Motoring Oddities EP6 - Where can you drive below sea level...? The Uk's Lowest Road!

Рет қаралды 49,012

2 жыл бұрын

#holmefens #cambridgeshire #roads
They had some crazy ideas back in the 1800s. Including a project to create more farm land, which, at the time seemed like a good idea however years later, it seems the land is sinking away and we've lost quite a few metres of it!
The story of Englands Lowest roads is a curious one as it was perhaps by accident that they came to be. I'm in Cambridgeshire, more specifically Holme, to explore what went on and why we've now got these super low down roads.
Join me in the series you didn't know you needed. We'll be looking at several 'Motoring Oddities' from the smallest, to the largest, to the longest and the highest. It's ultimately pointless but that's half the fun.
Twitter - @Jonshenanigans

Пікірлер: 158

@Mmmmetro 2 жыл бұрын

Ahhh, Cambridgeshire. I fondly remember applying to get planning permission for a garden rockery!

@LeClaw Жыл бұрын

haha loved the Monkey dust clip for the Cyclists. Not seen that for years 🤣

@lonoreturns Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Was going to ask what this was. Will give it a watch.

@GeneralThargor 27 күн бұрын

@@lonoreturns best series ever on british tv, 18 episodes of perfection.

@McRocket 2 жыл бұрын

2:53 - that 'post' is amazing...that the land could drop THAT MUCH!!! Thank you for this informative, interesting and humorous/charming video. ☮

@Beardchanics 2 жыл бұрын

Another great episode, love the presenting style, informative and funny!

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it.. hooray, I finally made a funny :D

@0skar9193 2 жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans oh don't you worry, you make funny viewing... well not you personally, but your motoring episodes

@ronniehotdogs2007 2 жыл бұрын

Hiya mucker, I don't know how but the algorithmic universe aligned and I love the videos 👍

@rayperkins6006 2 жыл бұрын

Cambridgeshire has some of the worst roads in the country. These roads are built on many meters of peat, that shrinks as it dries out. As a result, the roads are like roller coasters, often featuring spectacular adverse camber on bends and potholes that can swallow HGV’s whole. The B1050 between Willingham and Earith is a particularly fine example

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

I do enjoy a drive across the fens..it hilarious!

@Simon-bg3st 2 жыл бұрын

I drive across Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and south Lincolnshire's crappest roads daily. I think the south Lincs roads take the crown mostly, though a special mention should be made of the areas around Benwick and Manea in Cambs for dogsh1t roads.

@homechanel5792 2 жыл бұрын

Try the back roads between March and littleport my daily routine and it's crap

@KidarWolf 2 жыл бұрын

I know that road far too well for my own good, as it was a major route between the horse feed store, and the yard my horse was at livery at. It's simply atrocious.

@john07973 Жыл бұрын

@@Simon-bg3st My mate lives in Whaplode Drove south of Spalding - dreadful cracked, sunken and uneven roads around there

@balexalex 2 жыл бұрын

Can you ask for anything more than an informative channel with 'your mum' jokes, amazing

@bern047 2 жыл бұрын

I live near here in Yaxley and visit Holme woodland the forest at Holme Fen, fabulous place, we have fantastic bikeways around Yaxley and Peterborough, Holme Fen is a fab place for a walk among the tall Scotch Pine trees and Silver Birch and beautiful flowers in spring, The Admiral Wells is fab Pub for some Real Ale and tasty meals, also a cyclists paradise, you have to visit to find out : )

@spiritofthetime 3 ай бұрын

Nice inclusion of the Wish You Were Here? theme at the end, a blast from the past.

@timsully8958 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing, a video that provides factual history concerning the history of our Road network, a study in the methods used in the 19 century reclamation of land in Cambridgeshire, a brief delve into the fascinating phenomena of aridity shrinkage caused by the removal of water from mere land, and a Judith Chalmers ‘Holiday’ like review of the local hostelries and amenities complete with a ‘how to get there’ guide 🤷🏻‍♂️ Certainly filled a Sunday morning gap in my “life schedule” rather well 🤔 As for that A15! We have had cause to use it many times when visiting my father in law in Pinchbeck near Spalding. To say it is straight is understatement. It is so straight it doesn’t have kinks or bends but ‘directional deviations’🙄 Cheers 👍🍻🍀

@derekmarshall6332 2 жыл бұрын

Another cracking episode, I love your stuff 👍

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate and thanks for watching.

