THE deserted streets of Crewe feature in a series of walking tours of towns and cities in the UK filmed by a mystery videographer.

The latest is a rain-lashed circuit of the town in which there isn't a single person in sight during the 11-minute clip on a very wet August Sunday.

The rainy footage stands out on a YouTube channel alongside sunnier walks around Torquay in Devon and Marazion in Cornwall.

But Crewe features four times in the collection of around 90 walking tours captured by AD Travel over the past year. Is it a celebration of life being a bit grimmer up north?

Several towns included are tourist hotspots and the series appears to have been launched with a walk through York followed by a separate visit to its famous Shambles.

Liverpool's waterfront, Edinburgh, Bristol and Bath all ooze culture and activity in contrast to Crewe, although the videographer behind the mystery walks clearly has a soft spot for our town as it features as many times as Liverpool in the series.

While none of the walks have any commentaries, save the sound of heavy rain, there are useful historical footnotes and town guides on some. A longer (33-minute) walk around Crewe filmed in May of this year spends time on the history of the Grand Junction Railway and points to the derivation of the town name from an old Welsh word for weir or crossing, crui.

There is even a Snow Walk back in December last year- again with little evidence of life on the streets, although we were days away from the imposition of the third national lockdown.

Crewe isn't the only Cheshire town to feature with Nantwich, Sandbach, Northwich, Winsford, Warrington, Chester and even Haslington getting a visit.

So who is behind the mystery walking tours? Perhaps it is a commercial venture or could it be someone laying down a social history marker for future generations?

AD Travel says: "On this channel you can see walking city tours, walking towns tours, villages walking tours - all from the comfort of your home."

Perhaps she will be back in Crewe before the year is out?