Epic Adventure to Sniggs Alley & the Oldest Pub in England (4K)
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- Great walk to find a location from best-selling author Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books nestled in the Chilterns countryside close to where Pratchett grew up - and also my childhood home. Sniggs Alley is a place in Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld. It's also an ancient footpath that runs from Loudwater to the village of Penn in Buckinghamshire. Our quest to find Sniggs Alley starts in High Wycombe and we walk along the A40 London Road to Loudwater before walking into the Chiltern Hills. We then turn towards Forty Green, near Beaconsfield, where Terry Pratchett grew up. At Lude Farm we pass the field where a B17 bomber crashed on 12 August 1944 www.pennchurch.uk/tomahawk-wa...
At Forty Green we stop for a pint on the Royal Standard of England, which is the oldest free house in England and has existed for over 900 years. The final part of the walk takes to Beaconsfield Library where Terry Pratchett spent much time reading and studying.
“Every town on the multiverse has a part that is
something like Ankh-Morpork’s Shades.
It’s usually the oldest part, its lanes faithfully
following the original tracks of medieval cows going
down to the river, and they have names like
Shambles, the Rookery,
Sniggs Alley ...”
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Wycombe videos:
A walk along the River Wye • The River Where It All...
Back to my Roots - High Wycombe to Beaconsfield - Episode 100
• Back to my Roots - Hig...
Chilterns Walk from Wycombe to Wooburn • Chilterns Walk from Wy...
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Balissi - Year of the Deer
First Hibernation - Headlund
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Over the Meadow, Over the Stream - Alan Rogers
From Epidemic Sound and the CZcams Audio Library + original composition
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I first met Terry when our local am dram group put on the stage version of The Wyrd Sisters. Terry came along and stayed on after the performance. We talked at length about World Of Warcraft, a game we both played at the tme. We spoke for nearly half an hour. Five years later he was doing a book signing and when I approached him he remembered my name on greeting. I was gobsmacked. A lovely lovely man.
Lovely story - thanks for sharing
Terry called me a bastard once. It was in the Discworld Emporium, Bernard "The Cunning Artificer" Pearson's shop in Wincanton, Somerset, the only Discworld shop in the world. Bernard had just opened up and intoned (in his inimitable Bernard way) "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the shop is open, the tills are ready!" and Terry (who was in there with the rest of us costumed loonies) said "Ah yes, open your wallets and repeat after me 'Help yourself!'" and I immediately turned to him and said "Goon Show! Bloodnok to Seagoon and Eccles! Dishonoured!" and he looked most put out and went "You bastard! You know it!"
He loved making obscure references but really hated it if you called him out on them. Happy days...
PS. Wincanton is twinned with Ankh-Morpork, as far as I know it's the only place in the UK officially twinned with a fictional city.
PPS. Thank you for this. Fantastic walk.
That’s a fantastic story Andrew - thanks
You lucky lucky
@@michaelfairclough6039 Indeed! Amongst the fandom it is considered to be quite the honour. Alas that there will be no new recipients. I miss him.
@@michaelfairclough6039 Well that's very Life of Brian😅
@@sparagmos4748 In truth I was very very lucky to be around at the right time; to read the books, be involved with the fandom in its golden years and to actually meet Terry numerous times. I met my wife at the London Pratchett meet-up group "The Broken Drummers" (who still meet on the first Sunday of every month at The Monkey Puzzle, Sussex Gardens, Paddington, she runs it now) way back in 2005. Been married 15 years this September.
I lived in Chesham for 13 years, moved away in 2021 and I miss the south Bucks countryside so so much. It is so beautiful.😢
Don't you apologise for coming over all nostalgic. That was a lovely trawl through your past and we're glad you shared it with us.
Well yet another place I want to wander for days
Pratchett, a lasting hero of literature and not just for Disk World but many other offerings.
Admitted, Disc World IS the major and most satisfying for it's longevity and mass.
Wonderful.
A reminder of just how beautiful England is. The scenery was breathtaking.
I grew up reading the discworld series. I would lose myself imagining I was Rincewind on my own adventures. It was like losing a distant eccentric uncle when he passed away . Awesome walk John
Maud Milton’s mosaic was a real labour of love. What a fun walk thank you.
The older I get the more I feel the need to visit those places from my formative years. What a beautiful place to grow up in, I feel a visit and a wander is in order.
Great video to watch on a Sunday evening.