@chrispayne523 2 жыл бұрын

I haven't been round that area for a few years but there used to be some really deep pot holes around there. So if you go watch out for them.

@davidrichardson222 2 жыл бұрын

Your mum joke! Hahaha Almost shat myself from laughing!

@markwilliamwestonwilson1503 2 жыл бұрын

This episode is fantastic, welldone

@monkeynutz Жыл бұрын

I already knew it would be Holme fen when I saw the title. Been there many times. It’s also the lowest point in England. Not just the lowest road.

@andy70d35 2 жыл бұрын

Honestly thought you said Lincolnshire was a flat waste of land. Great videos and a brilliant sense of humour.

@julianorchard6129 Жыл бұрын

Keep doing what you do brilliant clips informative humorous and interesting plus the presenting skills are second to none

@orwellboy1958 2 жыл бұрын

I must have driven down that road 100 times or more and never knew.

@chrismoule7242 2 жыл бұрын

Well described. I lived in Benwick in the Fens in Cambs, & our house, like a lot of the others in the village, was 2 metres below sea level. The interesting thing is that house insurance was [and still is as far as I am aware] easy to get, simply because the water levels are so intensively managed & flooding isn't at all likely any time soon. On the other hand, the roads are terrible, because the roadside willow trees suck all the water out of the peat under the roads & the roads subside - badly - just at those points. I had one car that broke three consective front springs - and I do not drive fast on the those roads even now, precisely for these reasons. Seasoned campaigners know full well what those trees mean.

@Heimbasteln Жыл бұрын

Funny thing, my grandma lives close to the lowest point in Germany (-3.54m) and the roads in the area also have problems with subsidence, which makes for a rollercoaster ride everytime we drive there, especially because the bridges usually didnt subside, so you could probably jump over some briges if you went fast enough (and didnt care about yourself and your car). The ground is also all reclaimed from the sea and mostly made up of peat as well. Its also not at risk of flooding today, since dike building has been figured out by now and made cost effective with heavy machinery. But back in the day, each municipality who had a coastline to the north sea was responsible for their own dikes and was basically always at war with the sea over their own land.

@boola69 Жыл бұрын

Oh I’m so glad I subscribed and get shown content like this.

@eggy77 2 жыл бұрын

Very educational!

@cr10001 2 жыл бұрын

3000 square metres? (2:06) Doesn't sound very big to me :)

@mickmellors190658 Жыл бұрын

A football pitch is around 6500-7500 sq m for purposes of estimation

@kgbgb3663 Жыл бұрын

Wikipedia says 3000 acres. Just a bit bigger! (Well, over 4000 times bigger, to be honest.)

@AndrewMartinIsHere 2 жыл бұрын

I love your glowing review of my wetland home 🤣

@BeansOnToast_YT 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this, funny and I learned some things 👍😂

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, I'm pleased we're educating the masses :D

@paulsengupta971 Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans Oh, you said masses...

@russcrawford3310 Жыл бұрын

I lived in NW Stockton, California ... sea level was halfway up the gable end of our roof ... the whole of the Delta Country is 10 to 15 feet below sea level ... a few thousand square miles ... and this area isn't even famous for being low ... it's famous for having dirt that burns ...

@anahatamelodeon 2 жыл бұрын

Hah! Been there, done that. Visited Holme Fen, seen the post, drunk at the Admiral Wells in Holme and (much longer ago) got shouted at from a police car for cycling though a red light late one night...

@colinmaynard2879 2 жыл бұрын

The Fens completely blows the Macan Satnav. The reported altitude jumps from 0 to 19,999 feet instantly as you go below sea level. Technically, therefore, the car’s vertical acceleration far exceeds its horizontal. 🤪🤗

@KidarWolf 2 жыл бұрын

That's hilarious! I have to admit to never looking at the GPS while traveling around in the fens, now you've got me curious if all Satnav has trouble with the idea of driving below sea level.

@RichieRouge206 Жыл бұрын

Another great video John, love your sense of humour. Guessing you love cycling too 🤪

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

Cycling is the best.

@DaSpecialZak 2 жыл бұрын

a side note: I liked how you made the first letter of auto, the first and last letters of shenanigans bold and yellow

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

hehehe....

@PiousMoltar 2 жыл бұрын

I have to wonder, when the land sunk, how did the post not sink with it? Also I think the drainage of the Fens was mostly successful. Most of it is still farmland.

