Field of the Dead

[@pwhitewick]

Happy New Year and welcome Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd. Cracking stuff Team.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Paul! Glad you enjoyed it - great spot for prehistory up there.

[@tasmania1111]

@@pwhitewick thank you! ☺️

[@eddavis1832]

Two for the price of one! What a great team! Best line came from Mrs. WC21 when asked from afar if all was alright with a demure…”very cold.” 😂 Thank you both for taking the time to produce a very entertaining bit…stay warm…CHEERS!!!🍻

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Ed! We've just about warmed up now, but there's been a load of snow overnight, so not sure what I'm going to be able to do this week!

[@tasmania1111]

@@eddavis1832 oh I’ve never been described as ‘demure’. Thank you, it really was very cold! 🥶 I enjoyed the time I was there. Beautiful countryside. I hope to do more. ☺️

[@DS-xg9kf]

Dude! You’re punching above your weight with The Mrs! ❤

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

I guess the wise way to respond to that is to agree. My wife does scrutinise the comments! But you probably are right.

[@craigix]

He's not, he looks like Steed from the Avengers, Steed was always surrounded by beautiful women. Look up Patrick Macnee.

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Patrick was a real life war hero,on Motor Torpedo boats....E

[@tasmania1111]

@@craigix I am a lucky lady indeed. ☺️

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@@tasmania1111 😀

[@JMV1110]

Very enjoyable, thankyou. Nice to see Mrs WC21....Me thinks she puts up with much 😊

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and yes, I think long-suffering might be the term!

[@cloudbase3515]

Burial ground? It looks more like grounds for divorce. 😁 Lovely video. Thank you.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That made me laugh. I think I got away with it on this occasion!

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Strikingly beautiful landscape and interesting history🎉. Appreciate from my warm living room.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks! So glad we went back and captured it in the sun. Even if it was freezing!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

What a treat to see the lovely Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd on camera! It certainly did look very chilly out there. Do disarticulated bones imply excarnation? That to me would make sense with the potential funerary preparation site nearby. I find the word "excarnation" oddly fascinating, and I think it would be a good theme to explore in KZbin Antiquarians: The Musical. I'm picturing a rousing number, perhaps to the tune of Oklahoma? Beautiful imagery here despite all the challenges you mention of long shadows (and it being freezing!).

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Tweedy! Glad you enjoyed it - I'm pleased we went back for a second try - although it was incredibly cold, the scenery and views were worth it. These sort of places are so different in the clag! Yes, I they do think excarnation here. How strange and unsettling, to imagine them stripping the body in that circle before interring them in the Apronful of Stones. But as you say, there's definitely a song in there!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I had assumed excarnation involved laying out dearly departed Aunt Arthuretta on a stone slab and letting nature take its course, then returning some time later to pick up the bones... and perhaps that's part of the reason these sites were located away from where people were living, as it would presumably have been a bit unpleasant glancing out into the back garden over breakfast and seeing a deceased relative being picked apart by rats and vultures? Enough to put the people of the Neolithic off their Pop Tarts! Anyway, the great thing about a musical is that it isn't subjected to the rigours of peer review prior to being published! So no need to be too bogged down with all those pesky facts.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

Excarnation was definitely a thing at certain neolithic sites, including the Welsh dolmens where not only is there evidence for skeletons being left to decompose in the open on excarnation platforms but some show marks of manual disarticulation before being placed in the tomb, often lacking some of the skeleton. Excarnation sites often contain many of these missing bones, particularly finger and toe bones which weren't picked up and carried to the burial chamber. The native Americans were quite keen on excarnation too, using raised wooden platforms to reduce the loss of loved ones' remains to scavengers. There are posthole traces at some neolithic excarnation platform sites suggesting these people had the same concern.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@PaIaeoCIive1684 fascinating. This would be a good site for that - so exposed to the elements. It’s a shame the treasure hunters got to it and we can’t see the arrangement of the bones in the cairn.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Oh no, early ant-aquariums having a picnic and a dig day out I presume. Vandals! Modern detectorists are usually clued-up on their archaeology -- they know they'd find bugger all at a neolithic burial site like this unless a tribal chief was exceptionally interred with gold grave goods.

[@chrish5319]

Nice to see you with Mrs WC21. Those were definitely what we used to call clints and grykes, terrible things to walk across. Great video, lovely camera work, interesting info and some fascinating puzzles, thank you

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you! Yes, I was disappointed with what has been described as an enclosure. When we got to it, it looked natural. Clints and grikes, as you say.

[@philcollinson328]

Thanks

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Phil!

[@benholmes1608]

Best video of the year!!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Ben! High praise indeed!

[@jayrey5390]

Happy New year! Thank you to Mrs WC21 (UK) productions I look forward to seeing her again in the future 😊. (Perhaps on a warm a day...}

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

And a Happy New Year to you too. Can't really believe it's 2025.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and a very happy 2025 to you too. She says she's up for more!

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Maybe a trip to the wirral...???.... Tranmere Rovers actually won yesterday...the only English football club with a Hiberno Norse name...E😊😊😊

[@paulwood7798]

Loving Mrs WC21

[@RolftheRed]

I must say - it was your shivering Mrs. that earned the like this time, Dear thing. Best to you both this year!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you very much and all the best for 2025.

