Hello, thank you for joining me today. I've come to the beautiful Oxfordshire village of Gawin on Thames Village centres just up there. There's a railway station called Gawin Streetley. What we're going to do We're going to go and have a look at the Thames and we're going to go across to Barkshire and see the village of Streetley and then we're going to go up for a walk up into the hills So it's really quite a pleasant place It's quite well known. A few famous people have lived here such as Pete Townsend from The Who and the actor Anton Rogers and fairly recently it was in the news Welcome a few years ago. It's George Michael lived here and when he died a lot of his fans came to this church So it's quite a well-known place. It's a very attractive place So we're just going to walk now through the church yard. This is the church of St. Thomas of Canterbury and There was once an Augustian nunnery or prairie here Which I'm not entirely sure it was Somewhere over here, but there isn't as far as I'm well. There's nothing left of it to see. Let's just walk through Very nice church yard We're going to head for the hills see up there on the other side of the tent. That's my My sort of destination in this video, but first let's see if we can have a look in the church because I believe it's meant to be quite an interesting church. Let's get inside It's looking promising the door looks like so. The church building is now open. Great. So here we go So if we look down This roof screen which I'm quite interested in it was carved from one of Nelton's battleships, I believe it so to think this piece of wood that's now a rude screen Sailed all around the world In this church and going on teams Leave the church We're gonna see how long it takes to walk to the neighbouring village of street Which is literally just on the other side of the Thames and my plan is to go to the church and straightly Whether it be open and we'll be able to go in. I'm not entirely sure So this is the church when George Michael passed away on Christmas Day 2016. This is where all his grieving fans came and I've been told that the Visitor book almost came a book of remembrance to George Michael So I'll leave the church behind us now It's always nice when a church is open always enjoy looking in a church and making a video in terms of it's right out here So we're gonna go down here. I think George Michael possibly lived in one of these houses It might be fairly obvious, but I saw pictures all along here there were just pictures that and You know of George Michael when all of his fans came here I'm Not a hundred percent sure I'm saying it. I have a feeling George Michael may have lived there, but I'm Not saying that as a hundred percent. I'm think that's where he lived so We're now gonna if you see here, is it we're actually on the Thames path now Followed the Thames path Over the bridge. It's quite interesting because the wooden bridge it was built in 1923 So, yeah, look here we go. Here's the Thames path Pretty in a half miles to which church which is near Pangborn railway stations that way I do like the architecture in this village. There's a lot of arts and crafts like the audience Might be quite windy on the bridge, so we won't talk too much, but I will let you see the views So I'm just gonna let the camera roll now So that's in Ireland down there. We could have won't do it today, but we could have gone down there on to the island And it looks like all the sun's coming up. Just good house is pretty much surrounded by water That's looking down stream down the Thames path There's a church where we've just been We're going to walk up those hills That's that's what I'm trying to take you see actually looks like then there's there's another big island right here in the middle of Lovely weir And I'll keep saying it but one day is my intention just to walk the whole of the Thames path It's something I'd love to do making video series as I go We are now we are on an island in the middle of the Thames I think I think it's possibly pub in there Here comes the next bridge to smaller bridge So this island if anyone wants to come and tell me is this island in Oxfordshire or Parkshire because Goring's in Oxfordshire and Streetley is in Parkshire Well, there's no cars coming. There's no path on that side. I was gonna show you the weir on this side This is really pretty nice face. I can just see the church in Streetley So that's where I'm heading for now before we go do some hill climbing Up to the hills above and the idea is I want to show you the views looking down Upstream towards Oxford, so now We're in Parkshire. Yes, if you do know if anyone knows which county the island is in Interestingly here it says welcome to Goring which to me would say then the island must be in Oxfordshire But I'm not entirely sure and then here Welcome to West Parkshire So Goring's the bigger village Goring's got about 3,000 people Streetley's got about a thousand people. There is a youth hostel in Streetley So if you're ever walking the Thames path you could come and stay tonight at a youth hostel in Streetley I'm not doing that on this visit and we have done videos at youth hostels I did one of Hartington Hall once out here. It's the church in Streetley Church of St Mary I don't know if you're new about Goring but I'm just going to show you the interior So calming and peaceful about being in a church So what I'm going to do now I'm going to stop this bit of the video I'm going to go and climb up the hills we're going to go up and