Prehistoric Settlement on Video for First Time

[@pwhitewick]

Fantastic work to all at the WC21 UK productiona Ltd Team (must be quite a few of you). Great job documenting all these sites.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

This was a real treat - my family went out for a bit so I could have a luxurious time watching this on the big TV with the tweed sofa all to myself and a cup of tea (might have been a glass of wine were it not for that pesky daylight saving time change!). So much going on here. What a beautiful intro! Excited about the prospect of a return of the Anglo Saxon (and possibly Viking) crosses series - although I had to Google who Stuard Maconie was - am I completely out of touch? Those shots in the churchyard were very nicely composed, culminating in a slick gate opening / closing sequence and delighted to see the plug for the amphitheatre video! Sorry to see the fake drone was zapped by some mysterious forces! Admirable sangfroid in the face of that setback. Anyway that really felt like something a bit special, both for the channel, and for KZbin antiquarianism in general. Such a pivotal site to the Neolithic era - you could argue we should be talking about it in the same breath as Stonehenge etc - and yet so underrepresented in visual media! Superb work and I hope this video gets the exposure it deserves!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Bit late to the party in answering comments today, but thanks Tweedy! Just got back from a tweed hunting expedition in Scotland. Bagged two great new coats, so very happy and they're now hanging in my grand hall (tiny hall)! Glad you enjoyed it and I did think about you whilst making it. It would have been good to have had you there at the tarn settlement - possibly to do some Neolithic themed wild cooking? Although that may have been pushing at the terms of the permission I'd been granted? I'm ever so slightly obsessed by the Neolithic axe factory in Great Langdale and Ehenside is always talked and written about in relation to it, but never seen. I just had to do something about that. When I worked out the distance from the factory to the settlement - over difficult terrain today - my mind did boggle a bit. They must have had food production well and truly sorted to be able to spare so many people to mine, transport and finish the axes. And then to distribute them - for no financial reward? There must have been something in it for them to do this for 500 years, but what was it? Hopefully this video will come up whenever anyone Googles "Ehenside Tarn" in the future. I agree - Stonehenge is important - but we have so many other sites that also tell us about these people, and yet they don't receive anywhere near the same level of attention. For me, they're just as interesting and important. Interesting getting the fake drone zapped by the Sellafield security people. Two industries on the Cumbrian coast separated by 6,000 years!

[@philcollinson328]

Absolutely fascinating. I always enjoy the coastal catalogue. A huge shoutout to the kind farmer who allowed you onto his land.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Phil. Yes, what a gent he was. I felt very privileged to see where that famous axe came from!

[@martinfrancis3285]

They have even found highly polished ceremonial Langdale axes in Switzerland. With all your reference's to "the farmer" whilst wearing your splendid hat I thought you were channelling your inner Withnail and I

[@mattalexander3208]

“Are you the farmer!?” 😂

[@jenniferharrison4319]

This part of the Lake District is one of my favourites. Apart from Ravenglass there are not many tourists. Many thanks to the farmer for allowing you to make a vid of the tarn. I am interested in all things Neolithic and Bronze Age. I wonder if he owns the field where the standing stone is buried 🤔

[@OonaghEllis]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video, it was fascinating. I didn't know anything about this subject. Now future generations will actually be able to find at least one reference to it.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Oonagh and I hope it does help people to find out about the Langdale axe industry. It obsesses me a bit and it was truly magical to get to see this site. I wonder how many people have seen that incredible axe in the British Museum, without knowing where it came from and what that place looks like today.

[@andrewwilliamson2511]

Just stumbled across this, I have lived near this location all my life, even used to fish in those tarns for perch as a young lad, but I never knew its historical significance. Just goes to so. Really enjoyable video. Going to check the rest out now.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you very much Andrew - it is extremely rewarding to get interaction from people who are local to the sites I film at. As someone who is possibly slightly obsessed by the Neolithic axe mining industry in the Lake District, it was fantastic getting to see this important location. Mentioned pretty much every time the Langdale axe industry is discussed, but never seen. I needed to address that. I wonder how many people have seen that axe in the British Museum and considered what the find location looks like today? Many thanks for sharing your personal experiences of it. I did put links in the description to some other videos I've made which relate to the axe industry if you want to find out more. Cheers.

[@mattalexander3208]

More fantastic content. If it helps both my boys enjoying watching 13 & 6. 😊

[@billykershaw2781]

Excellent!...essential Sunday viewing...

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Billy - that's great feedback!