Thank you John, I look forward to joining you on your walk wherever that maybe. :)
Thanks Indica
Ankh-Morpork is like Budapest - two cities, one on either side of a river. Morpork is the rougher area, including the Shades. Ankh is more well to do, where people like Lady Sybil lives
Ah thanks for that
Oh, what a magical walk! One of your best. I didn't get around to reading Terry Pratchett until my 30s...
I have a Bulgarian friend who learned English from reading Discworld books, must be where he got his sense of humour from!
Born and brought up in High Wycombe.. I live in the US now. Still have family there and in Beaconsfield. Miss it so much. Beautiful countryside, quaint towns and villages. The Royal Standard was my late dad’s favourite pub. Thank you for taking us down memory lane, very nostalgic
I love these country walks.
Wonderful -
Ive had Pratchett in my life since '94... I still read his work. Burst into tears when I read his last book, "The Shepherds Crown". Profound moment, profound scene, and profound characters.
I remember visiting a Model Village in/near High Wycombe as a child. Must have been around ten years old.
Beaconscott !
@@lesliegprice6652 Bekonscot, to be precise!
Coming from Flackwell Heath I’m reliving all of my old haunts on this wonderful walk. Been there done that moments! As for the B-17 my father found a piece of the plane in his youth! Thanks for another great walk!
Many thanks- surely not Mark Chennell?
@@JohnRogersWalksNo Chris Chennell
I just started reading Pratchett's The Wee Free Men yesterday.
You're in for a treat. Make sure you read the whole Tiffany Aching series.
Better late than never. A great series.
That was the first Pratchett I read. I found it hysterically funny. His gift for dialogue was just genius level😊
What a great video John. Love the Disc World connection it’s great to travel parallel worlds with you. High Wycombe and it’s environs looks fascinating. I have explored the nearby Hellfire Caves and the Dashwood mausoleum in the recent past which was a great day out.The layering of fiction and fact is such a compelling idea - I am tempted to dip into Pratchett on this recommendation. The video effect in Sniggs Alley is entirely appropriate.🙂
Thanks Mark - so much to explore in that area
It's a bit tantalizing to see scenes of the countryside where some of my ancestors came from. Living on the opposite side of the planet, it's hard to visualize the area, so this really helps.
Wonderful! I'm from South Bucks and watching this takes me back to my care-free youth, walking wherever and whenever. Thank you for this 😊
The jungle you walked through was Giant Hogweed, so don't get the sap on your skin, as it is an irritant.
Ah, I did wonder
Oh gosh I thought it was I was singing the Genesis song , Attack of the Giant Hogweed 😊
What a beautiful walk at the perfect time of day, you just can't beat this green and pleasant land of ours , just wonderful, just magical......
How nice to have grown up in such a lovely area close to London. Thanks for taking us along, and thanks to your Dad.
Lovely pub, went there with old boyfriend’s, back in the late 70’s and 80’s. Xxx
What a great introduction to the power of the imagination, and to the power of reading. Maybe i will give Terry Pratchett a try... always an excellent walk 🚶♂️John.
You've hooked me in from the beginning😊
I had a terrific time coming along (virtually) on your Pratchett wanderings. What beautiful countryside! I live in Stratford, Ontario in Canada, but I love England and have lived there twice during my uni days, and travel there as often as time and budget allows. A good friend of mine resides in Loudwater, and he is always trudging or biking around the Chilterns (who know? Maybe it was Peter biking down through that meadow with his friend!). He loves the Royal Standard of England pub and visits it often. Oddly enough, my parents were living in Beaconsfield, Quebec when I was born. Thanks, John! As always, I'll see you on the next walk... wherever that may be.
Ah what lovely connections - I travelled from Stratford to Beaconsfield on the day of this walk
Beautiful.... Sniggs Alley has a look of a Holloway about it! #magical👌😉⭐
I thought of that too.
Great walk John, you walked past my yard at Lude Farm, right by where the bomber came down.And I had my horse's at Pheasant Eye Farm by the Standard (I had a few Owd Rogers in there in my youth!) and Roundhead Farm where the double fence footpath runs down to Hogback.
It was a sad do about the bomber coming down. Stan Howard (your dad must have known him) told me that his old man shouted him that a plane was crashing. We were always digging up live and spent shells when we carried out any digging around the farm.