[@1972tommyc]

Two with brains and great humor, one with great beauty. You can figure out which is which. 🥶

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers! That has made my day! My wife will be pleased too!

[@1972tommyc]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Please remind her what a lucky man you are Returning the cheers to you both. 👍👌

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Slainte....

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

I do love a cluster of burial monuments in a desolate landscape. The ancients tended to source the megaliths for tombs locally unless there were few in the vicinity or they wanted to laboriously source menhirs of distinction and ritual significance as at Stonehenge. Looks like these limestone outcrops and likely boulder-strewn Yorkshire vales would've provided all they needed for that capstone and supports, plus all the other cairns. The dolmen at Tinkinswood near Cardiff has the most massive capstone at c.40 tons and would've needed around 200 blokes to position it, someone deduced. That smaller and sadly wrecked one in the video still needed the muscle of the local tribe to build, though I'll wager they didn't work in sub-zero temperatures! Thanks to Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions for bearing the winter like a trooper and providing a bit of scale and glamour beside the unappealing ruin (the cairn not yourself!). I wasn't sure if Mrs Darren was looking bored or her face had been frozen at -6 degrees! Nah, I detected a bit of love for old relics (not you, again!) and deduce she might be an amateur ant-aquarium too. There are a couple of keen amateur female archaeology KZbinrs I've seen but it does tend to still be a man thing, despite the young female often activist-archaeologists being dominant at universities now. Thanks for freezing to show us one of Yorkshire's oldest graveyards.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers and yes, I'd say on this occasion, the stone was all locally sourced. That huge capstone looked to be the same limestone. A massive undertaking though, as you say. I love to ponder on why they chose places like this and whether they were living up there, or further down in the valley. I was impressed by the Missus. She hates the cold and it was bitter, but I'm glad we went back as I think that low winter sun showed it off well. She says she'll do it again! She's much more mystically inclined than me and talks about the atmosphere of these sort of places.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd The locals presumably lived in a valley -- with access to river water -- nearby, but these uplands were important to them. Wasn't the sky god Taranis of the Celts to be communed with by elders 'going to a high place wearing iron?' By building and continuing to use the tombs of their ancestors up there, I wonder if the hills themselves became sacred? Who knows, no-one recorded it for a YT video! Women do tend to take an emotional as opposed to a purely rational perspective (sexist!) I've noticed. An ex kept wanting us to get out the dowsing rods at prehistoric sites -- which was fun. Since it's snowy out you might consider a lazy option video such as lounging before a blazing fire in your smoking jacket and regaling us with dark tales of the superstitions/folklore of prehistoric sites? Cheers.

[@phil2186]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I wonder if the pre-cairn etc initial appeal of this place was the crevices in the limestone pavement to deposit remains? … uninformed speculation on my part of course. I echo the positive feedback on Mrs. WC21 involvement. I seem to recall that Debbie McGee also used to often slope off before Paul had finished his performance.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@ interesting idea, Phil. It’s interesting to ponder on what drew them up there - from the easier terrain below. I like the Debbie McGee analogy. As long as that doesn’t make me Paul Daniels!

[@davie941]

hello Darren and Mrs WC21, great interesting video as always , really enjoyed it, yea she did really well, thank you and more of the Mrs please *but* in warmer weather lol 😊

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Davie - glad you enjoyed it. The other half has not been put off and says she'll join me again!

[@carolemccartney566]

Brilliant as normal! Lovely to be introduced to your better half!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Carole! She enjoyed it too, apparently. Hopefully she will do some more!

[@eamonnclabby7067]

The Dynamic Duo....!!! .....a trip to Bidston tip is our day out ( only kidding) ....Fish and chips on Parkgate promenade usually suffices...lovely to see you both...keep up with the great posts, best wishes from the wirral peninsula,bounded by the mersey and the Dee and the Irish sea...geography and rhyme....BRRRR...😅😅....E

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Eamon. Pretty sharp there today, I imagine?

[@timtaylor1365]

Most interesting and an unusual presentation.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Tim. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@janecapon2337]

More teleports! They are great! What an intriguing place to visit. You had a perfect day to see it. Thank you for telling the field of the dead’s story.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Jane and glad you enjoyed it. We had to go back and try again and the weather was amazing on the second attempt. It's quite hard to show these sort of features in the clag!

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

It's lovely to see Mrs WC21 UK Productions Ltd out with you. With her wild swimming I was sure she would have managed the whole video. My better half is subject to the cold in the same way. A great video to start 2025. Thanks for sharing Darren.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Chris. She is not deterred and is up for more, apparently! I felt bad making her sit in the cold whilst I ensured my best angles...!

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

@WC21UKProductionsLtd surely Mrs WC21 UK Productions knows that every angle is your best angle 🤔

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

I hope so!

[@AndyJarman]

Hello Mrs WC2 (UK) Productions ltd, my heartfelt condolences.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Long-suffering?!

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Mrs C is in that hallowed category....😅😅😅

[@tasmania1111]

@@AndyJarman hello! ☺️

[@cherylwood5202]

Delightful as always. Happy New Year to Mr. and to Mrs. WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd.!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Cheryl! All the very best for 2025.

[@bellowsmain6762]

Lovely to see your good lady. Adding some glamour and obvious tolerance in your support. A team now perhaps but she probably needs to keep working. Good video .

