Climbing Colmer's Hill

It's January, it's pretty cold, what better moment for a picnic on top of a hill! Colmer's Hill is a very distinctive-looking conical hill near Bridport, Dorset.
Here's a link with more information about Colmer's Hill: symondsburyest...
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[@alloriginalpirates]

I love it how it never feels like Mike is doing anything for views. He's just living his interesting life and taking us along for the ride.

[@y-yyy]

Making a tiny felt sheep out of sheep wool bits collected from thorns would be some top shelf content

[@klontjespap]

i had an idea to make a little voodoo doll out of all the little balls of hair from combing myself then hang it above the door in the hallway our something i'm just going to throw it away otherwise, at least i'll have a laugh doing that

[@Re2001CN]

@@klontjespap thats weird

[@rebely8608]

Agreed! Would love to see something made out of the collected wool!

[@raraavis7782]

@@klontjespap Not sure, if making a voodoo doll of yourself and then placing it in a public place is a particularly good idea 👀😉😅 Edit: Oh, you probably mean the hallway inside your home. I've been living in a studio apartment for so long, I forgot, people have those 😅. For me, the hallway is the outside area, where the entry doors to the different apartments are! Edit edit: you could always put the stuff ouside, so birds can grab it as nisting material.

[@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer]

It might make a good sound hole. 😄

[@anotherhardy25]

I havent been in school in 4 years, yet I feel like I always learn something new when I watch an Atomic Shrimp video. Keep up the awesome content.

[@archivethearchives]

Wood ear is sold a lot in Asian markets in dried form in the USA in Michigan. There are a few popular Chinese Szechuan dishes with wood ear. My father and I used to order ox kidney with wood ear in spicy chili oil. 😀 very tasty combination when made with the right tastes. Wood ear would have a soft crunch but be jelly-like. The kidney was actually very tender. I believe it was served cold. Szechuan cooking can be very technical with the techniques so as to create very particular textures and tastes, which makes it very delicious. Seeing you forage wood ear brought that memory to mind. Great video!

[@fburton8]

Your comment about "awe and wonder" reminds me of an experience as a young boy on holiday in Austria. Outside the chalet where we were staying, in a mountain village called Igls, was a steep forested hillside. One day I went exploring and decided to clamber up the hill over occasional spiky trunks of trees that had been felled. (In the 60s, children were given a lot more freedom.) When I eventually reached the top I was met with the most breathtaking view over the valley and Innsbruck to the gleaming Nordkette mountain range. Encountering this sudden, unexpected vista was utterly magical and something I will never forget. For me, I think it was the change in scale - one moment being in an enclosed forest, the next standing in front of a vast panorama where you could see for miles and miles - that created the awe and wonder. Watching your video there was a bit of that same feeling.

[@Kaiden_Da_Dawg]

Thank you for bringing me on this walk.

[@funnyfudgeman16]

I live just a stones throw away from colmers It is a brilliant walk and beautiful

[@basilbrush9075]

If anyone's curious, the footpath gate at the start has such a big handle on so that it's accessible to horse riders!

[@basilbrush9075]

P.S those pans are paying divedends

[@AtomicShrimp]

I didn't realise that was what those handles are for! Thank you.

[@Pooky-Cat]

Titbits of info like that are always interesting, thank you.

[@leftwingdragon6235]

As someone who has been hedge laying for around 10 years really happy to see you covering this, you can tell the abandoned hedge is quite old as it's been lain almost horizontal whilst hedgerows now are almost always (depending on style) lain diagonally allowing sap to grow that could be a reason that the recent lay failed.

[@tenthz]

So glad to see this comment! I thought he was saying "hedge lane" which would be more difficult to research if I was spelling it wrong. Do you hedge lay for fun or profit (or both?)?