Oh and btw, you went to school with my mate, it's a small world! 😊
Many thanks for that comment- I’ve sent to my Dad. Yes he knew all the people at Lude Farm and around the area. I read out the blog post about the memorial service to him today and we had a chuckle at the mention of Rev Oscar Musprat - Dad did his garden and bought an Austin Marina from him. One night he needed a hand very late as he was burying the Cambridge Spy Guy Burgess by candlelight in Penn churchyard (who by an odd coincidence was played by my brother-in-law in a recent TV drama).
It’s a very sad and powerful story about the crash, Dad was there soon after. I remember growing up with the story myself.
@@JohnRogersWalks excellent, thank you. I used to help Stan connect up ploughs up to his tractor when his hand got so bad with arthritis.
He was a lovely old boy, I know most of the Howard's, Richie used to drive a bulldozer for me year's ago. Sadly he was one of the victims of the blood transfusion scandal and caught Hepatitis C which he sadly succumbed to.
Great story about Penn Church, there's a lovely memorial to Tomahawk Warrior's crew in the church.
This is my favorite walk for such a long time. Nothing wrong with the others but all that lovely green was just what I needed in my big grey city life. Thanks John.
Lovely - it's great to get out into the hills regularly - I don't do it nearly enough
Great video John 👍👍📗📗👍👍
Fantastic walk as always John, thank you for taking us on the journey
A great walk as always.. Have a care going through the countryside, those nasty Giant Hogweeds are a nuisance with long lasting effects..😉👌
Yes indeed! I was walking by the River Lea in Hackney today where there is a pub by the riverside, they had taped across a bench warning people not to sit there as there was a giant hogweed directly behind!
It was only afterwards that I wondered if that was the plant
@JohnRogersWalks if it was, I'm glad it didn't affect you! Nice walk by the way 😊
@@JohnRogersWalks learn your plants, there are many toxic and poisonous flora in the UK to beware and be aware of.
In Brisbane the theatre has produced many of his plays 🌹
Met Terry Pratchett at a book signing for Small Gods, really nice funny chap.
As a former native of HW I really enjoyed this video. So many memories.
I once packed greetings cards on the Cressex Industrial Estate at Wycombe
I worked in the Argos warehouse on that estate - still one of the best jobs I’ve had
Pheasant! I lived opposite The Pheasant in Amersham (now flats). As well as Wycombe there was also one in Chalfont, now a vets i think
Fantastic views along with the listen, thanks John.
Regards
many thanks
Fantastic that John. Reliving a bit of personal history is magical and I always think you have to move away and then revisit the places of your youth to truly appreciate them. Wonderful personal memories. You are indeed a Wycombe Wanderer! 😉👍
Thanks Steve - I think you’re spot on, I saw it all with fresh eyes after travelling for a few years as well
Thanks! Brilliant walk with breathtaking scenery. Always like the music as well, particularly the last piece🎉
thanks so much - I let the whole of Dad's track play out today
A lovely walk! Just goes to show, you've not to stray too far from central London before you hit the bucolic stuff, and there's usually a good selection of fine ales to be had here and there along the way.. I must try again with Terry Pratchett, so many friends I have who love his work, but I didn't click with him when I tried.
Nice one John! 🌟👍
Thanks William- people recommend starting with Guards! Guards!
What a great video. A combination of your brilliant walks and interesting facts about one of my favourite authors.
MANY thanks John.
Cheers Anthony
What a fabulous walk, with interesting stories, some surreal woods and paths, a wonderful old pub, and finally what sounds like your Dad singing in one at the end! 💽💽💽
That path is a big favourite of mine, but I didn’t know it was Sniggs Alley! How awesome!
Amazing!Always learning with you!Thank you,cheers from Argentina!
Thank you for this lovely video. Very calm and relaxing. Helped me unwind after a hectic day
My pleasure- great to hear
Such an enoyable walk John . Thanks for sharing . So great to be able to set off late afternoon at this time of year and get a really decent walk in before sunset ✌️
I LOVE Discworld books! I am reading one at the moment!
It's a part of the world I know so well - played rugby at Wycombe Rugby club - but this is a unique view - a completely different perspective
I’ve lived in Saunderton for the past 19 years John and my ex Czech partner worked behind the bar at the Royal Standard of England before returning home to her country of origin 🏴🇨🇿
Great part of the world Keith
Wonderful, entertaining,feast for the soul.
Thanks Keith
Delightful!