@kirkmooneyham 2 жыл бұрын

I was told that Cromwell was the one who wanted the Fens drained to create farmland.

@peterjf7723 Жыл бұрын

The post was fixed to the bedrock, the peat formed on top of the bedrock.

@andrewjones-productions Жыл бұрын

@@kirkmooneyham So, it only took them 200 years to get around to doing it in the 1800s. Looks like bureaucracy moved as slow then as it does now. Not to mention creating a cockup in the process that they have now decided needs to be reversed.

@OkenWS Жыл бұрын

Well that was fascinating! I was skeptical of the level of subsidence here until I remembered the similar situation which occurred in the marshes outside New Orleans which led to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

@Alext165 2 жыл бұрын

Lol thanks for latest video! It’s so odd seeing areas I’m so familiar with. I did think that roads near Manea were lower than Holme. Manea isn’t that far away and of course is also really flat!

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

I'll look into it as there wasn't any mention of this during my research... although if you've watched before you'll know "research" is a very loose term around here.

@Alext165 2 жыл бұрын

I have watched before, research just slows things down

@typhoon-7 2 жыл бұрын

Come to Perthshire and drive on the UK's highest road next.

@markarnold8160 Жыл бұрын

So not PC Jon pmsl 🤣 I live with these Fenhead types just up the road from where you were and there's nothing going on except cabbages and taters.

@nikf3188 Жыл бұрын

Bloody brilliant - where the hell do you get these TV themes from in such darn good quality?!!

@vickielawless Жыл бұрын

A Dutch land reclaimation engineer named Cornelius Vermuyden drained the Fens, he also worked on Canvey Island in Essex, but we mustn't hold that against him.. We drove the A1101 west of Littleport last year, and the floodwater was barely an inch or two below the road.

@terencemichaels Жыл бұрын

On yer bike John!

@alancliff9208 2 жыл бұрын

I’m a surveyor so I’m sure with my modern cm accuracy GPS kit I can find the lowest point 👍🏼😁🤓

@andykilvington1651 2 жыл бұрын

Hilarious as always

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@iangrice329 Жыл бұрын

I love the fens

@MassiveChetBakerFan Жыл бұрын

Thanks for asking. Yes, I've had a lovely week. How about you?

@eyesofisabelofficial Жыл бұрын

I used to do this sort of thing before the internet... but with paper maps and a bicycle, that's why nobody has heard of me. :)

@uncledodge9396 2 жыл бұрын

As I understand it the lowest pub is the 'Duck and Drake' in Yaxley. So if you're going to visit the lowest road why not visit the lowest pub too?

@Simon-bg3st 2 жыл бұрын

They used to do a cracking curry in there, but that was about 25 years ago...

@oddities-whatnot 2 жыл бұрын

@@Simon-bg3st Is that where they make a curry, its left on the plate to dry out, then cracks ?

@Simon-bg3st 2 жыл бұрын

@@oddities-whatnot lol no, it was sufficiently moist : )

@RedKnight-fn6jr 3 ай бұрын

Proud Boast: I cycle many times a week - cycling my engine!!! My weekly pedal cycling amounts to.... ...wait for it: ZIPPO!!! 😄😄😄

@iainmclaughlan1557 Жыл бұрын

I live in this area and I am a driving instructor. I teach my customers about the dangers of driving into the drains..

@MrGreatplum Жыл бұрын

I’m here for the “your mum” jokes…

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

She is a joke...

@hairyairey Жыл бұрын

What's really ironic is that Anglian Water are planning to build a new reservoir in the Fens!

@algiefeatherstonehaugh1091 2 жыл бұрын

3,000 acres, not 3,000 square metres.

@edwardlees4585 Жыл бұрын

I always have to watch the ending twice, once to listen to what you are saying - very interesting - and again to try and guess the music. Was this one 'The Holiday Programme'?

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

Wish you were here. or The Carnival by Gordon Giltrap.

@edwardlees4585 Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans Damn, failed again. It was the ITV rival for the BBC. However, I'm sure you used the Grange Hill music on the Birmingham Motorsport video. Am I right?

@davidbalfour3390 Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans I though it was wish you were here but couldn't quite remember. You should name the tracks each episode, or provide a link so you don't do spoilers.

@atog28 2 жыл бұрын

And the dutch people like: Oh yeah...