[@andrewcoates6641]

The first tree that you commented on possibly being part of a hedge may have been hedged, but equally it might have been trained to a shape to provide timber that would go to a ship builder to carve into the ribs or knees of a naval vessel. Back in the Tudor period this was a common practice for a master carpenter/ shipbuilder to go out into the countryside to find and reserve such trees and sometimes he would encourage the tree to grow in certain shapes by trimming and tying them while still young. Those trees that were selected became property of the Crown and nobody else could fell them but they could be rejected by the ship yard if they grew out of the desired form.(Hearts of Oak are our ships, Hearts of Oak are our men.).

[@ganainm5113]

Interesting comment. 👍

[@bappyindecent1793]

Very interesting

[@rudimentaryganglia]

More likely hedgelayed in this particular case

[@__-bk6mm]

Thanks for your insight that was an interesting comment! Would be interesting to see @Atomic Shrimp do an episode on trees and their useages and how they're manipulated for different crafts.

[@silva7493]

And I have wondered how they got wood in the shapes for that for a loooooong time.

[@y-yyy]

These videos are just so wholesome and fun. I know it will come off as weird, but in a way this is a glimpse into a life that I would maybe like to have when I'm your age, and I'm grateful to have this little "guide" for inspiration. Thanks for giving us this little window into your life and mind.

[@KismetLizard]

I think that's lovely

[@Pattoe]

5:44 A fun little Atomic Shrimp style challenge would be to challenge yourself to use the trig point (concrete pillar) on this hill with 2 other trig points in sight of it (there will be at least 2 within vision of this one, on nearby hills, but bushes and trees may have grown to obscure the view) to determine the distance between them by calculating their angles to eachother and using triangulation. This would blend nature and hiking into history and technology.

[@yokeloeulci8001]

This is a great idea!

[@jambud6563]

Your videos are so relaxing, calming, informative, adventure, delicious, and with laughs. Thank you. Also I laughing when you trailed off saying I don’t know what y’all want me to do (about hearing you breathe), I finished your sentence with “I breathe!”

[@1angelofthelight2]

Ah thank you for this Mr Shrimp. I felt like I was walking along with you thanks to your informative commentary, reminded me of a walk we took up Roseberry Topping in the days when i could walk.

[@thenamesjames3922]

I'm usually just a scambaiter viewer, but you have made these other videos so interesting that I enjoy these just as much. Your uploads are appreciated AS

[@daniel.holbrook]

Hearing you talk about the signs of old hedgelaying reminded me of a video series I watched/listened to a while ago by Tom Wessels called Reading the Forested Landscape. There's something relaxing to me about hearing people talk about the history of the land like that; the way something as simple as a mound of dirt or distinctively-shaped tree can remind us of the generations who've walked before us, and give us some sort of insight into the way they might've lived.

[@Bilko-M1GSX]

I have to say Mike you did exceptionally well in keeping up the commentary while climbing that hill.. I'd have been puffing like a steam train! 😤.... Thanks for another great video mate, very informative 👍

[@jmt7676]

I love going along on your walks. Really beautiful. Thank you.

[@PandemoniumMeltDown]

Indeed, this one was quite nice and educative, for me.

[@petereldergill2942]

I think the nature walk videos are now my favorite. I let out a gasp of delight this morning when I saw it was a nature walk 🍻. Cheers from Toronto

[@timdene]

We went up Colmer's Hill the exact same way and only upon getting to the top, did we see the 'easy route'. It was a lovely day and the views are amazing. Love this video, makes me want to go back there.

[@firstname4337]

14:40 please come back here in 3 or 4 months and show us the green growth of the hedge -- would love to see a before and after

[@MarkonaBike]

Haha, I've done the same climbing Roseberry Topping, headed straight up only to reach the top to find a nice gradual path winding it's way from the back. But it does make it feel like you earned a bite to eat at the top.

[@RebelRed]

I was just thinking about Roseberry Topping! Very close to where I grew up! 😱👍🏻

[@samrutherforddinoboy]

Frequently visit Roseberry topping, first time I took no notice of the different routes and just ascended the stairs. 15/20 minutes of almost rock climbing later I was at the top. Took me almost an hour on the slow descent down, which my burning legs appreciated.

