Ahh the M&SWR or the old Milk and Soda Water as they called it. Adrian Vaughan tells of a quiz he was presented with by an old 1920s M&SWR hand, when he was a signalman at Uffington. The guy asked Adrian what he was referring to when he said, "we Chisle it, Og it, Marl it, Save it, Graft it, Lug it, Wey it and And it over" The answer of course is freight traffic on the M&SWR between Swindon and Andover, referring to Chisledon, Ogbourbne, Marlborough, Savernake, Grafton, Ludgershall, Weyhill and Andover. I also heard that the M&SWR was referred to as the Piss and Vinegar referring to the Friday and Saturday night antics of troops who had been let out of Tidworth on day leave to Andover. It never had great relations with the GWR and was always a second cousin even when the GWR bought it.

Within 3 square K of my home, directly under my lawn, a roman road, ... 100 yards away a ford of it, leading past a standing Medieval bridge by neolithic burial mounds to intersection of a few other Roman roads. Adjacent fields contain ruined Greek Romano temple and a quarry where Cabrian levels ( Same beds as Jurrasic coast) can be seen. Around 1 km in either direction are very old Canal, Buckingham arm. and it's only two lock remains all through Ouse valley way from junction at Cosgrove with Grand Union. Remains of Buckingham station, and ajoining arched Bridge. On a circular route that passes by remains of a medieval village near Thornborough. This area would make a great visit to make several of your fabulous videos! Much love and thanks for your work, Lee

Nothing I like better then watching your videos thank you

A new subscriber to you, love your videos especially the railways. It was through one of your other videos that I recently visited the tunnel mentioned in this video near Marlborough. Definitely ignited my fascination for local history as I live in Wiltshire. Love how you explain the history of places and the music in your videos too. Keep doing great informative videos 🙂

Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for making this video and giving us some interesting theories to ponder. Great Sunday evening's viewing

Such high quality KZfaq-ing. Thank you both

Always a fun and entertaining video thank you from New Zealand

Thanks for posting your great work. Happy Christmas you pair 😎 😀🍻🥂👍🏻

Really loved your choice of music with this one. Great video and discussion, as always. Thank you.

...and according to discoveries made in 2020. Just that tiny little bit outside your square. The Westwood, the quarry for Stonehenge.

Nice idea but no can do. Far too hot and right now too much danger. I really really enjoyed that. So much history there. Thank you so much for taking me along

Nice...👍

interesting video, new subscribed and trying to watch your vids in sequence .... but i keep jumping forwards and backwards GREAT channel :-)

You missed the WW2 airfield of RAF Overton Heath which was directly to the west of the Clench Common microlight strip, and so comfortably within your 3km boundary. There still exists a blister Hangar (repurposed as a farmers shed), some other buildings and a number of pillboxes, but other than that (even from the air) there is little to show there was ever an airfield there.

Come and do it Buckinghamshire please Paul and Rebecca.

great vid folks. This is what I have been doing with my time for the last twenty years with huge results. I have put literally 2,000 new sites from all periods onto the Historic Environment record throughout Herefordshire Wales and Northumberland. Its agreat thrill for me picking up 5,000 year old flint tools or Roman Pottery or finding a medieval lost settlement and many others. I did it slightly different and marked what I knew was on the map and then GPS walked the features I find then put them on the map online. I worked at Mildenhall when I did my Archaeology Degree and walked alover Savernake. Great area for History.

Fun with Flags disused railway style

Wow, ancient forest that hasn't been sold for 1,000 years. Wildly cool.

Mildenhall is pronounced Mine nall . Savernake was my childhood play ground. I learnt to drive in the forest. We used to walk through the tunnel, at that time it had two single tracks not a double track. One track went to Savernake High level. and the other to Savernake Low level .

High quality visuals and comment, as usual ! 🇦🇺

My great pleasure is it be sitting in my nice warm studio viewing Rebecca in her pink wellies (my lady's favourite colour} and both of you wandering about in ancient woodland looking for something to entertain us. Well, yet again you did it. Really facinating and I do realise how much time and effort you put in to produce a film like this. Well worth it and thank you

🎄 Happy Yule to thee and thine! 🎄

"What's In This Square?". I thought you'd gone into game show presenting!!!

Inspiring idea, and really well made. (though of course I sniggered when you said marquee!)

A great tool for this sort of landscape exploring is National Library of Scotland's side by side maps maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side They allow you to compare a whole range of old maps with the modern bing satellite images and see how the landscape has evolved over the last 100 years or so.

It's so amazing that in a square mile you can find 15,000 years worth of history! Where I live in Western New York you would be lucky to find even 200 years of history! BTW_It's 12 degrees f here, that's minus 12c to you, which probably accounts for why there is so little history here! The native Americans weren't dummies, their winter homes were 50 miles south of here, and they only came here in the fall to hunt and thus avoided the bugs that inhabited the swampy ground here during the summer. And oh it's snowing. Again!

I liked that

There are quite ften burials at roman road junctions.

Excellent as always, but Savernake Forest is fresh in my mind being the location of a body found in a lake murdered by a private cab driver in Swindon - dramatized on TV recently, but still lovely woodlands.

