passed the 2k mark...send his short hairy legs good cheer 🤣
Like old school Time Team The close ups of the blocks are a shock.
A great compliment - cheers! Yes, the blocks are a bit brutal.
Thank you for a fascinating view into the murky-ish past of the Long Man. I've long held the romantic view that this mysterious figure must appeared before the Romans but I'm with you on the logic that, inspite of the earliest dating evidence and like its previous incarnations, there's a case for earlier forms in existence that have subsequently been built on or restored. Great video!
Thank you! Yes, I don’t think the scientific dating to 1550 rules out an earlier date - the poor chap seems to have attracted re-brickings! Who is to say they weren’t restoring something older then?
Having got up close to his current breeze blocks, there’s no readily apparent earlier form there, so they’d need to get down under the soil like they have with Cerne Abbas. Hopefully they will one day and I can get another video out of it!
I'm with Alfred Watkins, he's a dodder man. Those are ranging poles. Like the river itinerarys (lists of places that described a journey with resorting to a map) I see merit in recognising the way place names and landmarks can be used to describe routes where there are no roads.
Thanks. So many different opinions in the comments on this one. Might be worthy of a follow up at some stage.
Congrats Mr WC21.
Cheers very much! Chuffed!
Great video. All that was missing was a physical reenactment of the various designs by you and Tweedy, with scythes and such.
But please please please, no visible members.
Thank you! There is a brief glimpse of Tweedy being the Long Man on top of the barrows and he suffered for his “art” there!
A cracking video Darren. Someone always has to mess with history. I'm surprised he wasn't destroyed as a tenuous link to slavery too. I see you still aren't convinced by the laylines theory 😂. I love the way you bounce off each other. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Chris! I’m currently re-evaluating ley lines, Tweedy made a strong case for them - devoid of the mumbo jumbo factor!
Even though I knew about the concrete blocks, I was still shocked when I saw them up close!
@WC21UKProductionsLtd I was thinking it was topsoil scraped away from chalk. Well, that's what my mind thought. Ley Lines, oops. I can't even blame autocorrect for that error. Have a great week, Darren.
The Long Concrete Man of Wilmington. When Restoration walks hand in hand with Cultural Vandalism. Thoroughly enjoyable Sunday Morning video ....well done
Thank you! I was a bit shocked when I got up close to the 1960s blocking. Whatever was there before seems to have been obliterated. It would be good to get some scientific dating here, like they’ve done at Cerne Abbas. Cheers.
Really interesting stuff. It's hard to know what should be done, half of me wants to see it restored to an earlier design but then i'm so used to the image of what i now know is 1960s breezeblocks i sort of wouldn't want to see it changed.
Thank you. Yes it’s a tough one! Even though I knew about the breeze blocks, I was still a bit shocked when I saw them up close. I couldn’t make out anything of the earlier form. Unlike any other hill marking I’ve seen before! Still impressive though, and a fascinatingly complex history. Cheers.
Great presentation, however I'm certain the opto luminescent tests were done 20+ yrs ago by Reading uni, showing likely date around reformation ie. Henry 8th
Thanks and yes they did. It is mentioned in the video - that's the earliest certifiable date. Some have proposed that those "bricks" could have been a re-bricking of an earlier version of the giant, or equally, they could be when it was created. Cheers.
That Reverend William de St Croix fella looks like he was permanently glued to his mobile phone. 😉
Yes! Aren’t we all, though!
Tufted vetch, field scabious, pyramidal orchid (very nice find) and common centaury
Oh thank you! I thought that orchid was special. Must get you in front of the camera soon.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd
In the image at 4:30 is that one of the original builders in the bottom right corner? It could be the origin of the term builder's bum. Another enjoyable video.
I'd not noticed that! Could be! Glad you liked the video - I'm rather fond of this one.
Watkins connected "Dodderman" with a local nickname for Snails, with their twin antennas.
Also old men "Dodder" with their walking sticks.
Men could easily survey substantial distances with a pair of sticks, but it only works in straight lines.
By the Neolithic period they would already have fallen out of use owing to field systems and tribal lands.
We can still find ancient field systems butting up against fossilised Leys.....there I said it !
As there was no writing everything was done with verbal agreement, which lasted down the hundreds of generations till the present, though writing forced agreements to be worthless till committed to legal documents.
I found a perfect example of such an field/Ley interaction here in the midlands.
