The Ox Drove: A Very Muddy Ancient Track and a Wild Camp

[@annenewton5403]

Wonderful thank you , we have just found you,we love your eccentric tweed, camping, wine etc.

[@garrymartin6474]

Hats off to you for getting out there and walking the route despite the watery obstacles. I too am a big fan of the Jack Hargreaves films but I suspect like me, he would prefer to spend this time of year sat by a fireside with a glass of something nice.

[@WiltshireMan]

The Kings Highway, Yes I saw that Jack Hargreaves episode:) Now in the present time we have land drainage but still get floods but can you imagine how much worse it was before Land drains came into being. I remember Jack Hargreaves saying that whole Armies would have to stay camped in one place until Spring arrived:) The UFO was a game feeder aka Superior being! Your folding plastic table John, I have one and found it not be be the best infact a word that springs to mind is C$%p. I recently brought a new small folding table made by "Boundless voyage" It's good and only cost 16 quid, featured it in my last video. The Nordisk tents do seem to get more condensation than most, generally with kit you get what you pay for but it doesn't always work out to be true!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

I'm not hugely impressed with my folding plastic table either to be honest, it's not a particularly flat surface and not very sturdy either. I just always err on the side of the most lightweight thing I can get hold of because I know I will be overloading my bag with more complicated than necessary food / cooking equipment and of course a bottle of wine! I'll take a look at your video with the alternative table in it, sounds interesting. Same principle goes for the tent! I love how compact and lightweight it is, but yes there are definitely drawbacks to it. Even though it looked like there was practically a small pond forming in there I stayed pretty dry, the sleeping pad lifted me up off the ground and my sleeping bag is somewhat waterproof and synthetic fill so it still works fine even if a bit damp. This is probably the worst case of condensation I've had with it, other times it has been a lot milder - obviously depends a lot on the conditions you're camping in and on this occasion it was just a very wet environment.

[@chrish5319]

Late comment as I am slowly catching up. Loved the video, walked the whole of the Ox drove a few years ago and it was just as bad then. Well done for staying calm. Enjoyed the wild camping, Cranborne Chase was the first AONB, now National Landscape, to be an International Dark Skies Reserve and we get some really lovely night skies. Thank you again.

[@theflourishing]

Loved the Jack Hargreaves mention, very nostalgic. I'm showing my age here but I can remember Jack Hargreaves circa his apperances on the ITV series' 'Out of Town' and 'How!' :) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hargreaves

[@tweedyoutdoors]

I don't think I ever watched Jack Hargreaves' programmes when they were originally broadcast, and have only discovered them in the KZbin era. It really makes me nostalgic for a simpler, gentler era of TV!

[@CampLifeBushcraft]

Enjoyed this video over a morning coffee in bed. Thanks, John. For some vintage Tweedy.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Dan! I think this might have been one of those type 2 fun sort of trips.

[@hedleythorne]

Wonderful video. Anna Dillon painted an artwork called "The Ox Drove" based on a trip we did to Win Green, for our exhibition, which I am now the proud owner of. Such a special area (er, when not flooded!)

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Hedley! I'm not sure I saw this area it in its best light and maybe some aspects of this trip are what I'm told is called "type 2 fun": i.e. you only realise you enjoyed it after the fact! I looked up Anna Dillon just now and instantly thought she was the sort of artist I should have already known! Slightly reminiscent of Brian Cook / Brian Batsford perhaps? (I hope that's not a comparison she'd object to - I'm no art expert!) ...but focusing on the sort of landscape this channel is filled with. Beautiful work!

[@hedleythorne]

@@tweedyoutdoors Her work is superb, I am so lucky to be her photographer and exhibition wingman. I love so much artwork of the North Wessex Downs, it gives me the same feeling that I get when I am walking there.

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Your good humor despite the dreadful conditions was commendable. I would be just yelling expletives the whole time😂. Had no idea that deer sounded like that!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thank you L&J! I think the act of making a video gives a bit of a distorted sense of my mood - there definitely were one or two times on this trip when I got a bit grumpy and some expletives were said, I just don't tend to film those bits! It's not that I'm making a deliberate attempt to put a positive spin on it, but more that when I get bad tempered like that I usually don't feel in the mood to film at all. Yes deer barking is surprising isn't it? I've only ever heard it at night, in the woods. My daughter went on a camping trip with school a while back and I played an audio clip of the sound to her before she went so she'd be able to recognise it - the first time you hear it in, it can be a bit unnerving if you don't know what it is!