[@prairiepanda]

In my experience for mountain hiking it's usually better to go up the more "difficult" way that requires climbing and scrambling and lots of switchbacks, then go down the "easy" gradual path. The "easy" path is actually awful to climb up on because it's a steady incline the entire way, far more torturous than using your whole body in various ways to overcome different obstacles. However, I'm not sure how well that applies to small hills like the one in the video.

[@Mongooseman19234]

Same small world.

[@lizadams7662]

Back in the early 40s my family climbed Roseberry Topping. We lived in walking distance of it. I was three, still remember it. Long before it was a park, no beaten paths eyc.

[@fritzderblitz]

I had just seen the bit about hedge laying on Clarksons Farm the other day, which I had never even heard of before, and here I stumble across it right away again. Interesting stuff.

[@richardpitwood2421]

Seeing this I can experience the life I left behind. I'm currently on a Caribbean island owned by Nicaragua. It's bloody hot all the time, the shops don't have things like milk, cheese and tea, it's nice here in its way but I miss England. Please continue to make your stuff, even watching you make Fray Bentos pies makes me shed a tear. Seeing yiour shadow in this video reminds me of me

[@caydenkealey]

What a lovely view! Thank you for sharing this with us. Very much respect all the unique views on the world you provide.

[@wfermier]

Thanks for posting this winter adventure! The view from the top is breath taking. I live in the U.S., a relatively new country, and I can't imagine what it is to live where you live where there is so much history all around you. Please continue posting outings like this!

[@TheRaven-]

You know so much interesting stuff,.. am sitting here getting over Covid feeling very sorry for myself and your videos are such a ray of sunshine

[@BellaRainDrops]

Wonderful way to start our Sunday, we are stuck in with terrible colds and coughs and would usually be walking along the seafront in West Wales, thanks Mike,Jenny and Eva for making the day better

[@jamesbull4973]

Also nearby, I highly recommend a walk starting at Langdon Hill car park, through the woods and across to the coast at Golden Cap. Did that walk just after going up Colmer's Hill a few years ago, and it was beautiful.

[@Wineman3383]

That view is definitely worth the hike.

[@jamesport3984]

Love the views and the lights pointing up the trees and flagpole

[@Shenorai]

I do appreciate how you've found other reasons to break out the mini skillets. A small but lovely reminder that sometimes, you don't necessarily need a specialist tool to perform a job when you already have something on hand.

[@cosudu3002]

I learn so much from your videos. Thank you for all the work you put into them.

[@mountaincat123]

The other Hill you didn’t manage to get to is Quarry Hill which has some stunning views and lots of earthworks. You can walk the hollow way where you saw the rope swing, it leads to the A35 and across to Eype Down. If you had stayed walking up the first track that takes you up an impressive hollow way to Hell Lane which lives up to its name as it’s very steep, rutted and wet almost all year round. Great to watch your videos at places I know well.

[@WhenTheManComesAround]

I'm always envious of your spoon walking stick my friend. It's truly a masterpiece of awesomeness 😁👍

[@WhenTheManComesAround]

Also that's an absolutely beautiful view! Thanks so very much for sharing it with us.

[@rachelstauter]

I just love your videos! It’s so wonderful to be able to slow down and just enjoy your adventures along with you and your family. It’s a nice change of pace compared to what I’ve been doing lately

[@sh4wty7]

Such a calming video. Your videos really help after I’ve had a bad mental health day. Thank you.

[@SamTheBattleshipp]

Such a beautiful countryside to explore!

[@maxwright9194]

I think that feeling you feel when you see those views is something in philosophy called the sublime or "An agreeable kind of horror". It refers a quality of greatness, in this case being a vast space, beauty, history and future. It can make you feel good because whilst we can feel very small in the face of such vast beauty and scope it also makes all of our big problems feel a little bit smaller, it makes it feel like maybe everything will be alright. For me that brings a peace to the heart.

