Hi Connor, there are 150,000miles of public footpaths throughout the country, which you are supposed to stick to. The landowners are responsible for the up-keep of gates, styles and bridges linking these paths, they're also not supposed to have dangerous animals, such as bulls, in any field with a footpath. As well as footpaths, there are bridleways for horse-riders and green lanes for cars and bikes, though it's best to use a 4x4, rather than an ordinary car.

I live in Somerset and travel to Wells and Glastonbury most days for my job and I definitely do not take this beautiful country for granted. Glad you appreciate it to.

This visibly moved you. This landscape is in your DNA.

West Country.. my home sweet home

There's nothing crazy about wanting to walk in the steps of our ancestors 💙 💙

I feel privilege to come from a beautiful country with castles and cathedrals and mellow countryside sometimes we take it for granted

You can touch the stones twice a year 21st December and 21st of June . I did go to Stonehenge when I was a kid and you could go right inside the circle anytime . It was 40 years ago though !

Avebury and the surrounding area is an extraordinary place. Despite a previous landowner doing his best to destroy it, and a village having been built in the middle of the stone circle, it manages to retain an air of being connected to the neolithic people that created the landscape. Impossible to wander around it without feeling that, imo.

Glastonbury. What he has told you since 1970 those fields have been holding on of the biggest music festivals ever summer, for the last 51 years. It would have been 53 years, but a pandemic happened. It’s held on the fields of Worthy Farm, Glastonbury.

Hi Connor, the reason the stones are in a circle, is so one can align the sun etc accurately - e.g. you stand outside the circle behind the northern stone to see the sun align with the southern stone - good video BTW

We have a term for the paths you can see across the countryside Connor.... they are known here as 'rights of way' Thanks for showing such beautiful parts of the UK.

When I was a child, my entire family of parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins and my siblings often went to Stonehenge for Summer picnics while sitting on and playing around those stones. Happy memories.

Your passion for the green grass and scenic beauty is obvious in your eyes and smile.

The sun never rises in the south. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

The presenter seems like such a wholesome man, I hope he comes back to visit us again some time.

It's so strange that you said you feel like You just want to go here at about 26.15. I had a look at your reaction just as you were watching that part and I thought how much you would love it and feel right at home here. I love it here in this part of England and I'm so lucky that these are all places surrounding my house. Come and visit and chill out exploring on your own. Well worth it.

Through farmland you have the right of passage, but you can’t walk through people’s front and back gardens/yards.

I love how much you connect with the landscape, it’s so beautiful and deserves to be cherished

How did they do it? Like they did with everything else, used their brains and worked together and worked hard, And I realise how a small island could take over the world and be a leader in how we live our lives today, I see a beautiful country with thousands of years of history, just amazing really.

You used to be able to touch the stones once upon a time, I live 20 mins from Stonehenge and went to summer solstice in 2010/11, last time you were allowed, people were climbing on them, sitting on them and sat in and amongst them - crazy experience

I can vouch for the healing properties of the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. I'd been suffering for weeks with an upset stomach since visiting Turkey on holiday. We visited Glastonbury and the Chalice Well garden and I drank the water from the spring in the garden. Within 24 hrs my stomach had healed and I was back to normal. The point of where the water springs is very red from the iron in the water, so that may be part of what's special, as well as being in a very peaceful setting.

We all sometimes feel the pull of our history. It's not crazy, it's human.

When I was a child, we used to live fairly close to Stonehenge and visited on numerous occasions. Back then there weren't as many restrictions and you could go right into the henge and wander about, even touch the stones. It was free as well. :)

You can't just walk anywhere, but there is a network of public footpaths across Britain that have been used for centuries. Many of them cut across private farmland. Landowners respect the walkers as long as the walkers respect that they are on someone else's property. The most important English pagan deities were forest gods. FWIW, I spent my childhood at the eastern end of the Cotswolds, near Banbury, and my mum's ancestry came from Corsham, at the western end. BTW, Glastonbury has another, more modern meaning in the UK - the country's largest annual rock music festival, similar to the US's Coachella, is held a couple of miles from there. Damn good question about the full circle of stone circles, BTW. I'd never considered that before! There are burial sites that are similar shape to Silbury Hill (called barrows), but they're much smaller and there's no evidence of any burials at Silbury.