[@joes_craft]

Great to see you walking some of my regular routes. I live about 1.5km south from your wild camping spot :-) In fact, where you mentioned that the track was quite spooky after setting off in the morning, there's a local tale of an unfortunate girl who threw herself down a well and was buried not far from the long barrow at the old cross roads (just a footpath running through the woods now). There have been reports of a sad looking ghostly figure standing by that track you walked up to get back on the Ox Drove :-0 Really enjoyed this one and well done for braving the January rain

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Joe, and really great to have that local knowledge! Funny you mention that - I didn't find the woods particularly spooky, I was pretty convinced all the noises I could hear in the night were just deer - but I did find that track leading out a bit spooky! I very briefly thought there were some people in the field off to one side at one point, but almost immediately dismissed it as a tree stump or something and assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me in the very dim light.

[@joes_craft]

@@tweedyoutdoors it might've been me ;-)

[@AC-gc1ge]

Next time you pass through Shaftesbury, can I tempt you to pop on to Shaftesbury Wines. Lovely independent wine merchants with a fine selection of fine Burgundies, and lovely people too. Well done, by the way, braving to the gloop with good humour.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

I did walk past Shaftesbury Wines, and had a quick glimpse in the window. I was briefly tempted, and it's very rare of me to pass up the opportunity to take a look in a wine shop, but I was really tired and starting to get a bit grumpy and just wanted a sit down somewhere! I definitely plan to return to Shaftesbury at some point in better weather, I still haven't seen Gold Hill with my own eyes and also (after I had already left) I looked at CAMRA's Pub Heritage website out of curiosity and found the Ship Inn listed there, which looks quite nice.

[@cedric11484]

Beautiful images of sunrise and yes, the mud. Impressed with the effort it took to carry on. Well done and thank you,.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Cedric! Yes it was a bit of a slog at times but one of those trips I'll probably enjoy more in hindsight!

[@davidneal6920]

Nice walk and scenery Tweedy. Good effort on keeping your tweed clothes largely free of mud! 6 hours is a good walk. You might have burned about 4000 calories! 🇬🇧 🇳🇿

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Dave! I think it was about 11 hours of walking in total for the trip, 5 on first day, 6 on the second. I probably wouldn't have found it so tough going the second day if I had actually had a decent night's sleep. I never seem to sleep well when camping, I sometimes wonder why I keep doing it!

[@davidneal6920]

@@tweedyoutdoors what sort of sleeping mat do you use? I find the 1st night always the most uncomfortable. 2nd night much better

[@robcoles8493]

Excellent video there Tweedy - they are really good fun to watch. Your endless good humour is infectious.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thank Rob, I really appreciate that!

[@gilesbinyon]

Respect to you for going out in these conditions John. This weather is bound to cause such condensation but you took it in your stride - well done. Dinner looked delicious. Happy New Year ⛺️😃👍

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Giles, and great to hear from you! I think I probably would have been better off in a more open air tarp setup given the circumstances - I don't think the rain was ever very heavy, but the air was always quite damp. I think that meal was quite well suited to camp cooking as it can all be done in one pot, and it was very hearty and warming - you just have to be careful to keep stirring as the stodginess of the beans make it prone to burning on the bottom. Happy New Year to you too!

[@bobalinga]

Just found your channel and enjoying the videos. A real change from 'all the expensive gear'.

[@olias2716]

Another great adventure, respect to you for tackling those huge puddles..and always done with good humour...as always very entertaining and informative keep up the good work...

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Olias! It was quite an experience actually - I'm used to dealing with minor footpaths being overgrown or having other obstacles in the way, but I don't think I've ever before encountered a "major" route - designated a bridleway - that was this was hard to follow.

[@MistyBottom]

We were fully expecting a Tweed tent.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

If one were available I'd buy it!