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi Darren, excellent production, the intro was superb and your outros never fail to raise a smile too. Well worth all the effort I know you have made. Thank you very much for the mention and including the coastal railway and then recognising that it wasn't actually abandoned, what a rail trip that must be. Big thanks to the farmer for giving you permission to visit the site, your persistence was rewarded so you can have no .... er .... er .....neolithic woodworking tool to grind with him!! The axe factory story is such a good one, really enjoyed the first episode in the mountains and this follow up didn't disappoint. I don't know how much of the deforestation was down to neolithic man I get the feeling that even with the axe, felling a tree is no easy feat, digging up the roots even worse. I'm sure they did just enough to meet their needs. Zipping forward, imagine the wood required to build the sailing ships or make all the sleepers for the railways. Britain would have been very different before the axe was invented that's for sure. Very much enjoyed seeing all the reports and maps. What a nice surprise being tracked down by a whisky reviewer, down here it is drunk diluted in coca cola, no lie. Although truth be known it's probably the local brew called "Dyc" pronounced "Dick". Congratulations on your exclusive, very enjoyable to watch, all the best!!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks David! It is difficult to imagine that people in the Neolithic cleared all those trees, but I guess we have to think about a process that spanned centuries. I did wonder if the tarn still had trees around it when they first settled there - and then they gradually cleared it for farmland. The transportation of the axes from the mine to this site is pretty mind boggling. Such a huge undertaking. They must have been rearing enough food to allow for such large numbers of people to be mining and moving axes full time! Glad you liked the trains - I’m sure I’ll hit a disused line again soon!

[@Pete40-b1u]

More great information about a little known spot. Your research and knowledge are a credit to you. Glad the farmer was happy for you to explore his land and share the history. Thanks for filming and editing your enthusiasm is infectious. All the best Pete 👍

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Pete - really appreciate your positive feedback and comments. It was a special moment for me getting to see Ehenside Tarn and I am very grateful to the farmer. Always talked and written about, but never seen. Glad I was able to do something about that.

[@janecapon2337]

This is a fascinating story. It was so cool that the farmer allowed us all to see this very important site. Thank you for this beautifully filmed video. What a beautiful day to visit!

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Excellent....a hidden gem ( no Neolithic pun intended...) ,of a region...sometimes we explore up there from deepest Wirral......thank you for sharing this with us all,best wishes ,sir.....hope your shoes dried out ok....us Auntie Quarians have to keep calm and carry on....😅😅😅...E

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Eamonn! That western, coastal side of the Lakes/Cumberland is mercifully quiet by comparison to the central area around Ambleside. And it's obviously always been like that - so many antiquities hidden away round there.

[@dwbunloaf8245]

Enjoyed that very much and I was right! I’d never heard of this sight before. Thank you for bringing awareness to this very important place.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you - very kind. Glad you enjoyed seeing it. Became a bit of an obsession of mine to find and record it!

[@AdamMorganIbbotson]

Learn something new every day - had no idea about the lost standing stone!

[@Sk8Bettty]

Fantastic! I cope with it by cramming my brain full of ancient history about a place I’ve never been. The US and the UK are two nations separated by a common language. And a bit of war, but that’s a different KZbin community. Vocabulary of note from today’s lesson are tarn, scree, Schofield, and ant aquarium foodling. Those Murrays sure know their whiskey. Mine came here when Cork ran out of potatoes. Will rocks skip on the surface? We do it on ponds and rivers up here on the Allegheny Plateau. Cheers! *skip in the surf? Stupid autocorrect.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks @Sk8Betty - good to hear from you again. It was magic for me to see Ehenside Tarn. Bit obsessed with the Langdale Neolithic axe industry and this place played an important part in that. Always talked and written about, but never seen. Until now! I think we'd say "skim" the surface here. I would have liked to, but the farmer didn't want me to go into the fenced off area and I'm not good enough at it to have tried from the other side of the fence! Off to look up the Allegheny Plateau now. It sounds amazing.

[@CosmicImperitive]

Incredibly informative and interesting again, really enjoyed it, was this the birth of capitalism to have the same quarried stone axes, distributed so far and wide is mind-blowing as proven they are working tools as opposed to weapons.. shout-out to land owner for access and whisky guy for his fortitude.

[@ThreeOldDudesshow]

So our neolihic ancestors were lumberjacks and they were ok. On wednesdays they went shopping and had buttered scones for tea. I managed to contain my excitement but still very interesting! Bit of a trek from Langdale to Ehenside. Wonder if it was Ehenside dwellers going to Langdale and traipsing back to finish them off or if it was Westmoreland dwellers selling their stuff to Cumberland dwellers? Then again they had stuff from Norfolk...