Fascinating! We have already done something very similar here in Nowe Slupno near Radzymin. We have the remains of trenches, gun emplacements and WW2 tank sites. In 1919, the Polish army fought and defeated The Red Army on its push westwards to conquer Europe. Also, the remians of 4 or 5 brick kilns are still standing. The brick industry closed in the late 1950s Let me know if you want to see some pics or a phone video we have, Great film guys. Thank you.

Setting us homework now...;)

Very nice idea! I will try this at my country on insta channel!

I love the intro to this, really clever. Your production has got really good. I mean it was good before but it's improved lol. Really great choice of music as well. That location you ended up finding 3 tracks was really nice, I can imagine it in summer. When you mentioned the army took over that part, it reminded me of Harewood as they are very similar with their history. Absolutely beautiful place. Brilliant video.

I wish my missus like railways and tunnels, come to think of it, I wish I had a missus, great work guys.

Thank you for your most instructive and Entertaining look into our History.

Wasn't Savernake Barrow in your square, Monument NO. 224730

Thank you both. Well done and a pleasure to watch. I love Ordanance Survey maps and the British countryside. So thank you for adding the historical details. Loved it!

Very interesting! Goading the map collectors thinking you were going to scribble on your map!

I think I'll start by putting a 9 sq km box round my village. We have a Norman church and the remnants of a railway to Harrogate but there must be lots more. I know the Romans were round here as we are close to Calcaria (Tadcaster) and Eboracum (York) after which the Ebor 🏇 race is named.

Absolutely fascinating. Again, appreciate the time and the effort that you put in to produce these videos. Commentary is entertaining.

You've both inspired me to have a go at this challenge in my local area.

Another cracking video just the thing to watch on a cold rainy night in Aqualand ! thanks for sharing ,have a blessed Christmas all !

Brilliant Video, had a bit of everything in this one that you cover on your channel from my favourite to watch.. the disused Railways to Roman Roads. While watching it I will admit it has given me a idea, also the music at the beginning I did like, where did you get the music from? Also how does the 3km x 3km square work, is it like 3 squares across on a OS Map and 3 squares down on a OS Map to make 9 Squares?

Love your energy & the time taken in fact finding & producing the videos. Really an interesting concept that you have come up with. 👍👍😎

Brilliant video! Love the idea of the 3k by 3k square!

Enjoyed the video thanks. Have you traced the route of "The Pilling Pig" in Lancashire?

When u said a ditch I expected Martin Zeros head to pop out of a hole in the ground....

Sorry guys, the pedantic retired schoolmaster in me won’t let you get away with another mispronunciation. The ”wan” in the name of the linear defensive feature called the Wansdyke is pronounced the same as in “swan” so it would read the same as “wonsdyke”. By the way - love the videos, especially the ones local to where I live.

Great video very interesting so much history. Wonder what's yet to be discovered in our country. Thank you both xx

Good to see the return of the pom-pom hat... Another good video to add to the collection.

Map out. 3km x 3km square drawn centred on home. Already found we have a 7 000 year old necropolis, a Roman road shown on thie Tabula Peutingeriana (didn't know what that was before!), along with a 12th century Church, disused railway station, and the regional headquarters of the Luftwaffe... (spolier: I don't live in the UK any more!)

I'm glad you recovered your footage. That was fascinating, the historical strata running through an area of land. Quite something.

Absolutely brilliant. very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Loved the video as always. And obviously at present I appreciate the 'if you are able to do so' line, for known reasons. Great idea, I must say. Was going to mention the 15,000 year thing, but someone has beat me to it, lol.

Great Video. It gives me pause for thought. There's an area east of Great Amwell, North of Stansted At Margarets, where you can find: In-use Railway Disused Railway Pre-Civil War Canal (Water supply "The New River" River Lee River Lea Navigation Old Mineral Extraction Workings Small Roman Fort Grounds of a Large House ...and probably more. Most of it is a park now, so exploration is easy, and there's a couple of great pubs nearby too. This summer, I might give it a go.

Thanks guys very inspiring to get out exploring. Many thanks for all your hard work you put into your productions.Wishing you and your family very best wishes a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Super slick edit on this. Loved the docu style.. would gladly watch more 3x3 challenges :)! Merry Xmas both..

Nice one guys & girls 👍Savernake, lost in time, oozing ancient history. You all have a good Christmas.🎄🎁

Great start to another Great History Video. Thank you Paul and Rebecca. You sometimes bring at least one of you progeny - it'd be lovely to see more of them! A very interesting concept 'Take a 3Km Square from an O.S. map! One thing I wish is that in your opening comments you would give the Eastings and Northings of that square - then (and it doesn't matter how old one's O.S.Maps are - that's something which doesn't change - but having some older O.S.Maps there's a lot of information gradually being dropped in later iterations. So it's worth going into those second hand shops - even charity shops sometimes - and buying old O.S.Maps to get the idea of how things were in the earlier times. Having said all that I am now going to sit back . . . and enjoy! Many thanks both of you and a Happy Christmas to you all - including the children! followed by a Happy New Year-full of new Railway Revelations!