@alandavies55 Жыл бұрын

It was a Dutchman who was employed to plan the original drainage scheme.

@Alarmkid23 Жыл бұрын

is the road tawards the holme lode train crossing still as bad as it was a few years ago or has it been raised slightly

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

Still terrible!

@Alarmkid23 Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans did you nearly ground as my dad has a toyota aygo and nearly got stuck

@Alarmkid23 Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans if you have photos of the road please send me some as we would like to see what state it is in

@wildduckification Жыл бұрын

@@AutoShenanigans I was slightly disappointed that you didn't show the state of the road in the video! I have never been so afraid of getting stuck as I was there. No mobile data there either!

@Veni_Vidi_Vortice 2 жыл бұрын

It's perfectly possible to be a motorist and a cyclist at various times, depending on the use case, and I'd be very happy to give you a race in either format. Be sure to bring plenty of hankies in case it doesn't work out in the way you had hoped for. 😛

@Heimbasteln Жыл бұрын

Yeah there would also be much less congestion on roads if we had good bike roads everywhere, like in the netherlands.

@bengray6219 2 жыл бұрын

Werid seeing my county on KZfaq, no one ever comes to the fens

@oddities-whatnot 2 жыл бұрын

I used to work in the motor trade and in the last year had a lot of customers in the fens. I have a fascination with the area, I find the unusual landscape very relaxing.

@WayneSaggers Жыл бұрын

There's a Lower Road in Hockey in Essex

@davidevans1978 Жыл бұрын

More Rammers!!!!!

@k6usy 5 ай бұрын

Did this in Death Valley, you should try it.

@rowanvickery5504 2 жыл бұрын

Where is the cycling sketch from please?

@papaspoof 2 жыл бұрын

Monkey dust.

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

It's a show called "Monkey Dust" It's one of the best animated shows you'll ever see, be warned, the subject matter can sometimes be... a little extreme. It's not a kids show!

@vinniesuperstar8923 Жыл бұрын

that subtle shrug of the shoulders gets me every time

@RhesusMonkeyUK 2 жыл бұрын

How do you make an excellent transport infrastructure enthusiast KZfaq channel even better? You include Monkey Dust callouts, obviously.

@AutoShenanigans 2 жыл бұрын

What a show that was!

@MrKpsuk84 2 жыл бұрын

1:30 😄😄😄😄

@bonitalongstaff4567 Жыл бұрын

It's a terrible road, so bumpy and full of pot holes. I live here. Longest straight road and lowest!!!

@chrishartley1210 Жыл бұрын

I think you are a few zeroes short on the measurement of the area affected. 3,700 square metres is only a little more than 60 metres X 60 metres, not really noticeable in the scheme of things. 3.7 million square metres, possibly even 3,700 hectares, would seem to be a more reasonable measurement.

@rowgli 2 жыл бұрын

Your anti-cycling comments cut deep, but great use of classic Monkey Dust clip

@SantaHul Жыл бұрын

I really hate all the fighting between drivers and cyclists. A prick is a prick, some are in cars, some are on bikes. I bet most drivers would run red lights if they could get away with it.

@rowgli Жыл бұрын

@@SantaHul social media has created a great platform for it. Makes me nervous to cycle these days, knowing the attitudes of some people - especially those I thought knew better

@PiousMoltar 2 жыл бұрын

Dude was that Opeth or... well it was something like that \m/

@scotmorley8526 2 жыл бұрын

Did the post have a benchmark?

@kirkmooneyham 2 жыл бұрын

As I've stated commenting on others of these videos, I lived in the UK for a bit many years ago. I traveled up and down the A1, and remember Norman Cross quite well. I also remember some B-roads across the Fens not so far from there which had very deep drainage ditches on either side. I heard a story, who knows if it was true, about a car with a family that went off into one during some heavy rains. They were missed after a day or so, but no search turned up anything until some time later, after the water level diminished enough, so that a farmer spotted the boot of the car sticking up out of the water. To be honest, I hope the story was just that, and not true.

@KidarWolf 2 жыл бұрын

I'm unsure if it's true, but I've also heard the story, and given how deep and steep sided those dykes and ditches can be, it honestly would not surprise me to find out it was true. It's definitely a very tense time driving some of those fen roads when your headlights have failed during the drive. Never again.