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and yes, she was very tolerant! I did a few less retakes than usual to try to minimise the chill factor. She says she'll do it again!

[@bellowsmain6762]

Hooray.

[@peterbradburn9115]

Like the way you teased Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd the other week hugging a stone. Lovely to see her featuring more substantively in this video. Another fascinating film. Thank you, matey

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Peter. Somewhat surprisingly, she’s saying she’ll do more. Thought I’d blown it!

[@peterbradburn9115]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd maybe just not on blasted moors, hey 😀 And fair play to her! Been so good seeing your subscribers climb over the last few months. Hopefully 2025 is the year you go stratospheric 🤞

[@TheBungler76]

Go team! looks like an amazing place ... nice work braving the cold.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers! Glad we went back - even if it was freezing! Came out well in that light.

[@lthornton7802]

Fascinating and very informative. Although I didn’t realize the devil wore an apron. Who knew? Very enjoyable. Thanks👍🏻

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Many thanks! Yes, he must have looked a bit daft in it!

[@jimbaird8976]

Excellent informative and humorous video Darren thank you. Lifted to a new level by the inclusion and contribution of mrs WC21 (uk) productions. I find your collaborations better than the sum of the parts so most welcome.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Jim. I think the videos with other collaborators operate on a different level and it was great fun doing this with my wife. She says she’ll do more too!

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

Another great one mate. Very interesting

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Monty!

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi Mr and Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd, Happy New Year to you both!! We've been here before, well at least to the apronfull of stones, no DNA analysis this time though and I'm glad to see this one wasn't all about you. That said with all these stones you've got me turning up and turning down and turning in and turning 'round .... Thanks for heading out in the artic conditions just as well the wind didn't get up there really wasn't any shelter to be had out there. The intro was excellent and the recreation gave an idea of what it might have looked like, 59' diameter is enormous. You must have had a new Teleport gizmo for Christmas this one worked perfectly!! The field archeology was excellent, the Google maps view really leads you to think manmade. Well done for dismissing this idea. Great outro, just a shame your missus wasn't there to deliver it .... she was probably tucked up in the tearoom with Philip Mould!! All the best!!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Oh well spotted, David. I very nearly included a disclaimer - this is a different Apronful of Stones to the one that featured in that very early "effort". There are actually 3 Apronfuls along this western edge of the Dales and I think all of them are attributed to the Devil and his dropping of bridge stones! Yes, new teleport was a Christmas present. It was much more effective and has a guarantee. I thought I saw someone scuttling away from that tearoom in a very elegant manner when I returned...

[@lablackzed]

Happy new year to you and your dear lady sir.🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉✨✨✨✨🍺🍺🍺🍺

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and may 2025 be a great one for you too!

[@philcollinson328]

Well done guys. Crammed full of info', stunning scenery with added glamour...albeit frozen to the bone glamour.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Phil! I was pleased with how the scenery presented here - it was difficult to tell on the day as the sun was bright and the shadows long. It hasn't deterred the Missus and she says she'll join me again!

[@brynmorjenkins4376]

Happy New year to your team. Great video, very much a team effort!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Bryn! She says she’ll do it again too - I was not expecting that!

[@poppadog53]

Happy New Year Darren and to Mrs. WC21. You seem to be a good team. I look forward to future videos with you two, maybe when it is not too cold 🥶

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you. It was great "working" with my wife on this. And to my surprise, she advises me she's up for more!

[@andrewlamb8055]

Happy New Year 🥳 … more of the missus please 🤣🤣⚔️👍⭐️👏

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers for all your support, Andrew! She says she’ll do more!

[@drinksafewater]

Formation flying at its finest. - Thank you. I hope you carry Thermos and Hip flasks!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you! On this occasion we relied on that tearoom, but a flask would have been good!

[@Eric_L456]

Interesting and quirky as usual. I hope there was a flask of Irish coffee back at the car to revive Mrs WC 21 .

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That was another thing I cocked up on! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers

[@woodcox0171]

Good camera work! Especially the drone shots, they definitely add to the full splaning experience. Seeing the disturbances from there paint a nice picture. Thank you for this along with the reading recommends. I love the superstition with the area. I would want to be placed in such hard digging. Just to be difficult then as well🙃

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you! I was pleased how the footage turned out. It was difficult to see on the screen whilst we were there in that light. It is interesting how the later Christians decided to associate the Heathen burials with the Devil!

[@martinfrancis3285]

There are some amazing field systems in that area, many still in existence from the iron age and medieval. Richard Muir references this area and swaledale quite a lot.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes indeed there are. I'll do a video on that at some stage and look forward to visiting some Iron Age walls. I've seen them in the past and they're very different to the enclosure walls. Lots of settlement footprints too.

[@CarolWoosey-ck2rg]

Love that area Darren- does that make me special?!! It's snowing here today so I feel the Missus's pain- hope you had your thermals on ! 🥶

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes it's beautiful there and I'm glad we went back - so much better when not in the clag! I find the old tweed does the trick. One just needs a few more layers!

