Pathways

by David Stewart, Nicholas Rudd-Jones

Today we walk mainly for pleasure, using the many "rights of way" that criss–cross Britain, with little thought for their original purpose. But for England's first foot travelers, paths, tracks, and ways developed because they had to. In many cases it was for work—herding cattle, or trudging to and from a mine. Other tracks and roads stemmed from military or political control, from the roads the Romans laid across the countryside, to Anglo–Saxon dykes, right up to more modern defenses. Then there are routes that people followed for ritual and religious reasons, such as the processional paths in the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages and the pilgrimages of medieval times. Only more recently do we find paths created, or enhanced, specifically for leisure. We have carefully tailored circuits on country estates, tracks across moorland for the hunting of deer, and the much more recent "sculpture trail." Here, David Stewart and Nicholas Rudd–Jones seek out paths, tracks, and ways and their oft–hidden original purpose. Telling both the story of the pathway and the people who traveled on it before, the authors describe the historical background of each path, while also bringing to life the experience of walking it today.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book: it's both rather attractive as a book-as-object, as well as being a nice -- albeit basic -- introduction to the history of pathways of various sorts (Roman roads, drovers' roads, processional routes, etc.) across Britain (mostly in England, as it happens).

I should say that it's not particularly in depth or exhaustive: there's relatively little content, given the size of the book, and some of the information is a touch repetitive. In some respects, it comes across very much as a vanity project by the authors (there are repeated references to a walking website that the two authors co-founded, for instance), but it's certainly a well-packaged vanity project, so I couldn't bring myself to mind too much. And each chapter (as well as a section at the back of the book) does point to further reading, much of it of a more academic bent, so it's a good jumping-off point for finding out more about any of the types of pathway covered in the book.

I haven't tried to follow any of the walks in the book yet, but the maps & descriptions of the walks themselves don't strike me as being foolproof, should you wish to follow in the authors' footsteps. This wasn't really why I bought the book, and since the book also doesn't advertise itself (on the back cover, at least) as a book of self-guided walks, this isn't really a criticism of the book. I do, however, wish that there was a map of Britain at the front of the book showing the locations of the walks and places discussed.

Overall, the book displays perhaps more style than substance, but the style is rather lovely, and it at least points you in the direction of more substance, so I can't really fault it for that.

[Guy Brindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight for new walk areas around the country. It has history of the areas too. If you love walking it a good addition to your walking library

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad. Very swift read as it had lots of photos and maps.