Seeing ur history everywhere does give u a connection to something beyond a human life helps u understand ur just as sing thru but the ground under ur feet is eternal in case of comparison 😁

They stopped people getting close as the stones were getting vandalised

When I went to Stonehenge in the 1960s Dad just parked the car and we piled out and clambered all over it .... there was no fence or guided tours or visitor centres or entrance fee

I catch the bus through Wells and Glastonbury every week, i never get tired of seeing the tor come into view when you come over the mendip hills. Noone knows what silbury hill is, i believe it was excavated and no remains were found but its been a while since i wrote about it.

I served in the Royal Air Force at Brize Norton for 7 years. We visited many of the places he went to. I famous tourist destination is Bourton on the Water not far from Lower Slaughter and Stowe on the Wold. The Cotswolds are a nice place to go to.

The Right to Roam means that you can use designated footpaths to walk through the countryside. Farmers and landowners are forbidden to block them and have to keep them clear and upkeep them for walkers. The roofs are made from SLATE not stone. Wells. Each stone would be carved separately and then built into the church.

24:55 There are local legends that the young Jesus accompanied his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, on one of his trading voyages to Glastonbury. This story is the likely source material for William Blake’s poem “Jerusalem”.

I live in Bredon in the Cotswolds. It is a beautiful area and there are all sorts of lovely lovelyplaces......Most places have a legal right of way on a map and respecting the countryside as you go.

RICK STEVES in an absolute legenf hes been doing these types of travel shows for years he usedd to be on PBS..

I grew up in the south east of England as a kid, but took most of my holidays in Somerset and Glastonbury. I climbed (and still do) Glastonbury tor many times! never gets old :)

I’m going to be honest and say I normally avoid American documentaries as they’re often poorly researched and over-dramatically presented, but this man is great to watch. He’s humble, interested and well informed. I would gladly watch more from him.

Not only do we know that cranes were used to construct the medieval cathedrals and abbey churches but those very cranes still survive to this day at a number of them, often within one of the towers e.g. Salisbury. Modern day sculptors and masons maintaining these ancient monuments use the same techniques as their medieval counterparts to maintain these buildings. Intricate carving work is done on the ground and not in situ! It is amazing that so much statuary exists at Wells Cathedral, surviving both the reign of Henry VIII and the Reformation and also Cromwell, a century later.

Rinse your rice until the water runs clean to remove the starch, then boil and change the water again with hot if it goes cloudy once boiling. Stops it going gammy . I also recommend leaving the rice overnight in the fridge in a container and the next day stir in dark soy sauce, hot pan, fry a chopped up onion, fry some scrambled eggs, mix with fried onion and add the rice and fry for 10 mins ,add some pees then drizzle with Chinese curry sauce. Serve with bbq pork or chicken 😋👌

Being 50% British/Irish ... I smile at this as much as you. Family once owned Nunney Castle in Somerset. The last abbot of Glastonbury, who was brutally murdered by King Henry VIII agents, is said to haunt there still. And Tony Robinson of Time Team even participated in a paranormal session to contact him.

I want to live in a little village and be it's miss marple 😄 but seriously they are stunning areas .

As I know you love beautiful gardens and landscaped areas of grass I would recommend researching Capability Brown and Gertrude Jeykll for some stunning landscapped gardens at stately homes.👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A beautiful video and so lovely to see my favourite place, Avebury, which is 10 mins up the road from here. It's a stunning, peaceful place that draws you in.

If you want to touch standing stones then go to avebury. And there is a pub there too.

Wells Cathedral is simply magnificent. The engineering involved is amazing, particularly the scissor arches, considering the age of the architecture. I've taken some great photographs inside. I love this part of England. And you're certainly not crazy for wanting to visit this wonderful place.

To me, the west country are the counties of Somerset, Devon , and Cornwall. Apart from Yorkshire, and perhaps the Lake District, these are must see areas of England.