This is a great video. This is what makes our Country so special, thanks for digging around for us👍👍👍

Really must make it down to Savernake more often! A beautiful bit of the countryside that almost makes up for living in Swindon!

Great vlog guys, and a great idea, will have to get out and see what we can find locally to us.

This is purely from memory but I think I'm right in saying that right along the top of your square, or very slightly north of it there's multiple banks along former routes of the Bath Road. They're in the wood just south of the current A4 road and I think were due to problems getting stage coaches up the muddy hill out of Marlborough? I'd guess they date from early 1700's as presumably the problem was solved when the road was upgraded into a turnpike?

11th or 25th February, 31st March.

I noticed a dilapidated gate at the point where you said the combined Roman pathways headed off together to Mildenhall. I know ancient paths are dated by the species of plants along the edges (type and quantity). A lot of information can be derived from some ephemeral data. Maybe foot traffic had used those paths for so many centuries that access through hedges/fences would have been kept if for no other reason than 'there had always been a gate there'. Could there have been an entrance at that spot for the last couple of thousand years? Does that sound reasonable or rubbish?

Very interesting vlog, thankyou for sharing.

Seamless editing, superwelldone under pressure. Great content too.

Informative and entertaining as usual , thanks for the videos. Merry Xmas to you both.

That was great. Merry Christmas Paul and Rebecca and everyone

15000?

I really enjoy your videos thank you

You were near the Marlborough plane when you filmed on Wansdyke. You can see it in the Bing maps aerial view, 800m west of your Wansdyke location and 500m east-north-east of Wernham Farm. I'm surprised you managed to record such decent sound over the racket of those engines ✈

another nice piece, you would definitely love the parkland walk from Finsbury Park to Highgate, there is still one definitive station with platforms either side and disused tunnels at the end in Highgate

What a fantastic idea, and you did pick a beautiful and fascinating 3x3km square. Those Romans and their roads. They were roman all over the place. I will take my kids out to do a square somewhere (my wife may even join us), as not only will it be fun and interesting, but a good bit of exercise.

Lol we have an air raid shelter-palmerstons follys- chalk works_ and an navy pipe line here so will explore when weather is a bit better😂 happy Xmas and New year to you both🎄❤️😁xx

Thanks for sharing your adventures for 2019. Great stuff. Merry Chirstmas to you both and look forward to hearing from you In 2020.😀🎄

one small quibble: I don't see how it can be claimed that there are abandoned railways when the iron rails and sleepers have been removed. Isn't it more clear to say that the rights of way have been abandoned (in a legal sense) or that there existed former railway lines?

hey paul and rebecca , omg great video i loved this one , its amazing what you can find if you put your mind to it , loved the blooper at the end lmao , :)

Why was the opening scene inverted?

Plenty of historical interest in that square! Well researched Paul. May have to see if I can do one...

thumb 44.enjoyed that a lot.My favorate was the ditch(you,ve got to love em) cheers.

Great video Paul and Rebecca, very interesting subject, loving the outtakes at the end, maybe you can make it a regular feature 👌😀

great video, most enjoyable.

You are making great strides in your editing and the emphasis on the maps is welcome as well as the overall balance of the audio. Well done!

0:55 Amazing how pink wellies can stand out in nature ! Thanks for another great video, I use maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=13&lat=51.4003&lon=-1.6899&layers=1&b=1 to follow you.

6:17 wow... in over 1000 years... 30+ generations... I needed to pause the video to let that sink in there.

Really interesting way to investigate history! Very enjoyable watch, and also inspiring. Worth noting that you can get a free media license to use OS maps on KZfaq videos, so if you're wanting to use them, they're really pretty easy to deal with.

Lovely - I must read up on more Roman Roads...

Great video....if I did a 3km x 3km square here wouldn’t be enough time to discover it all...as well as a disused station at bradfield. I might have a go though... will get back to u with what I find....

Ladies and Gentlemen... welcome to... What's In This Square?... and here's your host... Paaaaaaaaaaaulllll Whitewick!!!!!

Another great vid. Where I live there are some interesting sites. I must look into them.

🎄⛄️☃️🎅🏻🤶🏻🚂🚶🏼‍♂️🚶🏼‍♀️nice video

Have a happy christmas ,I hope you are haveing a week off from makeing the excellent vids ,and i am looking forward to next year.

Great video keep them coming 😀👍🏻

Excellent vid and a great and fun idea. I love your Map Mysteries series, they are definitely my favourite. Btw I'm shocked how many of the people commenting seem to be under the impression that they think they are marking a dissertation.

Was that the same Sam Fay of the Great Central?

Great amount of detective work here - couple of small editorial points -8:53 fifteen hundred rather than fifteen thousand... someone was bound to spot it. Later at 9.30, you mentioned Margary route 43 twice, when I'm sure you meant to say 43 and 44 , which you did shortly after. I couldn't do anywhere near as well as you without loads of edits, so, well done.

At 9:21 you talk of Ivor McKerry? or McGerry? Route No.23. What is this publication? Any information will be great!

Very interesting vlog 👍

Thank you for making me Google Savernake. I found the bit about the current earl living on Jobseekers allowance fascinating.