@rhys180606 Жыл бұрын

That pole story is a load of

@DaSpecialZak 2 жыл бұрын

I'm a cyclist but I follow the rules of the road

@stevolarry420stevenslozz3 Жыл бұрын

Where are u from Jon? I swear I met u before!

@LisaSargent03 2 жыл бұрын

The lowest road below sea level in Essex is Wharf Road Stanford-le-Hope as it was dug out 2 feet lower than the water level and floods whenever we get bad weather.

@cedriclynch Жыл бұрын

What is the altitude of the middle of Dartford Tunnel?

@notrut Жыл бұрын

You need to ask EEC-EU lover ex-MP Michael Heseltine ...

@benny33661 Жыл бұрын

Was that a tim the traveller outro?

@verteticsandras7202 Жыл бұрын

I was searching for this comment

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

It was the theme from "Wish You Were Here"

@zipWith Жыл бұрын

goddamn, a monkey dust clip in 2022

@AutoShenanigans Жыл бұрын

Remember when you could make a tv show and it didn't offend everyone.

@zipWith Жыл бұрын

yeah you just had to make fun of cyclists instead of the marginalized i think

@darleytransportandtravel6353 Жыл бұрын

9 feet under water. I understand that. What the devil's a meter?

@derekstuart5234 2 жыл бұрын

After engineering this land for so long, the environment has adapted to it- wildlife in particular. I question the wisdom of now destabilising it to attempt to return it to normal, given this means the environment being forced to adapt to geo engineering once more.

@stevenmoran4060 Жыл бұрын

You can drive be,ow sea level in my home town Southport. Nothing special bout that fact at all. Most coastal towns have parts below sea level.

@MayTheBeerBeWithYou Жыл бұрын

Love your videos but I don't appreciate the anti-cyclist sentiment. Surely being stuck behind less cars is a good thing? In that image at 0:56 where you put the caption "use those to get off the road?" They're actually on a part of the road specifically marked for cyclists, and that Vauxhall could be fined for going over the stop line

@WeirdTunes Жыл бұрын

Next up: Where in the Netherlands can you drive above sea level?

@hairyairey Жыл бұрын

The Tim Traveller has covered that. In fact the Netherlands even has a mountain and a quad point with two other countries (it's complicated...)

@jack504 Жыл бұрын

Caveat: lowest road not in a tunnel #pedant

@moonshinepz Жыл бұрын

"and speaking of Punts..... Cyclists" just cracked me up.

@redlioness6627 2 жыл бұрын

Ahem, it's "UK" and not "Uk"!

@allandavis8201 2 жыл бұрын

And? If that is all you can say (write) then you must either have everything you want in life, or nothing at all, we ALL make typing errors just as we all make mistakes. Ahem, I think this is one of those times.

@Simon-bg3st 2 жыл бұрын

Should we trawl your comments for the odd lame typo? Sad.

@redlioness6627 2 жыл бұрын

@@allandavis8201 Ahem, I believe that you meant ("type")..

@redlioness6627 2 жыл бұрын

@@Simon-bg3st Feel free!

@oddities-whatnot 2 жыл бұрын

Oh dear, really ? I think you need a hobby.

@BibtheBoulder Жыл бұрын

I ride a cycle. It has a 1340cc engine, and goes rather fast. Commonly known as a motorcycle....

@gordon1545 Жыл бұрын

I like my car too, but there's no denying it's a stupid way to get around a city - especially an ancient one. Too polluting, too noisy, too dangerous and much too large. Stereotype cyclists all you like, but objectively they're right.

@cuddlepaws4423 4 ай бұрын

To all the bicycle saddle sniffers out there, the channel is called AUTO shenanigans. The clue is in the title. Stop bitching. Also, the last bit of animation is brilliant. Cyclists do make up their own rules on the road and are anonymous due to having no number plates despite being road users. So when they do something wrong, they never get the blame. How convenient.

@danyoolripley Жыл бұрын

Nice video, except for the bit where you used the word dyke to mean lesbians. If you're using a homophobic slur to get a cheap laugh you need to raise your game.

@notrut Жыл бұрын

Can you explain why the BBC replaced Gay Stephen Fry with Copenhagen's Gay Sandi Toksvig ...? AFTER the UK left the EU ...

@alexhaworth757 Жыл бұрын

@@notrut what

@TestGearJunkie. Жыл бұрын

Much as I love you Jon, please stop talking in metric, I think in inches, feet and yards, not forgetting furlongs.! Meters..? What are they, gas or electric..?