visit some national trust lands We're going to go and see the views over Goring and Streetley I'm now about three-quarters of a mile away from the village of Streetley I've come to this beautiful piece of national trust owned land it's called the Hollies Now there is a path that goes up and skirts the woodland And that would go to where we're going but I want to go somewhere else first So what I'm actually going to do I'm going to leave the national trust lands And head up a bridal way So we're just going to go out through this kissing gate Down there that's the main road out of Streetley So I was going to walk along there but then I saw a footpath and it took me along in the woods It came out of a styled air and across this field as you can see It's a national trust piece of land it's called the Hollies So it's all really very pleasant countryside but I'm not actually going there just yet We'll see more of that when we get to the top of the hill I'm going to go this way up this bridal path And something up there I want to show you so up we go I've almost reached the top of this bridal way Very chalky up here The ground is with chalk Now this is the summit of where this bit of track going up there So I'm not going up there but I did want to show this to you This is Grimstike Ditch It's something I would like to do in the future I don't know where but a bit of the Thames path It is something I will do one day when I get round to it And it's a really nice view over the valley Thames valley is on that side So this isn't the Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills are on the other side Goring, so the hills above Goring That's where the Chiltern Hills start These hills are not the Chiltern Hills I'm going to continue on down this track And then I'm probably going to have to come back up again To show you that view I was talking about at the beginning Over Goring and Streetly I've just come up a very steep path from the other side of the valley And we're coming to this plateau on the top of the hill Now there's something really quite unusual and fascinating up here Which I really want to show you And before we go and see the views over Goring and Streetly When you come to this area here You look across it may not look that much The wind's picking up so I'll shout as much as I can Have a look at this Here There's these flints in the ground You can see it's a maze or a labyrinth There's three of them There's this one here It's got the most of the flints This one here It looks like it doesn't have something But it's been a bit more mown into the ground And there's another one over there So look at that That is really quite fascinating So it's one of these ones I know if I'm walking around it now You can't necessarily see exactly where I'm going But it's one labyrinth that doesn't have junctions There's only one way from the start to the finish So I'm just following that around there But as I go So let you see into the middle So I've got to make my way all the way around there It won't take me too long From what I can see That one's got the same layout That one hasn't That one's got a slightly different one So it kind of took me in I'm now right on the edge of it So if anyone knows why they're here Please do comment and tell me Because I'm really intrigued to know Why they would put these labyrinths here On the top of the hill And if there was any purpose And how old they are Please do comment and tell me I'm almost in the middle now So it gets really... I'm sort of dancing the way I'm stepping forward Stepping backwards Just going round the final section And here we are in the middle I'm in the middle of the labyrinth I'm going to walk straight out And don't want to get too dizzy I'm going to continue over there Towards those trees That's where we're going to finally see The view over Goren and Streetley The Goren Gap on the Thames Valley After exploring those intriguing flint labyrinths I'm now heading back down The path towards Goren and Streetley The path descends quite steeply down there But before we go down there I have a view to show you I'll take you down through here Onto the edge of the hill And turn round And I'll reveal the view of the Goren Gap So we can see Goren in front of us Streetley is directly below us The hills you see in the background That's the beginning of the Chilton Hill So they start here They run right across to the Dunstable Downs I'd love to walk along the whole top of the Chilton Hills And I've said in this video I would like to do the Thames path I'd like to walk Grimsdike Ditch And I'd like to walk Chilton Hills I really would like to And I hope at some point I'll be able to do that And make a video Or make videos as I go As for this video I've really enjoyed it It's been a great walk We've seen lots of different things From George Michael's house To two churches To national trust lands Those fint labyrinths And now this amazing view I can also just see the railway I'll wait and take a picture of a train And I'll insert the picture now So there you are I saw the train I took just after I finished Filming the video But yeah I really enjoyed this walk And if, you know Why not come here yourself You can get the train to Gorin and Streatley And do this walk for yourself And there's all the youth hostel In Streatley So you can stay the night here So really worth coming to So thank you very much for watching Please do feel free to like, subscribe and comment And from the hill above Streatley Overlooking the Gorin Gap Goodbye