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Hello Darren. Gosh Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd has set the bar very high for future collaborations should they arise. I do suspect that we might have to wait for warmer weather as evidenced by her “ it’s cold 🥶 “ comment!. Her appearance was very unexpected yet most welcome. You began the new year with a fascinating subject. My first thoughts are why would Neolithic man choose such a barren, windswept location for burials. Why not choose a less inclement location? But what do I know. I am no amateur antiquarian. 🥴👍😀

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Andrew. Somewhat surprisingly she’s said she’ll do more! Although that might be to do with all the nice comments and digs at me? Including that I appear to have taken my daughter! I know what you mean, it does seem like a lot of agro to choose that location. An interesting fact though, during the Neolithic temperatures were some 3 degrees warmer. As ever, I learn not to underestimate the capabilities of our prehistoric ancestors.

[@adampascoe1084]

Happy New Year to you both. I have to say that your new virtual assistant is a vast improvement 😂. Kudos to Mrs WC21 Productions Ltd for braving the cold and the threat of “mansplaining” for yet another fantastic video. If there is a population to support it I think it is eminently possible for burial practices to transcend the Neolithic, Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. These places were sacred up until the advent of Christianity, when the stories of devils and superstition are attributed to these monuments (Devil’s Dyke, Devil’s Stones, Devil’s Arrow’s etc) enabling that early Christian community to culturally erase any memory of our pagan past. Some communities were engaged to destroy these monuments, while other shrines were built over with Christian churches and chapels. Looking forward to your next instalment.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers and Happy 2025 to you too. I'd love to identify some Iron Age at that end of the upland. I'm going to do some field walking between this location and the Celtic Wall to see if there are any monuments in between. I do find the idea of site continuity over several 1,000 years intoxicating, but we have to be careful with that. It makes perfect sense why the Christians so often attribute the Devil to these Heathen sites, doesn't it? They didn't want anyone to see them as good places!

[@peterworby2049]

Mrs Darren..... always take a flask 👍👍🙂🙂

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Now there's a point of contention between us! I would usually do that, but the Missus thinks it leads to more standing around in the cold!

[@davidrowley-ic6dx]

⁠​⁠@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Oh dear …. Perhaps you need to take Mrs Darren out into the cold more frequently to provide better opportunity for her development of an improved understanding of the obvious benefits of the flask in bolstering against a chill wind ?? … or perhaps the good lady simply needs more tweed ??

[@RonSeymour1]

Thank you for all your work, so we don't have to. Very interesting as usual. I was looking for your wife but I see that you brought your daughter instead. A Happy New Year to you both.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Ron! You’ve made my wife’s day with that!

[@tasmania1111]

You Sir, are very kind. Happy new year to you. 😊

[@RonSeymour1]

You are welcome. Clearly, you are like a good wine that gets better as it gets older. Don't worry, I am 78 and too old to be a stalker. A Happy New Year.

[@andrewwhelan7311]

Borrins wood looked to be an elevated place on the plateau .Perfect for a burial of an important person. Brenin means King in the old Welsh language. Just similar I agree, and I'm not suggesting anything but possibility. I just like the entomology of words in different languages and their possible connectedness over millennia. Lovely programme as usual. Really appreciate your endeavours. Trees are very good at destroying old sites. Might be worth a look in the summer ☀️.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Oh thanks for that info - I couldn’t see the link between Borrins and the burials. Sort of assumed it was a bigger leap based on “B”. But you can absolutely see how Brenin could morph into Borrins. Tantalising. Cheers

[@andrewwhelan7311]

@WC21UKProductionsLtd Hi. Also, Bryn.. Ryn.. pronounced as Rin in English is mound or hill, associated with an important place or person. Bore means morning in Welsh, and elevated points in the landscape always catch the morning sunrise. All speculation I admit, but the language of the Cymru is indeed a living fossil. A bit of a ,'does what it says on the tin', thing going on. Heddwch.. Peace from Wales.

[@andrewwhelan7311]

@WC21UKProductionsLtd Sorry, one last thing. If you can get back to the site on the high ridge, then do so before the spring, as the flora and fauna of the summer will hinder exploration. I hope you uncover something that's never been considered before. I wish you luck and a great chance to link your work to a great historic location. All the best to you and your family for 2025. Keep on Keeping on.

[@mongo-r4v]

I won't mention the leather effect trousers...oh

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Lined, I am advised!

[@lpeterman]

A thought on the low-angle winters light: (now channeling Stewart Ainsworth from TT); will not the angle of the light help illuminate, (sorry, couldn't resist) the 'lumps and bumps' which would otherwise go unnoticed? I personally find more details, topographically speaking, in the Winter, than any other season. It's just a thought, not available in stores, your mileage may vary... Cheers! From a distant cousin with deep UK roots, now in the Oregon Country.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That’s a good point. I actually think the low light helped when I played the footage back. On location in those conditions, it was very hard to tell!

[@lpeterman]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd I shall continue to channel Stewart Ainsworth for 'ee.

[@johnakyle5908]

Im a frequent visitor to Kilmartin, and enjoy a burial cairn , also im partial to some mumbo jumbo , so i was interested to see there are plenty cairns to be found that dont have a car park beside them and a nice information board . I will get my hands on a book on the subject. Also nice to see your good lady braving the cold on this episode.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks John. Yes, I do prefer these non-commercial sites. They have the atmosphere. I suspect there are more up there, lost in the jumble of natural rocks laying around. The Missus has not been deterred and says she'll do more!