Try this fella trip to Cornwall and Devon worth watching

Connor the shorter the rice grain the more it will stick together. You can also soak it for a few hours before cooking 😊

At 8.46 that stone engraving is a representation of Aqua sulis (water god).. In Bath we have huge engraving at the Roman Bathd. Aqua sulis was a Celtic God, The main god that the Somerset celts worshiped.. They're not sure if other Celtic tribes worshiped it, because aqua sulis only appears in the west country. In bath we actually named our natural spring after her "the aqua sulis spar"

When I was 14, I got totally wrecked on Scrumpy. I was so bad I couldn’t touch a drop or sniff a whiff until my 30’s🤣😂

Didn't realise that Devon and Cornwall don't exist!!! Cornwall, my county, is surrounded on three sides by water. It has the most lifeboat stations and lifeboats in the UK. Also you can walk the South West Coast Path all around the county. The path also goes into Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

I am very fortunate to live in Somerset, it is so beautiful. I'd recommend coming in late spring

The Earl first mentioned was the Earl of Wemyss (pronounced Weems). One of the glories of England and Wales is the network of public 'Rights of Way'. A peculiar part of English law is Customary Law; by this, if a custom has existed since 'time immemorial', it becomes fully law. 'Time immemorial' is officially 1189, but in practice it means as long as anyone can remember. Therefore, if a footpath has been used - 'as of right', not sneakily - as long as anyone can remember, it becomes a 'Right of Way', and is so marked on the official 'Ordnance Survey', and landowners can't block it. Sometimes nowadays some of these paths have linked into long trails, such as the Cotswold Way or the Offa's Dike Path. The law has now been clarified about high, wild areas, over which you have the 'Right to Roam'. (Basically, anywhere, with certain protections for people's homes and livestock.) Scotland has no law of trespass at all! The powerful Rambler's Association fights for walkers' rights. Therefore, Connor, you can walk all over our glorious landscape, as of right, on a vast network of ancient paths. DO BE CAREFUL WITH THE CIDER. IT IS LETHAL, AND NEVER, NEVER MIX IT WITH STRONG REAL ALE!!! We do indeed have many Neolithic and Bronze Age tombs, but Silbury Hill (featured) doesn't seem to be one of them. We do not know its purpose!

If you want so watch a fantastic mini-series about Medieval England where one of the main themes is building a cathedral, you should definitely check out Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth.

Living in this region, I do enjoy visiting all the various historical sites as well as some wonderful parks and nature reserves. It is a magical part of England

I grew up in this area but have since moved down South. When I was around 10-15 years ago, my dad and I helped to re-lay the white chalk on the horse on the hill @22:53. I had completely forgotten about that until your video brought the memories flooding back. Thankyou for that!😄 I really do feel lucky to have grown up around such a beautiful place and history❤️

Connor, I don't think you're crazy at all to want to walk round the countryside ( & look at those old buildings) I think a lot of us would feel a pull to our ancestors & past . I think that part of the country is quite mystical.

The sun doesn't continually rise due east and set due west in most places. It all depends on latitude and time of year. At midsummer at the poles, the sun does not set at all (the "midnight sun") and in midwinter does not rise at all (total darkness during the day). In England, the sun will be rising and setting between those two extremes over tge year which, in the summer, will be enough of a circle to make it easy to extrapolate what is missing on the northern side of a stone circle

It's True. Not only does the Sun never rise or set in The North Of England, but apparently, it never appears at all. Grim... However In The Beautiful South, East, and West....😶

4:20 You can hike through as long as you stick to the path, the land owners can choose to cut it off - or not. They mostly don't as long as you stick to the path.

You are not crazy... in fact your yearning to connect with the place of your ancestral home is completely understandable. The whole spiritual dimension around Glastonbury is hard to dismiss. I love your enquiring mind trying to fathom a 5000 year old mystery. Most of us simply accept what has been left as a connection to our past. Oh, did you spot that... you want to return to your ancestral roots, going full circle and you ask 'why a circle'.

Hi Connor - Our ancestors crossed the land bridge from the Iberian Peninsular when the ice sheet lifted between 15,000 and 7,000 years ago. Anybody who lived here prior to the ice forming would only have left their bones behind, which makes us the only true indigenous natives. Oppenheimers mitochondrial DNA and other research demonstrated that in spite of all the various newcomers, ranging from Romans to Normans, etc., the majority of the population traces all the way back to these original indigenous ancestors, of Haplogroup RB1, especially in Ireland which rated over 70%. Stephen Oppenheimer, British Origins: the surprising origins of the Celts, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons Carroll & Graf, New York, 2006 & PB 2007., 2006, Carroll & Graf,: New York. Stephen Oppenheimer, The Origins of the British: A genetic detective story, 2006, Constable: London.

You are correct. Wells catherderal was intended to have bigger towers but they ran out of money and peseants to tax. You should see Glastonbury Tore when there is a morning mist.....