[@Oscartherescuedog]

Beautiful video John. I too found Jack Hargreaves’s through KZbin and enjoy his programmes. The condensation in your tent was horrific yet you are always upbeat and positive which is a wonderful trait to have. Happy New Year!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Seán! This is the worst case I've had of condensation with that tent - the overall conditions were just so damp, and I suppose my clothes were a bit wet too as it had been raining before I got inside, and it was raining when I was setting the tent up. I stayed fairly warm and dry overnight though - the sleeping pad lifted me up out of that puddle which had formed, and my sleeping bag is slightly waterproof too (and synthetic fill so unlike down it's not affected by getting a bit damp). So I think the worst part was just packing it up when it was all soaking wet like that!

[@salan3]

It's great you're out and about again but sounds like wrong day. The Ox Drove(as has been said) was on Out of Town (fantastic series well worth a look and many are on YT. I have the set). Perhaps another visit in better weather. the tent really suffered with condensation. Not sure what you can do but perhaps worth looking at for future trips? Going to watch to 'long version' now

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Alan, and really sorry for subjecting you to the long version as well! I think all of these ultra light / ultra small tents have similar condensation issues. On other trips it hasn't been this bad, but these were quite damp conditions! The solution to that problem is almost certainly a roomier / heavier tent but I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to lugging even medium weight loads over long distances and I'm really reluctant to switch to any heavier gear!

[@ysgolgerlan]

Thanks for the muddy video, I enjoyed it and a Happy New Year. 👍

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Ysgolerlan! There certainly was a lot of mud. Happy New Year to you too!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Well done - that’s some challenging route for January. I’m sure I am not alone in being grateful for the entertainment you provide, at no inconsiderable personal discomfort! Thanks for the shoutout - I’ve studied the map and had a look at Margary - I think you were walking on M4C - the Roman road from Old Sarum to Badbury Rings. Quite envious of that! As you know, back in the Neolithic and Bronze ages, aliens used stone circles as their landing pads. By the time we get to the Roman era they had to switch to using the new road system, and apparently are still doing so! Terrible issue with their dimensional transmogrification unit, though. Beautiful sunrise shots and night photography. Always nice to be reminded of Jack Hargreaves - even though I found him boring at the time! I will check out the link, but did he have such terrible problems with condensation on his wildcamp?! Really enjoyed this, Tweedy. Thank you for suffering in this way for us all to enjoy in our centrally heated homes!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thank you, as always your comments are an absolute delight to receive, and much appreciated! Really good to have a label for that Roman road. As it happens I was in my local earlier this evening, talking to one of the regulars, and when I mentioned part of the walk had been on a Roman road in that area he asked me which one. He said rather astutely that obviously one end of it was Old Sarum, and wondered if I knew what the other terminus was - now I know! I only discovered Jack Hargreaves in recent months via KZbin, and I rather like his slow delivery style - very much an antidote to modern TV... but I can imagine had I watched it in the early 80s when I was an ignorant youth I might not have appreciated it! I doubt he suffered from condensation - it appeared he was out in summer, and claimed to be sleeping in an airy looking wagon / cart. Although the programme ended as he was supposedly preparing for the night so I can't help but wonder how genuine it was. I can assure you I definitely suffered all the way through the night to bring you this video!

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@@tweedyoutdoors yes, I’ve definitely learnt to appreciate Jack Hargreaves in later life. So much more “real” than the over produced twaddle we get today. My grandparents used to watch it, so I think it ended up in the same category as Songs of Praise for the very much younger me!

[@liberty_and_justice67]

Watched Jack Hargreaves as a child in 1970’s. At the time, thought he was nuts and had his own show as the competition at the time was sheep dog trials, snooker, or darts. Really strange content on BBC 2😂

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

@@liberty_and_justice67 I love that scene in American Werewolf in London where the chap who is turning into said werewolf is locked in a flat during the day. He switches the TV on and it’s lurid ads for News of the World, snooker and the testcard!

[@liberty_and_justice67]

@@WC21UKProductionsLtd 😂. TV content that is not meant to entertain. What a concept!😂

[@deirdrenone5234]

Cheers Tweedy!!! Thanks for the even grander adventure!! Are you wearing wellies (spelling?) this time of year? Wonderful to see you emerging from the primordial mud singing a song! Ciao!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks Deidre! No I wasn't wearing wellies but there were definitely parts of this walk where I wished I was! I always assumed standard wellies aren't really suitable for long walks, and you'd end up with blisters...? I do have some "Pocket Wellies" which I featured in one of my Dartmoor videos. They're fairly lightweight / compact and designed to slip on over your normal footwear, so they might have been handy - I could just have put them on for the bits where I needed to wade through those huge puddles... but alas I didn't think to take them with me on this trip. I was just wearing my normal walking boots, which are (somewhat) waterproof but of course only ankle high, so any water deeper than ankle height would lead to wet feet.