[@hedleythorne]

So good to see Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Limited starring alongside Mr WC21 (UK) Productions Limited on the WC21 (UK) Productions Limited channel for the "WC21 (UK) Productions Limited 2025 Wife Freezing Challenge". I often long for a romantic sub-zero stroll with Mrs Hills and Hillforts across the Field of the Dead, shoving her in front of the camera too for a trillion followers, however she gracefully tells me to **** off. Which I am told is a "no". Great video, good to see you both, and what wonderful light too. Happy new year and see you VERY soon!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Hedley. This made me “lol”, as they say! It’s good to know someone else can relate to my intentions. Perhaps we should arrange a channel swap in which Mrs. Hills and Hillforts presents a video on WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd and Mrs. WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd presents a video on Hills and Hillforts?

[@hedleythorne]

​@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Sounds a bit like a veiled wife swap to me. OK, diaries out.

[@_Hold_My_Beer_]

At @1:19 exactly, top middle below the tiny circular 'water hole'? - see the feint (very feint) perfectly circular outline/enclosure? Discolouration to its North/North/West between the circle and the Pot holey thing almost like workings cut to the North/West/West of it in the ground shaped like a C. I reckon that is something worth checking/ruling out next time you are there :) Its quite a large and defined circle. Loved this outing Thanks

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Oh yes, look at that! When I was editing that I kept spotting things and also found myself thinking again about the enclosure. Harry Speight states there's more than the 3 cairns there. I think it's probably covered with prehistoric activity. Yes, the Sheep Scar Circle is really unusual and the outer mound is very clear on the ground. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks!

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

Well spotted! That's got to be man-made and given the archaeology around is unlikely to be recent. Were any aerial photos or scans made here during a drought? It might have showed more clearly if so.

[@andymcgeechan8318]

On the first OS Map screenshot, might I suggest, Crow Nest and Hawkland are lookouts for the pre neolithic cave dwellers. Crow Nest is not far from a modern mast also taking advantage of the sightlines.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Really interesting. I must take a walk out and have a look. More to find up there, I think.

[@davidbialik1878]

Impressed with your content, video and audio high production value. Not easy to pack in & setup several cameras. Love your hat. What is it? I want one. 😊 Loving your work.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you very much for noticing these things. It does take a lot of effort, but I think it’s worth it and when I’m cursing my decisions, I remind myself how I’ll probably appreciate it when I’m old and unable to do it anymore!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Oh sorry, neglected to say: that hat is a Poet from Bates the Hatter.

[@stephenmeyers9076]

You married up. Congratulations!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Stephen!

[@JimBagby74]

This "apronful of stones" theme is something you'll find in at least two Irish locations. A farmer's wife or a witch in some cases is carrying a load of stones for various reasons, and says "sod this" and tips them out. And here we have Satan, once again making a mess just as he did at Silbury Hill when he could no longer be bothered. All these shirkers, calling it quits before the job was done, may have caused inconvenience in their day, but it's fine for us. We get hypotherrmic Antiquarians. Much thanks and respect to Mrs. WC.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Jim. It is a commonly recurring name, it seems. There are two more "apronfuls" along the western edge of the Dales too and I think they all have some sort of association with Old Nick. Interesting how such sites were later given these names. To make sure folks didn't get fond of the Heathen burials?

[@michaelschudlak-l3l]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd i know of one in Anglesey, Wales. its called Barclodiad y Gawres The giantess's apronful, but its not a cairn but a neolithic buriel chamber. pretty sure there's more in north wales with the word apronful in it.

[@JimBagby74]

​@@michaelschudlak-l3lI've heard of that site but didn't know there was an apron theme.

[@PhilMBarrett]

Excellent, as usual. Happy New year to you and Mrs WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd. Was aware of this location courtesy of Mr Ibbotson's brilliant books (I'm also not sponsored), but yet to visit. Looks like your hat has had a malfunction (Cocker spaniel raised ear syndrome) 😱. BTW Highly recommend the DJI Neo as a pocket sized highly capable drone upgrade (from fake drone to toy drone), again, alas, not sponsored.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Phil and well spotted with the unfortunate pirate hat malfunction! The Neo is one that I'm considering. It's basically the DJI version of the Hover Air X1 I've been using, but you can use a controller with it (I control the Hover Air from my phone). I want to avoid lugging a full drone about with me to these sort of places and they do add in extra time, whereas these flying cameras are quick to launch. The problem is that I'm quite tempted by the new Pro version of the Hover Air - it's just fiendishly expensive by comparison.

[@PhilMBarrett]

@WC21UKProductionsLtd The X1 pro is certainly more sophisticated, the neo has no collision avoidance and pos not as good camera (but at 12 Mpixels/4k video good enough for my needs). It was the cost/capability balance that swung it for me. I got the 'Fly more combo' that included 3 batteries and a proper controller. Already got some great high level photos of historical sites.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@ does it take long to connect that controller?

[@PhilMBarrett]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd you clip your phone into the controller body, turn on the controller (within 15 seconds it launches the DJI fly ap), turn on the drone, maybe 15 seconds to connect to the controller and you see the drone cameras image on the phone. You then have to wait maybe a minute or two for the drone to find enough GPS satellites to set its home point accurately, then launch. The neo can only tolerate a small breeze due to its weight, I can give a demo before you buy if it would help.