Thank you - that was a great walk. You should definitely do more of them around the Wycombe area and along the Wye towards the Thames, maybe. Maybe that bee was looking for Sniggs Alley.
many thanks Malcolm - you might enjoy this walk along the course of the Wye to as close as I could get to the Thames czcams.com/video/BytLWHYZadU/video.htmlsi=6FQ8CH-ONXjFpdjP
@@JohnRogersWalks Thank's John, I remember now watching this excellent walk. It was a pleasure to be rememinded and to watch it again.
That was very interesting indeed, Thanks John.
Cheers Richie
I lived in Wooburn Green for a few years, very nice area.
That was a LOVELY walk,thank you for sharing it. In July 2023 I stayed one night at Slough on my way home from London,just because I'd never been there. And I found out Slough is in Bucks,not Berks as id always thought but further on the map I saw I was near Stoke Pages where that poet wrote his famous poem,so I went there.
Lovely walk John!
Taking the road less travelled, that has to be a good omen!
Cheers!
I do like Sir Terry's books an awful lot and Eddings.
I was 10 in 1987 and I was trying get spiders to fight eachother.
ha! i am lucky [?] in that, despite having all of pratchett's books, i have yet to begin reading them - adventure, dead ahead! terrific walk today, john - whenever you are out on an impulse, i always think of baggins, rushing out the door, in the hobbit. 😊
Ha, what a great association
Thank you so much John for taking on that brilliant walk. I really appreciate you sharing your stories and memories. That pub and wall plaque was a pleasant surprise. I've been a walker from an early age but ill health has recently scuppered my long jaunts. Instead, I get the old feeling of adventure through your videos. Long may you march.
Thanks for that Billy - sorry to hear you can’t get out there but glad you can join me on these walks
Wonderful John
thanks Darren
Thanks again John in Chicago
cheers John
This is exactly what I needed this morning, thanks John!
Brilliant- my pleasure
Thank you John. Lovely country walk with good weather for a change. It did look a bit weird not seeing any red kites.
I was very surprised by the absence of Red Kites Sue
The sight of you struggling with the poor bee to escape must have have been fun.
It would’ve been hilarious to be fair
John, not connected before on your videos but been enjoying them hugely for many years. Todays walk through Hogsback wood and the adjacent suburbia in Beaconsfield new town just brought back my childhood as the wood was where my cousin made me a Bow in the late 1960’s ! The Royal standard was a stopping point on my childhood walks as well and we used to have to wait outside in those days. The woods were where we would spend the summers and the footpath was our route to the forest !
In those days you could also get to the wood along the top of the railway embankment behind the suburban frontages
The library was there at least in 1971 so perhaps that is the building Terry referred to.
Thank you
thanks for sharing those great memories Andrew. Maybe the library's older than I thought then - it's at least as old as me!
Just lovely John as usual...a glorious treat, thanks Helene 😊
Thanks Helene
Cosmic says Granny Weatherwax / Tiffany depending who’s calling me xxx
Thanks John, love discworld..!
Gauranga
Nice pint of Owd Roger in the Standard - the wonky beams add to the sense of intoxication. Good Omens was a book that made sense: something about the M25 (or was it Milton Keynes?) shaped after the Devil's pentangle. Early psychogeography. Thanks John. Best.
I’d forgotten about Owd Roger - I seem to remember there was some sort of challenge
@@JohnRogersWalks Standing straight and true was one of the challenges. I'm sure it's a worthy research topic John. Best.
My husband used drink Owd Roger on tap in the 70’s in Hampshire, can you still buy it on tap nowadays
@@juliajoyce4535 Great taste Madam. Article (2006) in Bucks Free Press 'Owd Roger returns after long wait.' I definitely drank the 10% proof version on tap. AFAIK only bottles now.
Love David Eddings and the Belgariad too!
Thanku John for another intresting video. 👍🍺
Thanks for watching Michael
Wonderful walk. Landscape, literature and evening light. Yet another pub absolutely have to have a pint in. (This can't go on! ). Superb handling of the bee tangle btw. I would have been stung, fallen into brambles and lost my phone
I loved this, John. I grew up in Hazlemere and I suspect I frequented the same pubs as you in Beaconsfield, in the late 80s and early 90s. Charles Dickens, the Old Hare (knackered rabbit as we called it), etc. I now live in the US, and it's nice to be reminded of how beautiful the countryside is in that area. Great video.