[@deirdrenone5234]

Like Bilbo forgetting his handkercheif on his first day as a burgler ! We go as we are where the road takes us :) As a child I spent time in Forest Row where I encountered many a puddle at dawn on the way to collect the horses from the misty fields, ending up drentched and cold! I could have used some tweed myself back then! So delighted to see your neck of the woods and remeber how beautiful and magical that land is! Until next time!

[@zzmike]

A strange coincidence, in that I just stumbled across that same Jack Hargreaves video a week or two ago. It (Jack's horse camping) looked idyllic. (I was wondering whether you might stumble across a group of gypsies too! I have only recently discovered your channel (with pleasure), and I have to say you capture some of the same "essence" of the English landscapes in your footage as Jack's did. Thanks for making them! ---Mike

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thank you for the kind words Mike! When I was actually out on the walk the landscape felt quite different from what I'd seen in the Jack Hargreaves TV programme but perhaps that was partly the time of year (I assume his was filmed in summer). I'm very happy to hear though that the essence of it still shone through!

[@jimbo573]

I watched the cooking segment and thought "that's grating". Then I heard your singing and thought, "that's grating".

[@alistarc]

We love the non-exciting cooking footage, More detail please.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thank you! I did cut a lot of it out in this version of the video as was trying to keep it short. There's also an hour long version of this video (link in the description) and that has more cooking footage, starting from around 18:47.

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi, You made light work of those puddles, not one misshap? but the mud really takes it out of you. Looking at the weather reports can't imagine what they are like at the moment. A well deserved rest now!! I guess in those conditions it would be hard to avoid condensation regardless of which tent you had. I do remember sleeping out in what we called bivvy bags, essentially a large orange plastic bin bag!! I think I saw the Old Country episode you mentioned only a few days ago. Must admit that I didn't appreciate them at the time but they are a wonderful record of how things once were. Really enjoyed the walk, thanks for taking us!!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks David! I was quite lucky in hindsight negotiating around those megapuddles, there were points when it felt more akin to climbing than walking as I was trying to inch along the very narrow ledges at the sides, with only thorny bushes to hold onto for support - it could well have gone awry! Yes I've used bivvy bags before, and perhaps on this occasion a tarp and bivvy might have been a better setup.

[@davidberlanny3308]

@@tweedyoutdoors hope you didn't leave too much tweed behind on those thorns!!

[@tweedyoutdoors]

@@davidberlanny3308 I think it was more a case of taking the thorns with me on the tweed!

[@martinkillick5437]

Did you film a Tweedy pubs video in Salisbury? A couple of gems to be found. Great video as always.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

I had about an hour to kill in Salisbury at the end (I was meant to be getting the train back from Gillingham, but they were all cancelled that afternoon due to the "severe" weather). So I did go for a pint at the Haunch of Venison, which I thought was really fantastic. Alas I was just too tired to hang around in Salisbury any longer than that, I just wanted to get home! I must return at some point though to do it justice - where else would you recommend in Salisbury?

[@AllotmentFox]

That Jack Hargreaves was highly irresponsible peddling that rubbish about staying dry on the ridgeways. May I recommend a pair of wellies? You would’ve made short work of it with them. Good to see you doing geo-antiquarianism again. Talking about staying dry I was going to not have a drink tonight but after seeing you a glass of wine is in order.

[@AllotmentFox]

I just got a Cote du Rhône, there were no Burgundies. You are a bad influence

[@tweedyoutdoors]

I have a pair of "Pocket Wellies" which are designed to slip on over regular footwear (not entirely dissimilar to a couple of bin bags! Perhaps slightly more durable...). Alas I didn't think to bring them on this trip. I've always assumed proper wellies are not suitable for walking long distances in, and would likely lead to blisters, but I could be wrong - perhaps given these conditions the benefit of being able to just stride confidently through all those deep puddles would have outweighed any downside... I wish I'd had a bit more insight to say on the antiquarianism front in this video! I couldn't really find out much detail about the history of this track. Jack Hargreaves, for all his other talents, was obviously not well versed in prehistory - he refers to a long barrow as "a burial mound from the iron age". Timperly and Brill's book doesn't say much about the track other than describing its route. Sorry for being a bad influence when it comes to drinking! You're not the first person to say that...