[@PhilMBarrett]

​@@WC21UKProductionsLtdyou clip your phone into the controller base and power it on, in about 10 seconds it fires up the DJI fly app on the phone. Turn on the Neo and in about 15 seconds the drone image is displayed on the phone. It takes 1 or 2 maybe mins for the GPS to find enough satellites to accurately set a 'home' point then you are ready to take off. If you would like to try before you buy I can give a demo. The neo likes very little breeze due to its (lack of) weight.

[@iainmc9859]

I suspect you may have said lets go for a nice walk and then mentioned making a vlog once there ... 😂 So much to see in such a small area and oddly atmospheric in the bright low light with the shadows in the landscape. I've never found leather trousers particularly insulating ... but that's another story !

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Iain! I have tried that trick in the past. It didn’t work out well for me! Yes, I was pleased how the footage turned out - it was difficult to tell on the day because of that light. The low winter sun illuminates the limestone scenery in a pleasing way. I suspect there’re other burials up there too. It’s difficult terrain to read with so much rock laying around. Our prehistoric ancestors seem to have favoured it as a place for the dead. I won’t pry about the leather trousers!

[@tasmania1111]

Fortunately those ‘leather’ pants are fur lined!

[@01cthompson]

You need to buy Mrs. WC21 a set of proper winter field attire that holds in the warmth.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

I do and will sort this!

[@peterworby2049]

Was that a circular shadow on the ground a short way over to the right of the natural not an enclosure featuring?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

I did spot that too when I was editing this. Harry Speight thought the area was covered in ancient stuff and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more burials up there.

[@Spoonbob150]

Best video yet! (I may be biased)

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Oh thank you! Glad you think I did well in this!

[@Spoonbob150]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd😮

[@hainanbob6144]

Nice to see you again, has it been a year already? Must have, we're in 2025 now. Also great to see Mrs.WC21, methinks you should take care of her and not try and freeze her to death on your rambles. Springtime would be good though!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes I should take better care of her! Trouble is, I know there are antiquities to investigate and that becomes my focus. I must do better. She’s up for more, though!

[@nurmihusa7780]

I think the hardest job on KZbin is to be the spouse. I’m just saying. She was heroic. Is heroic. ❤

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and you hit the nail on the head. This is quite all-consuming! She seems open to doing more - which surprised me! I'm pleased, though.

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

I imagine many of those cairns were robbed to construct those drystone walls.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes. I think they just helped themselves to prehistoric burial cairns to build the enclosure walls. I wonder if any of them felt a twinge about it?

[@TalesFromTheBlahSide]

The whole winter and summer solsticeseses thing really intrigues me. It shows such a degree of sophistication in ancient thinking and planning. For a start the idea must have been around for many years before the people even started thinking about buildings that celebrated the events, and then all the design and work just to get these structures in place when communication methods were to say the least primitive. You'd have to spend a lot of time walking around the hills and the mores spreading your ideas. I wonder if the holy people travelled between communities as a matter of course?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

It is one of the many really fascinating insights into the intellect and world view of our prehistoric ancestors, isn't it? I think you're right - the understanding of the Solstice must have been there for a good while before they started building these structures to reflect them. It's quite evocative and unsettling to imagine the body being excarnated in that circle before being moved to the Apronful of Stones. The fact we see these styles of burials all over the country suggests something quite mind boggling about the transmission of ideas. I think there was a lot more travel than we're probably inclined to think.

[@raedwulf61]

Your wife's a good sport. Hello, Missus!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

She is indeed and is up for more, apparently!

[@tasmania1111]

Hello! 😊

[@darrenminshall5037]

how do you find such places?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That’s a very good question. Multiple sources, but sometimes it starts with nothing more complicated than spotting those old heritage letters on the map. Other sources include books and websites. The Modern Antiquarian, The Northern Antiquarian and the Megalithic Portal are good online starting points. Hope that helps. Cheers.

[@darrenminshall5037]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd ok thanks.by the way did you visit wroxeter the other week when you were in shropshire?

[@davidrowley-ic6dx]

A cracking location … and marking your return to the tea room. It is quite apparently a landscape with a very rich history … the more I look (Google Earth) … the more I seem to see … though you are correct to note the value of feet on the ground to help discriminate between natural and artificial features. Rather sad the way the area appears to have suffered from a major scrabbling for artefacts during and after the Age of Enlightenment.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers David. One can lose one’s self looking at Google Earth images of that upland area. It’s literally covered in “stuff”. I think I’m going to do some field walking between the Field of the Dead and the Celtic Wall at the other end to see if there are unrecorded burials. It would be good to link the Bronze Age with the Iron Age. Typical antiquarian thinking!

[@AdamMorganIbbotson]

Hope your cheque arrived okay in the post… Also, 5ft as it stands today, with its divot, from ground level. But conflicting opinions abound (like the Devil’s Arrows’ height. I use GIS / Lidar, but remind me to take a tape measure next time…)

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Adam. I am minded to go with your measurement, as opposed to an 18th Century journalist for the Gentlemen’s Magazine. Hope this gets you some extra sales.