Hi Andy, thank you and very interesting. Tweedy put a good case for a reappraisal of ley lines on my behalf and I’m going to do just that!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Roman roads are (by and large) straight lines and that is apparently uncontroversial!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd A start point is to disregard the present belief that "Ley" is the Danish word for a clearing (try finding one on a Danish map). The next step is to admit that all place names ending in "Ley" do in fact align SW/NE or SE/NW and are engineered to connect the now mainland of europe with the land recently freed of Ice revealing sources for oolitic stone for axe heads, or, from the southwest coast for its sealife/game to the "Silver Pit" lake in what we call Doggerland.
@@andymcgeechan8318 and @tweedyoutdoors I have subsequently recalled that way back in the 1980s I read a book called “Ley Lines in Question” and it’s one of those examples of a book having a long influence. That provided a detailed debunking in effect and it has stuck with me.
Tweedy actually corrected a faulty memory in the respect that I had conflated Alfred Watkins ideas with later ones involving energy flowing down the ley lines and space ships using them as landing strips!
By and large, apart from the occasional opportunity for a joke in a video, I’ve just not thought about the subject. I think I’ll read Watkins and possibly do a video on it at some stage.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Watkins believed them to be relevant to medium length journeys across the west (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) some reaching the sea, I find that they are all coast to coast SW - NE (Kernow to Doggerland) and, primarily, off mainland europe (we where yet to become an island) SE to NW, trading Flint and Chert heading up along several parallel lines, for the very hard stone axe heads at Great Langdale and suchlike places. Starting around 9600 BC they became completely unusable due to forestation, between 7300 and 5000 BC, due to a rapidly improving climate causing what is known as "The Wildwood" (I wonder if that inspired Paul Weller ?). There are a few places locally called "Burnet Iron Leys" and "Burnt Hurst" straddling two such lines, showing attempts to beat the wildwood.
The "magical Ley Lines" seem to come from the Neolithic or Bronze ages as do many of our myths and legends (The sword in the stone ect) Merlin is a likely spin off from the Dodderman depicted as folklore on that hillside. We cleared the forrests eventually by which time rivers, coastal shipping and other trade routes became the norm. Many european myths and legends came from their forestations which persisted for longer.
Fascinating collaboration. LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE. Some brilliant editing, informative and well-researched story. Does Mr WC21 have a thing about Phil's? Thank you
Cheers Chris! Might have to set up a Phil playlist the way things are going!
Looks like an add for Ski Sunday really. Little Ice Age skiing monks may keep you both happy. Ley lines are mumbo jumbo however, sorry Tweedy.
I’m getting attacked on another video about ley lines as we speak!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Oh, next it'll be dowsing rods and chants ..People are people mate...Leave them to their misguided beliefs
Mumbo jumbo Mr WC21 ..JUST IGNORE THEM.
Well, it turns out that I know now, exactly who the Cerne Abbas Giant represents. It's not Hercules or Oliver Cromwell. And if you've seen my video on the White Horses, I've now figured out what the geometric pattern, that the White Horse alignments make, is intended to represent. It ties perfectly into the identity of the Giant. As you can see below, I've always been fascinated with this figure - even more so than Cerne Abbas. My guess is that he does indeed represent the same figure as at Cerne Abbas. But the staves don't figure in the theory one bit. I have an explanation; When the figure was being outlined by Reverend St Croix (however you spell it) he noticed that the staves were half missing. No they weren't. They were the result of wear in the chalk by people walking up and down the field boundary either side of the giant. So they were actually half-made, not half missing. The staves are therefore modern, although the figure is (like Cerne Abbas) ancient - Bronze Age, like the White Horse of Uffington. They are all of the same origin and meaning -all of them.
Thanks Alexander. I will check out your video. Cheers.
'' Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more'' ...Name the show haha.
The image at 6:18 is Woden/Odin his weapon of choice was the spear and those apparent horns coming out of his helmet are in fact his two Ravens Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory) I've reasoned, and I'm probably not the first, that images like this of Woden might be a cause for horned helmets equal Vikings and predate Wagner's use in operas.
@@Divertedflight thank you - yes, of all the versions, he does look a bit Odin like there, I agree.
It works: "Like and subscribe!"" 😀
@@JustcallmeKathi I thought so - thank you! We just couldn’t tell on the day!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Glad to be of help.☺
Yahhh another one :)
@@MONTY-YTNOM there’s plenty more to come too! Cheers.
Far out!
Thank you Ringo!
I opt more for Tweedy's choice ..The graffiti prone monks did it!
He’s convinced! I think it might have an older pedigree, but as it stands, all we can say for certain is 1550!