[@HelenKempster-t6y]

I love Stuart Maconie. And your channel, it's packed with information, and also very funny ( that's a complement)

[@jimmyfusion-c7b]

Bravo... another really fascinating video!!... You must keep making these as there is nothing else quite like them!!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you very much Jimmy - encouraging feedback and I appreciate it! No intention to stop!

[@atrampinthehills.841]

Brilliant...a first class production

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Steve! Glad you enjoyed it and hope you are both well.

[@davie941]

another great and very interesting video again Darren, well done and thank you 😊

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Many thanks Davie - glad you enjoyed it!

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Very much look forward to your Sunday videos and this one did not disappoint 🎉. Learned a new word, “tarn”. Always admiring of the ingenuity and hard work of our ancestors. Well done🎉. Oh, will check out the whiskey encyclopedia. Thanks!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you. I think ingenuity is a good word for their axe industry. Staggering achievement. They must have been good farmers too - being able to spare all those hands to mine, finish and distribute the axes!

[@MarkDerbyshiremoses]

Great video 📹 as always. You were blessed again with nice weather. Thank you for sharing 💙💪🏆

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you Mark! Yes and that weather wasn’t forecast - sometimes you just take your chances and it works out.

[@MattMesserPics]

Amazing! I just spent half an hour google-earthing the hell out of this. It was right under my eyes - have driven past it dozens of time when visiting Sellafield site. Shame about your drone 😂 I must have been just lucky when I filmed at Ponsonby church, which is even closer 😱Anyway, another thoroughly enjoyable WC21 production about something I did not yet know!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks and I thought about you when I was filming near Sellafield! Locating the tarn settlement so close to it was a weird experience. Two industries on the coast there, separated by 6,000 years!

[@peterbradburn9115]

Another great video. Thank you for the work you put into these

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Peter - really appreciate that. This one did involve even more work than usual so I'm glad it's being enjoyed. Cheers.

[@AllotmentFox]

Your comic timing is excellent: the throwing of the stone, the stepping on to the manhole cover and only just making it, terrific! But what were they trading for? No money so trade for something they want, perhaps pottery from Peterborough. They’ve got all the pottery they want, now what? It can’t be free trade on the open market so what is it? Were the axes themselves currency? It’s the same with the Romans: the money stopped so the man wanting to buy shoes says I’ll give you a chicken. The shoemaker already has all the chickens he needs (they propogate themselves) there is no reason to make shoes for other people anymore, civilisation collapses. This stuff keeps me up at night

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Me too! Why did they go to all that trouble? For 500 years! When I worked out the distance from the Langdale mine to the Ehenside tarn settlement, it just boggled my mind. That's a difficult, mountainous journey today....And then they were distributing them across the country and there was no money...? One thought that struck me today was what effective farmers they had become. To be able to spare all these people from the day-to-day tasks of securing enough food. There just had to be something in it for them. But what on earth was it?!!

[@RonSeymour1]

Thank you for the fantastic content. very interesting and informative.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks as ever for your support, Ron. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@hughjohnston]

Great off the beaten track madness . Muddy pre history at its best in the lake district

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Hugh. I really like “off the beaten track madness” as a future video title! Cheers!

[@CarolWoosey-ck2rg]

That was interesting Darren- you looking extra dapper I must say !

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks on both counts, Carol! Glad you enjoyed it - good weather too!

[@CarolWoosey-ck2rg]

​​@@WC21UKProductionsLtdCertainly did young man! Was lovely up here yesterday ,went to New Brighton ,sunny lovely x

[@jimbaird8976]

Thank you, very professional and informative production. I enjoyed and learned from it. Thank you. The outdo prompted me to go to my much older copy of Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible which used to be my go to when running tastings. ( it is very readable and helpful, irrespective of your level of knowledge of the subject) I have now put the 2025 edition on my Christmas wish list.

[@chrisball3778]

Another great video, but that AI kids animation of you at the end is one of the most cursed and disturbing things I have ever seen. It looks like it eats souls.

[@philcollinson328]

Thanks

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thank you kindly Phil!

[@AdeptHavelock]

Thanks for the highly disturbing "younger demographic antaquarian" @ 23:39...not going to sleep for a week now 😮😂 Would be interesting to see an episode investigating the neolithic transport mechanisms and infrastructure involved in getting the axe heads from Langdale to the tertiary finishing sites...

[@barryconway]

Stratographical analysis and PIL lyrics: you don’t get this stuff on the other Tweedy channels. Is your hat getting taller? Carry on.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Exactly Barry! I'm catering for audiences that are otherwise ignored by content creators! Either that hat is getting taller, or I'm getting shorter?