[@Pooky-Cat]

Well put 👏

[@brianartillery]

Lovely scenic video! Dorset has some spectacular landscapes. I bet Eva's little paws were frozen after that!

[@connorholland4539]

This gives me such an innocent type of joy. It feels like being on a hike in Utah with my Grandpa

[@leanne0811]

Oh wow I live in Bridport and see the hill every day!

[@JudyReadsCards]

Thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, but your breaking the ice for the birds particularly gave me the warm fuzzies. ❤

[@helenalice962]

Could you imagine the quality sledging on this hill when it snows?

[@permaculturee]

When you visit Bridport, go have a meal at Long's Fish and Chips restaurant on King St. Just a short walk from the South St car park. To work up your appetite, try a visit to the Alleyways Antiques Centre. Even if you don't find anything you want to buy, it's a fascinating place.

[@AtomicShrimp]

We went there last Saturday for the antiques market. Lunch of soup and a toastie in Moore Than Tea. It was really good.

[@AtomicShrimp]

It's been so long since I had fish and chips in a fish and chip restaurant. I hope they still have the tomato shaped squirty ketchup bottles!

[@MsAnpassad]

God, I got exhaused just watching you climb that hill as I'm currently down with the flu and just going to the kitchen makes me lose my breath.

[@tylerdejong6930]

Hope you feel well soon! The flu this year has been horrible.

[@R0XYF0X]

7:25 Maybe you also feel at awe because you get a greater understanding of how things are connected. It's literally a broader perspective on things.

[@Darryl_Francis]

Stunning views. I'd also suggest Kelston Round Hill near Bath, a bit out of your way but the views are similarly spectacular, and there's a lovely pub in the village at the bottom!

[@bindiboo1]

Down south is a beautiful part of the country. I like how I can watch your video's and be educated about things I never knew I needed to learn.

[@artistknownaslisa2850]

Thanks so much for taking me along on your beautiful trek. I'll never get to see England in person but this is the next best thing. ❤️

[@crushthatdwarf]

Thanks for taking us along on this lovely walk.

[@capitalb5889]

That pathway you walked up at the beginning that is sunken into the ground - I remember walking up that and speculating whether it was so below the ground around it due to thousands of years of feet eroding the earth along it.

[@klontjespap]

well i guess in the years when the water levels are high and there's a lot of water in the soil i could see that i live in the netherlands, we're basically building on a sinking ship, so i'm not really all that surprised by any of those notions knowing how this country came to be lol once in time there used to even be a dogger bank to england from here, so we know the water levels have been lower for a long time in history, but 4 to 6 thousand years isn't chump change for terraforming softer material

[@RebelRed]

Beautiful views! Miss those crisp winter days back home in Blighty 🥲

[@Petrelles22]

The hills of Dorset are way steeper than what they look like on camera. I also "breathe" when I climb them 😂

[@TC-tn9tb]

walking will keep you alive longer than anything else, i walk 15 miles a day rain or shine listening to audio books.

[@fredburns6846]

this sort of reason is why i love this channel. full of england vibes

[@dominicdawson36]

Very much enjoy watching your Sunday uploads in the morning with a cup of coffee before work. Appreciate the videos keep them coming 😊

[@melissakalloway1916]

Absolutely beautiful. Your sense of awe is appropriate: it's the souls' instinctive response to the handiwork of God. You and your wife are wonderfully fit. (As is the pup.) Thank you so much for taking us along. More, please. 😊

[@kopkalol123]

I like the Extra Long spoon as your staff. Adds a layer of superiority.

[@Jack93885]

I watched a video about the origins of Yin and Yang (by ReligionForBreakfast). Yin was originally a word for the shaded side of a hill and Yang the sunny side before the concept became expanded to represent opposites more broadly. I find it interesting that the yin you ascended was steep while the yang you descended was gradual. Looking at the two routes you walked, I can see how the concept of polarities was broadened.