Hi love your videos , You seem to have an avinity with this place . I visited Stone henge when you could actually go up and touch the stones it is amazing and special they stopped it due to possible errrosion, I lives in Hampshire at the time another beautiful place . I myself come from Scotland the most gorgeous place of all x

I have memories of touching the stones in about 2002, but I was recovering from a really awful breakfast in a B&B so it might have been an hallucination...

If I had a £1 for every legendary burial site of King Arthur, I would have about £8.

At Stonehenge, you can walk among the stones for free at the equinox and the solstice. But, if you are prepared to pay more and book months in advance, there are Special Access or Inner Circle visits for small groups which take place outside public opening hours (i.e. dawn or dusk). I remember when the Stones were free to everyone and you had complete access, but, thank goodness those days are gone. My first visit there was years ago with an American friend - and I was thoroughly ashamed of this World Heritage site. We had to park in a car park on the opposite side of the main road and we entered the site through a dank and noisome tunnel to join the milling crowds wandering aimlessly in and out of the Stones. There were no facilities, only a van selling teas in plastic cups. The monument itself was in the armpit of two main roads. Very depressing. Nowadays, you park in a well-maintained area about a mile or so away where there are toilets, a cafe, a shop and an explanatory museum full of interesting finds - all beautifully designed. You can either take a shuttle bus to the Stones or you can go for a lovely walk through the interesting, neolithic landscape. One of the roads is now grassed over. Most people will only come here once and it is worth paying for to have such an informative and enjoyable experience with guides on hand to answer any questions.

I love your film and how you react to the views and the history, I live in the North of England and you remind ne of the beautiful country I live in and also it's ancient history, thank you

Any place called Chipping is a market town. The word comes from the old Viking word Kjeyping - which is where we get Shopping.

On the 21st of June in the UK (Summer Solstice), the sun rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest.

I live in Taunton, the county town of Somerset. Been to Glastonbury abbey a few times. And yes there are cider farms all over the area. I especially like the wassail events.

When I last went to Stonehenge (1976) you could walk through and touch the stones.

Why are stone circles round? That's a very good question! Glastonbury is my favourite place in England, it's beyond well worth a visit. Avebury is beautiful as well.

England is ALWAYS green lol. If you go, May/June is the nicest time. Its beautiful. They were hung until nearly dead, then they pulled out their insides , beheaded them and pulled them between four horses so their arms and legs were dislocated and cut off. Pleasent huh!

Re: Glastonbury; ".. today, seekers still come for healing. But it's more for a wellness of the mind and soul." Struck a chord with me, because many, many years ago I was diagnosed with serious depression and was ultimately enrolled on a course of psychotherapy. Guess where that ended up being? Yup exactly on that bench @25:25 where the two ladies are sitting! (JK; but it was at Glastonbury.) Re: Stonehenge; it depends when you were there, Connor. A new £27m visitors centre was opened in Dec 2013. When I decided to leave my 'permanent' job and become a contractor, I had a longish commute. But I didn't really mind as it went past Stonehenge. And although the road is actually quite a distance from it, what was fascinating was seeing it at all times of the year with the sun in different states of 'riseingness' and all types of weather. A very interesting experience.

What a combination! Super Mac reacting to a Rick Steves video. Top Notch.... I love the way you pause and get us to also wonder at what you have just seen and realized, sometimes, no words are necessary. I, also, admire your genuine interest as you will pause and go back to something that you want to learn more about. Excellent work..

I think the whole “celestial calendar” is basically an educated guess by archaeologists and historians to explain what stone circles were for. The bottom line is they don’t actually know what their purpose was, hence the mystery surrounding them.

"Front yard," and "back yard," always amazes me.

Great reaction Connor. Personally I like Avebury much more than Stonehenge which they have turned into a 'theme park' :-( Avebury you are free to wander.

Stonehenge itself evolved over perhaps thousands of years,at first it was only a circular ditch,or mound depending on which way you look at it.What we see now if of course much more complicated than a simple circle.Over a vast span of time(think what 4000 years BC means) there were all sorts of causeways,chambered tombs,processional ways,etc. Archaeology hints at more,some sites were astronomical,others early burials,or later burials by people with clearly different beliefs.There were wooden monuments,Wood henge was one,apparent processionary routes,evidence of human sacrifice in some.That age seems to have passed a nd gave way to a landscape of hill forts,defensive sites that indicate raiding by hostile tribes.Its a whole field of archaeology and ancient history,with no written record

It's called the Right of Way Law. Which enables the British public to enjoy their own countrys scenery.