-"the long man of Wilmington is bricked up...", "dating the long man...", "100 women went up to the giant...", "woke up to their giant having an oversized member..." gawddamned Long Man of Wilmington has a better sex life than I do apparently, not sure if I should be jealous or proud for the boy
-feels like Time Team? I'll allow it if Darren gets on some of Phil's mildly scandalous short shorts. Actually, on second thought, maybe Tweety should do it.
-after a period of sober introspection followed by a third thought, I retract my short shorts suggestion, as neither Pinky nor The Brain are really built for the class of airing those types of shorts provide.
-looking at the bright side, at least now y'all can tell everyone you know that you really are "built different"!
-and finally, and ending? a zoom out (or in) on the star of every episode they were in, the Phil style jean cut-off short shorts!
Oh gawd, I’d forgotten about Phil’s short, shorts! The shorts of nightmares. I’d have to draw the line at those, but I did consider growing my fingernails and dirtying them up for that added authenticity! Cheers!
link
Hi Chris, can you send me a link or let me know what you’d like linked and I’ll pop that in. Cheers.
It's obviously Woden dancing with his spears. I say obviously, I have no idea. There is something much more interesting than leylines connecting monuments and that is geography
I did think Woden for a bit with those 18th Century images. It’s changed so much in the last 300 years, who knows what it was like 1,000 years back - if indeed it was there then.
I'd challenge the thought the geoglyph in Chile is a representation of a once living man...The Atacama Giant is surely a representation of a God.
Oldest version of advertising I expect.
That is really good point. Tweedy will be delighted - he wasn’t happy saying second tallest!
Appropriate ways to end your vids ideas, given it seems to perplex you ... "Land of Hope and Glory" only to be interrupted by the Sergeant Major shouting "SHUT UP!!!" The Tweedy on the mount experiment would suffice ....'Ain't half hot mum' style ...Or a BBC end of broadcasting for the evening spinning globe circa 1980's would work.
I do like these ideas! Especially a BBC style globe from the 1980s - when they were still good!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd It would rather suit your idiom.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd When they were still good makes perfect sense to me. They sold Dr Who to Disney ...unforgivable behaviour.
@@philcollinson328 it looks like that’s backfired on them. Disney not happy. I’m not bothered - the 2005 revival has never appealed to me - a very different show to the original run, of which I’m a huge fan. Feel a bit sorry for the fans who do value it, though. Future is in doubt now, I’d say.
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Yes, it's the BBC's baby sold off to a company who have no clue regarding what made the show what it was.
Just an excuse to go to the pub.
Probably can’t argue with that. Cheers!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I must add you both deserved a drink,after your trek,thanks for video.
@@robertjsmith thanks - it was a really hot day and that bitter was much appreciated!
Are you sure they are staves? Or is he trying to push two heavy doors apart? Just sayin…lol.
There are so many possibilities!
The gates of dawn perhaps? Polgate is somewhere behind him, or is it Polegate? Pol was a sun god, I believe
@@stuartbradbury5809 that's another new one on me - cheers Stuart. So many interesting ideas in the comments for this video.
Tweedie and Tweedum, I was surprised you could make such a long winded presentation out of an act of vandalism by a bunch of religious twits. If it was created by monks would it not have been created with a religious iconography in mind. Any old tales of the “ritualistic” behaviour by the monks or other nefarious groups? Any dancing by the local Morris jugglers? Maybe advertising for the cloistered boys being available for special treatments? The minds boggles at the thought. I enjoy a good mind boggling.
@@andrewbarnett5542 thanks Andrew - “Tweedie and Tweedum” is excellent, I might “borrow” that!
I’m not sure about the monks. At least we now know it was there in the 1500s and I’m tempted by the idea of that being a restoration of something far older…
The upper class doing research on history... 😂
Thank you very much indeed!
A willie free video this time Darren- except for the last bit 😂
Well almost, I think there might have been 2 very brief phallic appearances - you just can’t keep them out of these videos!
They are everywhere! Those monks bloody obsessed!
I know and I don’t think they were allowed to use their own ones?!
Well that's another story! God knows what went on in those "monkeries"😂
@CarolWoosey-ck2rg I really don’t think we want to know!
Keep the wig, the Time team hark back to wonderful Phil Harding is a classic ending to a vid. Roman to medieval British history is fun, It'll always Trump modern history ..I'm Biden my time until you celebrate your 10,000 subscribers. SEO words ..
Weirdly, I enjoyed being Phil!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd It's a cool thing to be haha.
Thanks
Thank you Phil.
Thanks
Oh my goodness, Phil - you are too kind! Sat in M6 Toll Services as the magic 2k is hit!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Richly deserved sir.