[@MysteriumArcanum]

Also there's that saying that the easy path isn't always the right path

[@raymondmurdock8603]

watching this on the treadmill so i feel like i'm going for a walk with you makes my daily workout a bit more fun

[@kek23k]

Those views were stunning, well worth the vertical climb.

[@jamesrichardson1326]

Great day for a hike and a picnic. Sublime.

[@AnUnearthlyGay]

I'm so proud that I was able to identify the Wood Ear fungus before you said what it was today. I am learning genuinely useful and interesting stuff from your videos and that's why you're my favourite KZbinr! ❤

[@thedogrunsfast]

I always love your hiking in the countryside videos! As someone from Minnesota it always makes me chuckle a little when they describe "cold" as around freezing lol. It was -25f at my house last week. Its all relative i know. Anyway, great video!

[@Dr_V]

Hilly areas will always be my favorite kind of landscape because in spent the better part of my childhood in such an area (less pastures and more woods, but still quite similar). One thing to remember next time you climb a steep hill on frozen or muddy ground is to never walk straight up the slope, the safest walking path is to zigzag in a roughly 45 degrees pattern (or spiral up if possible, on open ground like that it's a viable option), even if you practically double the distance the physical effort is roughly the same and you minimize the risk of slipping down. On open pastures your "walking spoon" is fine, but if you climb forested hills I recommend something with a (strong enough) hook on the upper end. I use something called a shepherd's axe (look up baltag or valaska / wataszka), it's basically a walking cane with a metal butt on the bottom and a light curved axe head on top, besides allowing you to hook on tree branches for balance it's also a nice utility blade and can serve as a self defense weapon in a pinch (maybe not as relevant today, but still you never know what you can encounter in such remote places).

[@thetank2078]

These nature videos are some of my favorite that you put out. Your narration is calming and enlightening. As someone from the US, I may never get to see these areas in person. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us

[@__-bk6mm]

Agreed, they're actually wonderful "Morning Coffee" videos too, you can slowly come out of the sleepy haze and listen to/watch an interesting ramble and ramble.

[@SulfuronBGS]

Nice relaxing video and great views, thanks Mr and Mrs Shrimp for sharing.

[@IRVisionPrints]

The whole living fence thing has just been covered on clarksons farm, so strange to learn about something twice in 24 hours

[@MsJellyEggs]

Lovely. Thank you.

[@magi267]

I wouldn't have known what you were talking about when you mentioned hedge rows being built but I saw a video just last week about people simulating living in the 1700's on a farm. And it showed them making hedge rows. It was fascinating. Thank you for the walk.

[@EggBastion]

I hope you enjoy those mushrooms at least half as much as I'm lookin forward to them! Boy those jars sure are useful except for when your ands are a bit wet or oily

[@andrewsycamore3661]

Another top quality video Mike. Very interesting and informative

[@mattelswood9367]

Hi, there are a lot of these barrows, humps or ‘mumps’ around Dorset and Somerset. Another view to recommend is from Winyards Gap Inn over South Somerset on a clear day (with a draught ale)!

[@spb81]

absolutely divine view from Colmer's Hill!

[@judihughes2537]

We went to Holmfirth in Yorkshire recently. Home of Last Of The Summer Wine. Absolutely stunning. We stopped in a B and B above a pub called the Rose and Crown in Thurstonland. £60 a night. Definitely worth the trip for scenery.

[@LeanneModenPoet]

One of the very few youtube channels (that I follow) where I always feel like I'm learning something :)

[@GetOfflineGetGood]

I feel like I learn something new all the time on this channel, I really appreciate that. Didn't know anything about hedging trees.

[@zacharywidener]

Love seeing the ole trusty walking spoon!

[@cbrooke879]

My mind is thinking....if that was snowy climb on a slegde quickest and most fun way down!! Also amazing view. Loved it.

[@ununuh]

Nice to catch a glimpse of the hiking spoon!