[@TalesFromTheBlahSide]

A man on a hill with his wife Found examples of primitive life After braving the cold Was eventually told It bloomin' well wasn't worth the strife

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

I do enjoy these poems! Cheers.

[@helencoates3624]

There are 'Borrins / Borrans' all over this wonderful land of ours - don't know the meaning of the word but it seems to do with farming...

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes I think someone has just made an assumption based on burials and Borrins both beginning with “B”!

[@helencoates3624]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Thank you :)

[@AgentTrust]

👍❤️

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks @AgentTrust!

[@69waveydavey]

Come on Southerners get a grip, I was up there in just my underpants yesterday, brushing the snow of my shoulders although I had to wear flip flops to get a proper grip on the slippery rocks. I think the explanation with the Devil is probably correct if it's Yorkshire, he would have finished the job if it had been Lancashire for fear of getting a slap by a proper Northern lad

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Can’t argue with any of that! Although you’ll notice I managed fine with only a very few layers of tweed. It must be my 28% Celtic DNA and 25% Viking. Offsetting all that soft, Anglo Saxon rubbish!

[@69waveydavey]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Actually stopped there at a camp site not far away over New Year during covid, fantastic part of the country, especially when it's sub zero.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@@69waveydavey it is a great area. I like these places in the Dales away from the honeypots.

[@MattMesserPics]

Happy new year and all the best for 2025 to both of you! Now, I was tempted for a second to say: "You lucky bastard, Mr. WC21!", but that would have got ME cancelled, wouldn't it? So, let me rephrase this to: "Lucky two of you, WC21-Team!", which is more fair anyway. You do know that you've got some impressive story-teller and presenter talent in your household, mate !? Just saying...

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Matt and you're safe here - this is a cancellation free zone! The Missus is good in front of the camera and surprisingly, she says she'll give it another go! I felt so bad in hindsight. Making her stand around in those temperatures whilst I worried about looking good. Hope you are well and all the very best for 2025!

[@henchy3rd]

Wow, what a perfect day👍 I have heard about the devils apron in quite a few folklore tales, however this is more than likely a Christian belief as the pagans did had no idea what a devil was. However, it does intrigue me about the historic reasoning to the apron.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes, I'm so glad we went back. These sort of sites are so very different in the clag! There are 3 of these Apronfuls along the western edge of the Dales. All attributed to the Devil. But yes, the names come from a much later date. Probably Medieval at the earliest, but very interesting as you say, to see that interpretation being applied.

[@rileyuktv6426]

We all know who the star of the show really is…⭐️

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks. I'm too modest to shout about it!

[@PhilipMurphy8]

Happy 2025 to you and your partner 🎊

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Philip and to you too. Let's hope it's a good one.

[@charleswillcock3235]

Your missis needs to get some ski gear. No wind sun out Minus ,6 is not cold.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

It didn't really come across on camera, but there was a bit of a breeze up there too. I was getting hot walking in the sun, though.

[@tasmania1111]

Soft southerner living up north and not much meat on my bones! I’ll wait for warmer weather I think! 😊

[@desmondrobinson169]

Tickle tickle.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Hi Desmond! Thank you for your sterling work!

[@desmondrobinson169]

@ That’s a double tickle (One for the missus)

[@barryconway]

Another excellent production. Good job both. Mrs. WC21ProductionsLTD is a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? Presumably why you call her “the missus”. I shall refrain. Also, I apologise for not getting around to watching this until evening. I hope that doesn’t bollix (technical term) your Algae Rhythms. Lichen subscribe.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Barry! No need to worry about when you watch it. Whatever works best for you. I’m not a slave to the algorithm. Unlike others I could mention. Cough. Cough. Etc. But I appreciate the support, nonetheless. Yes, we do need a better name for the Missus. I do think I could get cancelled if I keep saying that. Any ideas?

[@barryconway]

@WC21 any ideas for the missus? Boss? Slave to the Algorithm. Grace Jones, right?

[@andrewbarnett5542]

A northerner couple gallivanting about the wilderness in their Sunday best dress. Darren needs to dress in leather pants too. A bit shabby compared to the sartorial elegance of Mrs WC 21. How far would the ancient natives been forced to carry the large capping stones? Where did they seek shelter while constructing the burial mounds? I hope you made a nice cup of cocoa for Mrs WC21 to reward her for efforts. She looks high maintenance to me. How about some indoor mumbo jumbo while the winter weather makes these investigations problematic? By the way it is quite warm here in the southern hemisphere. 28 degrees C. Lovely weather.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Trust me, you really wouldn't want me to wear leather pants...! That's a good question about the capping stone. I'd say it was the local limestone on this occasion, so I don't think they'd have had to go far. I would have loved the enclosure to have potentially been some kind of contemporary settlement, but it did look like a natural feature to me on the ground. Others may disagree - it has been proposed as such. The Missus had a nice cup of tea in Elaine's Tearoom whilst I was still faffing around up there. And a toastie, I believe!

[@jacquelinetaylor8683]

Folklore usually has a basis in reality. Were the locals referring to the old Pagan religion when they recalled the legend of the devil dropping the stones. Always worth studying ancient maps for old field names. They persist in memory long after the origins of the names have been forgotten. Mrs WC21 should have worn layers of Tweed! Can you get drones in tweed?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes it’s interesting how these sites picked up such names. I think the Christians were potentially wary - seeing them as “Heathen”. It sort of follows they’d associate them with the Devil. Possibly!