[@flemmingbochristiansen1216]

I wonder where you store your luggage during a rainy night?

[@tweedyoutdoors]

There is a narrow vestibule big enough for my backpack and my boots to one side of the tent - perhaps it's difficult to see in the short glimpses of the tent in this video. It's definitely not a roomy tent! However the pack size / weight is unbeatable - it's not much over 500g, and packs down to the size of a water bottle. It definitely wouldn't appeal to everyone. Most of the time when I'm outdoors I want to be 100% outdoors for as much as the time as possible, and ideally would just get in the tent to sleep. So it's more like a hooped bivvy in a sense. Unfortunately on this occasion it was raining later in the evening, if it hadn't been I would have sat outside for longer.

[@flemmingbochristiansen1216]

@@tweedyoutdoors Thank you Tweedy I have just bought a 2 person Nordisk Lofoten for my spring trips (beginner) and I am wondering what to do with my large 75 liter hiking backpack. I think you have the 1-person version and you have a much smaller backpack. My spring trips will be used as pre-training for a long hike in the Norwegian Mountains, where I will have to carry all common equipment for two people incl. food for 7 days. Hence the large backpack. I think my backpack must be outside during a downpour. Thanks for the nice travelogues. It is very interesting - and a completely different way to enjoy the outdoors than I had imagined doing.......but now I have become hooked on taking small adventures and enjoying the culinary - and good wine. It is very inspiring.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

@@flemmingbochristiansen1216 Ahhh I see - yes I have the one person version, the two person version doesn't have the vestibule. If there's only one of you in the tent you might be able to squeeze the backpack inside the inner tent with you? I have previously camped with just a bivvy bag and a very small tarp (which more or less just covers my head) and sometimes I would leave my backpack out with its rain cover on... but those times the weather wasn't very severe. Alternatively maybe some kind of micro tarp might be a solution for providing a rain shelter for your backpack? Yes my way of enjoying the outdoors is a bit different to most people's! The bottle of wine is obviously a bit silly, it would make more sense from a weight point of view to pour it out into a plastic container as the glass bottle weighs about 700g I think. There's just something quite luxurious about having an actual bottle with me - even though it probably negates all the benefits I get from my lightweight gear!

[@flemmingbochristiansen1216]

@@tweedyoutdoors There is nothing right or wrong in outdoor life!! I love the bottle. Part of the pleasure of a good bottle of wine is sitting and looking at the label and drinking the good wine from a glass - which is made of glass. The double cabin is not very large, as there is air all around between the inner cabin and the topsail. Would actually rather have the 1-person version now that I've tried to look it up, but it should work. The main thing for me will be hiking trails for 6-7 days straight without having to shop, carry all my gear and know I can handle it. If the weather gets really bad, I find a pine or spruce forest and pitch the tent there. It rarely rains that badly there. I also have a Fjällräven rain cover for my backpack, so there is only a question of suitability. My boots and my wet rain gear can lie in the small apse, then I'll probably manage the rest. The tent should only be used as an advanced tent flap / biuvak. If it goes completely wrong, some days I can find permanently established tree shelters on the trip. I enjoy your way of camping. Nothing can compete with gourmet camping food (from a can :) ) and good wine. Have a good evening

[@thekentishpilgrim]

I enjoyed this. Timing a bit bad after all the rain though. Perhaps you would have been better off bringing an ark rather than a tent! Anyway, all the best.

[@tweedyoutdoors]

Thanks TKP! - yes it was almost at the level where it might have been worth bringing a pack raft! I have a pair of "Pocket Wellies" which slip on over walking boots and more or less go up to my knees. I was kicking myself that I didn't bring them on this trip - they would have been very handy. It just somehow didn't cross my mind it would be this bad - as I mentioned in the video I thought the whole point of these hilltop tracks was that they didn't get flooded like this!

[@AdeptHavelock]

+1 vote for photo WITH agricultural ephemera. Who doesn't love a rusty rake? 😮😂