[@WDC_OSA]

What a delightful place. Thanks for taking us with you. Earth is frosty.

[@Rob17Cotton]

Some absolutely lovely views in this video 🤩😊

[@sweeture]

A comfy video from you with some food in the morning, theres no better way to start the day really!

[@30matey]

yay i was hoping for another adventure video like this some beautifuls views it would be interesting if u did do a project with collected wool bits u find and what youd make from it i loved seeing the walking stick in use

[@oliverg6864]

I see you found another use for the tiny cast iron pan! Love the bonus mushroom content at the end :)

[@samhenwood5746]

Wow what a fantastic view & the winter stew looked delicious 😋. Thanks Atomic shrimp 🥶

[@TheMarkFlanagan]

Been reading The Lord of The Rings for the first time recently. When you got to see the view, the Shire clicked into my mind. How could you not write a story like LoTR when your world is like this. Thanks for the video, Mr. Shrimp

[@jasondrummond9451]

I play Lord of The Rings Online - and there are views in game that strongly resemble the view from the Hill. Made me think of the Shire too.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Well this is Dorset and JJR Tolkien lived in Birmingham, not particularly similar at all. He lived close enough to worstershire which has some pretty villages and some hills close to the Welsh border. But he also lived close to the peak district so that was probably an inspiration although that's a bit more moors and higher peaks than this, also North and mid Wales is only a popular train ride away from where he lived although that's mountainous rather than rolling hills.

[@ShaCaro]

@@Alex-cw3rz They look very similar depending on how unfamiliar you are with the places. Unfamiliarity makes things seem similar, and consequently familiarity makes one able to distinguish more detail. This goes for landscapes, but also for people, accents, music, etcetera. Tolkien did spens time in far more places than just Birmingham though. I believe Switzerland has some relevant locations, for one.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@ShaCaro Firstly Birmingham is a city there are no hills, the Peak district is a completely different landscape, I'm not even talking about anything hard to spot, we are talking hundreds of metres difference in height and then for Wales up to a 1,000m difference in height and that creates a total different landscape as well. Both of those places are known for their lakes. Birmingham is one of the furthest places from the sea in the UK whereas dorest is the seaside.

[@thetravellingwhibleys9870]

I go to Bridport quite often, I'll have to have a look when I'm next in that neck of the woods

[@philrobbie1670]

this was a great video, its hard to pinpoint why, but for me, im absolutely fascinated by hedgelaying, its not a tradition in my country, or if it was its lost, but when i first heard about it in Cornwall, i was blown away by how much i loved it. especially when theres that stone footing, this stuff is so normal to you, but seeing the country lanes deeply cut into the countryside is incredible to me.

[@tylerdejong6930]

Oh how I wish I could wander along the English countryside whimsically with a walking spoon myself

[@jacknorris5943]

I adore this channel. Thank you.

[@nicolakibble]

❤ this video made me so happy, I felt the benefits of being in nature vicariously through you and Jenny…please do keep breathing 😉❤❤❤

[@dominicharvey6048]

I came to this channel because of the scam baiting episodes (which I still love). The nature stuff is now my favourite part of this channel.

[@AcornElectron]

Sunday morning shrimp is always a welcome sight. Keep up the good work fella and, as always, stay safe!

[@jahuuli]

"Hummocks and Bumps" would be a great band name.

[@italiana626sc]

Ulex europaeus! I'm a former Blood Banker and that made me perk right up. Ulex europaeus is used to make a lectin that is sometimes used in Blood Bank testing. I never knew where it came from - so glad you included the scientific name in the graphic. Very cool that you stumbled across it!!

[@pennelopewade8404]

Thanks

[@PandemoniumMeltDown]

Yay! Colmer's Hill!

[@cooper2034]

Winters picnic, quite a neat idea

[@AtomicShrimp]

We used to do it a lot more when the kids were living at home - sometimes it was just a case of packing up Sunday lunch and wrapping it in towels then zooming off to a local picnic spot