Thanks Mac - yes I did drink in those pubs - GKs and the Swan were my regulars
Great interesting video.
Got to know him really well.
But, sadly quite a lot of the family moved in different directions.
Some to Kings Langley. But most of section of my family ended up around the Portobello Area.
Thanks for sharing that Graham
A wonderful walk, love Terry Pratchett, so apt I thought when he was made a Sir 😅sadly bad memories of High Wycombe as just a couple of yrs after our move to Windsor my partner suffered a heart attack between Xmas and New year and was taken to special heart unit there, a nightmare 3hr journey by public transport for me for several days running, as I don't drive, so bus station is about all I remember of the place! Beautiful walk though and the pub looks wonderful, didn't know Terry was a local resident 😀
Another tremendous video, John. Thank you. Dave and Katie. Better than TV schedule. All best wishes.
Beautiful video. Thanks John.
I think this was the occasion an American bomber was trying to land in a field but there were children in the field. The crew gestured to the children to get them to move but the children thought they were waving. Tragically the plane couldn't land and hence the crash.
I'm starting to think these video's are ever elaborate explanation given to John's wife just so she would let him go down the pub for a pint.
It seems to be working
Hello John … I’m really glad you found Sniggs Alley … Another great video …Thanks !
I am not familiar with Discworld but did enjoy this walk. I find it amazing that these rural-looking walks are so close to London.
Another wonderful video John lovely to see you out in the summery weather and the marvellous Chilterns, great to think that Snicks Alley resonates both here and in Ankh Mor Pork too , I first read Terry Pratchett's books mid eighties I guess , I remember Guards Guards and the wonderful Sgt Vimes and his Nights Watch , also Colour of Magic and Rinnswind and the Orangutan that was the university librarian, there was also the one about the Discworld Film industry where the camera contained magical imps who draw the pictures , everyone was funny but there was always some biting satire too , I see him as a cross between Louis Carroll and Hogarth 😊 but favourite has to be his collaboration with Neil Gaiman Good Omens ,loved the TV series as well ! Only went to Beaconsfield once back in the sixties to see the model village ,I remember it was a long walk from the station ,Thank you for a magical half hour , see you soon 💕🌈
Thanks for those memories Leslie
...then the bee went back to the hive and regaled his buddies with the wild story of how a giant trapped him in a great cloak!
Ha, lovely
John, the plant that you sort of had to skirt around, i think, is giant hogweed. It's recommended that you give it a wide berth, especially when the umbrella white florets form, and during summer heat. It is part of the wild carrot family, I believe, and can cause long- lasting irritation, blisters, and burning sensation. I could be wrong as it didn't seem to cause any skin issues with you. I do believe it's toxic, at least in North America, where we might have a different strain. Great walk 🚶♂️ . Always enjoy your walking and decision-making headspace
many thanks for the advice Sian - the consensus in the comments is that it is indeed Giant Hogweed and I have heard the horror stories. I believe the local authority or the Environment Agency remove it when reported
Its official John has called it Summer!
You are a very good presenter John. Your videos, even where they are somewhere ‘remote’, always remind me how busy the south is. The sound of traffic never seems far away. Have tried Pratchett and l hated it!
there is a Pub in Nottingham, the Trip to Jerusalem which claims to be the Oldest in England...how are these claims measured ...a Pub that exists today on the very site of a Pub that has existed continuously from the Earliest Claimed Date seems obvious, anyway, Fascinating ! as Spock of Star Trek Fame might of put it....another triffic video John, living in Thailand its Great to see the Seasonal changes throughout your Walks.
It’s a good question and I’ve heard about that pub probably every time I’ve mentioned the Royal Standard. It’s similar when asking which is the oldest pub in London
i love the Chilterns
A Crow in a crowd is a Rook. A Rook on its own is a Crow...I think...
Thanks Simon - the second part sounds familiar
I was also reading the David Eddings books around then , had ne hooked.
Thanks John for another great walk. Beaconsfield should always be pronounced as in Bekonscot, of model village fame.
There is a Spriggs Alley near Chinnor about 10 miles west of Wycombe. Almost a coincidence.
Another tremendous video, John. Always enjoyable. Take care of your back. Dave and Katie x
Hi John....Another GREAT ...and very original post....Personal...interesting...Great scenery...and free spirited...take care
Thanks Patrick