[@PhilipMurphy8]

The production standard and topics are usually second to one, even ITV can't be bothered to do 4K. Mind not sure if anyone needs stuff like Coronation Street in 4K however

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Thanks Philip - always nice to get feedback on the production quality. I'm totally self taught with this stuff and I put a lot into it. Cheers. And no, even if Coronation Street was shot in 4K, I still wouldn't watch it.

[@andrewbarnett5542]

May you live in interesting times, Darren. Nice reporting and the video kept my interest up all the way through. Admittedly I had had my afternoon kip so I was wide awake for this ant aquarium dabbling in ancient tarns and their significance to the creation of the first industrial revolution of the British Isles. Another boom and bust cycle tale that has been recreated many times in the last couple of thousands of years in your neck of the "woods." I, too, volunteer my services to the community and I dress up as Paddy the Platypus to spread the message of the need of the community to take care in storms and floods. Unfortunately, the very warm outfit does not come with air conditioning or poison spurs which the real platypus does have on its hind legs. Be careful near the edge of bogs and estuaries. It would be very unfortunate if you became a bog body.

[@joed285]

Stuart Maconie is a fellow Wiganer like me ,,,so will he persuade you to visit Coccium or get you to do some Northern Soul Dancing or even enter the World Pie Eating Contest. I propose all 3 !!!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

This sounds like a partnership made in heaven! Cheers!

[@blkrs123]

Nice Groovy 😸😽😼😻

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@horriblechris9656]

Interesting video on an interesting topic. I would like to dig further (pun intended). What trade routes led to the spread of the axes, sea and land. What settlements in the area supported the axe industry and its workers. Did the axe industry grow naturally or was it a result of neolithic migrants bringing the skill with them (and can links be shown that tie the axe style to Spanish neolithic axes) But I am distracted by the lack of footprints left in the sand when you walk. Either you are incredibly sleight or you are a CGI construction and have been fooling us all these past months/years. ps. could one of your talented viewers draw a cartoon Ant Aquarian for your channel logo?

[@MeatisFreedom]

I often find myself questioning the official narrative (it pays to these days). If the forested landscape had never been touched before 'man' cleared it for farming then the trees must have been ancient and huge. Think of any modern day ancient oak you have seen. I wouldn't try to fell it with a nine pound modern metal axe let alone a two pound stone axe.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Fire would be a far more effective method of killing off and driving back temperate woodland by degrees. Once each tree had been killed by scorching its soft basal bark and the roots had rotted a bit, the rest of the wood would fuel the forward march of destruction. Stone axes have certainly been used by many primitive cultures to process large trees for specific purposes (eg dug-out canoes) and even still were right up to recent times in places like Australia, Papua New Guinea etc. but fire was usually also used as an adjunct method to speed up the hollowing out process. The Noble Savage was no more addicted to the character-building option of "doing it the hard way" than the rest of us modern sluggards.

[@MeatisFreedom]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 Excellent. Thanks for that. That last bit made me laugh out loud.

[@ThreeOldDudesshow]

I just saw the pic of you and Mrs WC21. Trying to work out if that is tempura or gyudon in the chopsticks..I am now hungry...

[@Gracievision]

not joking but i'd imagine turning up in a suit and tie probably helps gets you access and permissions.

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

Haaa brillaint

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Cheers Monty!

[@johnfoster6412]

So is the "fake drone", which I call a not a drone, now a not a not a drone?

[@michaelfielder5666]

i was very interested in watching in the history, but the way the video began and the little man trying to be cute talking was crazy so i only made it a minute into your video please never post a video done like this again, you can do much better than this!!!

[@lpeterman]

If this comment is satire... Well done(?) If not satire, then, I doubt Mr. WC21 UK Productions Ltd. would appreciate me using my Army-learned, "go-to" profanity to tell you what I think. Perhaps this is not the YT channel for you, Fielder. (Apologies to Mr. WC 21, if I've overstepped the mark.)

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@lpeterman Thank you. I saw his comment earlier when stopping off on a journey home. Myself and Mrs. WC21 (UK) Productions Ltd had a giggle about it. I've been called many things in my time, but never cute! I get very little of this sort of thing and I know others who have to face more of it. Never understand why they feel the need to post, as opposed to just stop watching and go find something to their taste. Isn't that the whole point of KZbin? Really appreciate your support. Thank you.

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Dear Michael, thank you for your comment. The contents of which have been noted.

[@lpeterman]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd My pleasure. I have quite the overdeveloped sense of fair play and often leap to "Content Creator's" defense when not invited... I guess my "Canadian" is showing. Really enjoying the content and big thumb's up. Cheers!