I nearly visited wells cathedral with my family as a toddler. Apparently what happened is I didn't want to go in so grabbed the door frame then put my feet against the stone pushing to not go in and screaming at the top of my lungs. My parents said it was like something from the exorcist or something. They didn't want to take me in after this as people were looking, obviously.

The chinese use precooked rice in their stir fried rice. They'll cook it a day or two before in a rice cooker, and then use it in a fried rice 🍚 yummy!

Cook your rice the day before ..cover with a cloth till its cool and pop it in the fridge ..that's how most takeaway rice is made ..so it drys out after cooking try it : )

Wells truly is one of England's most pleasant little cities. Hot Fuzz, the popular 2007 movie was largely filmed there. My youngest attended senior school there at a school founded in 909AD. Together with the cosy city of Truro, these two places have cathedrals with amongst the finest choral traditions in England. Btw, this guy has a good video on North Wales too.

I once drank a gallon of scrumpy, had to sleep in a hedge.

Wool was such a vital and profitable trade back then, that the "Speaker " of the House of lords sits on a woolsack.

All the land in Britain belongs to someone.Footpaths grew up as routes for farm labourers to get to work, or short cuts between villages. Many have been lost, so people are keen to use and retain those that are left.

Your not mad.We as humans are drawn to our past,it's what we are.We have the genes of our Ancestors which call us till the day we die.And then the people that follow you will do the exact same thing.

Let me take you to Wayland's Smithy via the White Horse. A sense of place linking landscape to humans you will never see a better example of.

Hi Conner in the UK we have ancient pathways that are a right of passage to market these pathways were called drovers paths. They are open to everyone and have been for the entire age of the British isles. These paths can go across anyone's land no matter who they are whether they are rich or poor. These pathways are also protected in law so the public have the right to roam these ancient pathways. Any land owner who restricts these paths can be charged and taken to court then fined vast amounts of cash . It's basically a way of keeping Britain free to walk anywhere we want to as long as the walker sticks to the footpaths. The walker also has to respect the countryside they are walking in as well if this isn't respected then the walker can be charged with. Aggravated trespass and recieve a substantial fine if the land is misused

Go to Avebury u can wander in the stones n awe strikingly big earth banks

Silbury Hill is one of two mounds. There is a smaller but much older one in the grounds of Marlborough College called Merlins mound.

But have you tried Indian sticky rice or coconut rice? It’s so good. I’ve heard that a lot of food in the US is not very authentic, so maybe that’s the issue. Of course, here it caters to the British palette, but it’s cooked by people from those parts of the world, so it’s still authentic 😋

I live near Bristol, the West Country is really beautiful, and this only scratched the surface. This is an old documentary on Bristol's history, very interesting kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ftqKdNxkx9DZqXU.html

As a 76 year old l remember touching the stone's at the henge before they were fenced off to the public.

Connor you are probably using Basmati rice and cooking it for too long if it's turning out in a clumpy mess. Add a minimum of 500ml of water with the washed rice to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir and cook for 10-12 minutes over a medium heat, uncovered. Drain, cover and leave to stand for 3 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork and serve. Use Long Grain rice for a more robust and cloy type of texture. I use the 2-1 ratio, i.e. 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of (cold) water. In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine rice, 2 cups water, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes (do not lift the lid or stir). Also, relating to the video, check out the English painter John Constable, he immortalised the English countryside onto canvas over 200 years ago. A real treat for the eyes. Although some might argue the best treat is seeing the countryside for yourself.

I realized when my cousin visited from America that what they think of as Indian meals and Chinese takeawaya are much lesser quality than what we get in the Uk. Also there are different types of rice for Indian meals, if you like rice you will find in one that you like if you experience enough of the food.

You're not crazy, it is a captivating landscape that is mesmerising.

Sweet Rice or Glutinous Rice In the case of boiled rice with Chinese dishes, use japonica rice (Medium Grain Rice). In the case of fried rice, use indica rice (Long Grain Rice).

I live near Stonehenge - if you go there on the summer solstice you can get right in among the stones. But you’ll have to share the experience with plenty of other people - including druids, hippies, and people off their nut on all sorts chemicals 😂

'England's green and pleasant land" William Blake