history
And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time: Walking Britain's Oldest Paths
There are few places where history can be felt more powerfully than these pathways, walked by explorer, author and TV presenter Nicholas Crane
TL;DR
- British paths, often called an "internet of feet," have evolved over thousands of years, used by various groups from hunter-gatherers to modern hikers.
- The Sweet Track in Somerset Levels, built nearly 6,000 years ago, is a preserved prehistoric boardwalk providing access to an island.
- The Street of the Dead (Sràid nam Marbh) on Iona is an ancient coffin road used to transport the dead to burial sites near a monastery.
- The Bure Valley Path follows a former railway line, offering a walk through a gentle Norfolk valley with historical connections to barges and steam trains.
- The Ridgeway, an 87-mile trail, traces ancient routes used for hill forts and burial sites, connecting deep history with a modern national trail.
- Holloways are sunken paths worn into the landscape over centuries by feet and hooves, often appearing as ravines or tunnels.
- The Mass Trespass Walk on Kinder Scout commemorates the 1932 event that fought for public access to moorland, now a historic hiking route.