[@martinfrancis3285]

" The grassy knoll" oh how that lives on in infamy. infamy, infamy they've all got it in-for-me.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

It’s weird how that description emerged from my subconscious mind!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

It’s weird how that description emerged from my subconscious mind!

[@martinfrancis3285]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd have you immersed yourself in the world of conspiracy theories? are you channelling an inner Graham Hancock?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@ his name keeps coming up - I wonder if I should do a video on his ideas. I’ve never really looked into them in any depth, but I understand he thinks there were advanced civilisations before the Ice Age?

[@martinfrancis3285]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd indeed he does, a disciple of Erik van Daniken of "chariots of the gods" true psuedoscience. the BBC funded a series of his theories 🤣

[@gustafduell4948]

Are these areas grazed? Sheep? A hundred fifty years ago in sweden, it was very overgrased, but some wood plantations were made in barren areas like these, and now it is very woody. Non moors? remain except some reserve. Why was that not made in the uk? Or was it? I guess they had the same influences and ideas and need for timber and fire. Or was coal used instead and timber imported?

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes it is sheep grazed and there is a movement for change at the moment. Some people think the Sheep Scar Circle would have been in woodland back in the late Neolithic, but I'm not so sure about that. Generally the forest was stripped by the Neolithic settlers here, so I think it would have been pretty open by the time that was constructed - say, 2,500 BC. There is some tree planting going on in the Yorkshire Dales, but generally in small pockets and for nature and flood mitigation purposes. Further north in the Pennines, large areas were commercially forested from the early 20th Century.

[@gustafduell4948]

@WC21UKProductionsLtd thanks. I think it is the same in sweden that the barrows are laid in what was open terrain. They found it through pollen at the earth below. So, it is probably open since the neolitic but occasionally rewooded due to some plague or cold catastrophic event. Same the old replantations here were both commercial and saving what had become most bare rock or sand dunes. Apparently grasing was still prefered there. There is an interesting eposode in the Linné apprentice Per Kalms travel in Bohuslän in the west of Sweden. They had used all wood and now burnt turf instead and wondered how they would survive when the turf was finish. Luckily coal, oil and emigration to america appeared.

[@AndyJarman]

I'm just glad he doesn't insist you dress in a Gannex Mac, headscarf and wellies in keeping with his obsession with period costume. It could be a lot worse dear.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That doesn’t sound like a bad idea!

[@david6920-r6z]

Great video! However, If you ever apply for New Zealand citizenship please don’t admit to getting your wife to close the gate for you. 😂 🇬🇧 🇳🇿 . Serious offence in rural New Zealand

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you and I didn't know that! If I ever go to New Zealand, I will close all the gates - thanks for the tip off!

[@gaffysmenk]

Oh. It was Definitely the devil dropping his stones. No question about that.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

It makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

[@ThreeOldDudesshow]

I wonder if it was a bit less barren and more congenial as a place to live back in neolithic yorkshire? Or has it been like that since time immemorial and they buried their dead in a suitably bleak place. I was about to comment that I missed the missus expounding on the mumbo jumbo but then you explained she didn't (but then you forgot as well😂)

[@ThreeOldDudesshow]

Oh wait, it was the devil bit. Never mind. Its sunday, I'm on the sofa and my mind is not up to speed...

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Yes I do wonder what the landscape was like up there. I read one report that suggested the Sheep Scar Circle was built when it was still forested, but I'm not sure about that. Generally the Pennines were cleared by the Neolithic settlers, so I think by the time that was built, it probably looked not too dissimilar to now. Did they live up there, or just save it for their dead?! I wish that enclosure had been clearer. I have had second thoughts since my return, but there's still no way it could be confirmed as contemporary with the burials.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

You're correct, the average daily temperatures were 3 degrees centigrade warmer in this dry-warm Sub-Boreal climatic period, with July daily highest averages from 18-23 degrees compared to 14-18 today and winters mild enough to be above zero for much of the period. Probably a little lower in Yorkshire as it's hard up north. Also, more of the original climax forest remained on the uplands of Britain and this part of Yorkshire likely retained significant tree cover although it was in the Neolithic major clearing was initiated.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@PaIaeoCIive1684 it’s interesting to think of these places as being warmer - something I often struggle with when I’m up there! It would be great to understand the exact timeline on tree removal. I think it would have been pretty clear by the time these monuments were built.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd Actually you're probably correct. Those clearances had removed the bulk of the forest by the late Neolithic as pollen analysis of soil under these Yorkshire cairns would show . There would've been some on the hills which the cairn builders kept as a valuable resource. I've a large Thames Pick flint tool I found in the river near The Thames which might've been dropped by the Mesolithic people knocking down the trees in the river valley. Imagine clearing forests with flint tools which shatter or fall off the shaft as the sinew ties come loose every few bashes! They must've carried bags of flint axes as spares just to remove a few trees (as experimental archaeology suggested). Hard labour and frustrating.

[@hughjohnston]

Hyperthermia focuses the mind 😂

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Can’t believe I subjected my wife to this! And all because I wanted the best angles!

[@petergardner5002]

Now we can see who is the 21 and who the wc.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

That made me chuckle!