#643: The Path More Travelled

A cross posting from my Geo Library blog project - what do you mean you haven't visited? There's over 700 books that would be of interest to geographers.

'Absorbing and exhilarating . . . This book will literally expand your horizons' MICHAEL PALIN
'A panoptic, deeply researched and compelling history of our nation' PATRICK BARKHAM

This was the book I finished at the beginning of the summer break.

It's a chunky tome from Nicholas Crane which sits alongside his earlier book on the making of the landscape of Britain.

It explores the origin of the paths and tracks that run through England, from their first makings as the landscape was populated with the first arrivals. 

The paths firmed up with foot traffic and created a network of paths connecting settlements as they developed. Horses expanded the network, and trade turned them into roads. They were joined by trains and canals and then the car changed everything.

It's scholarly and accessible and full of incident and detail, taking you through the thickets of ancient woodland and out to the development of motorways and the current issues we face travelling through the countryside, including past struggles to gain access to open access land.

Details from the publisher:

In The Path More Travelled, acclaimed geographer and travel writer Nicholas Crane explores the hidden history of Britain's coast-to-coast web of footpaths, from the icy Cairngorms to the banks of the Severn (where he discovers footprints left over 7,000 years ago). 

Witty, wide-ranging and passionate, this is an enchanting call to rediscover and protect the lifeblood of our landscapes.

My copy was published by W&N in 2026

Hardback, 432pp

ISBN:  978-1399605816

If you want to hear more about the book, Nicholas Crane is doing a series of events around the country, including a talk in King's Lynn at the Town Hall.

Your best option if you live in the East of England is to come along to our Christmas social event on Tuesday the 8th of December.

It will be hosted by Norwich School.

Nick will have a focus on the ancient footpaths of East Anglia as well, given the location of the talk, and the fact he was born in Cringleford - a few miles from where my daughter lives - and grew up in the area.

My ticket is booked, so I will see you there and may even help you get some sausage rolls and brownies once the talk is over. We usually have mulled wine on arrival as well...

#509: Go Jauntly into your Naturehood

Via LinkedIn.

Go Jauntly has teamed up with the National Trust.

#482: Slow Ways Crowdfunder

This could be a useful context for work outside the classroom, and mapping routes to wildlife, wildflowers, woodlands and other habitats. Students could get involved in mapping the routes.

I've blogged about Slow Ways before.

You have until the end of August to join in with the Slow Ways Crowdfunder to fund the next stage of development and get some benefits in return. Details are here.

Where we’re coming from

Thanks to thousands of people we’ve already created a Slow Ways national walking network with 140,000km of routes that connect all of Britain’s towns, cities and national landscapes.

We’ve proven the idea. Now it’s time to take it to the next level.

Where we’re going

With your support we’ll help millions of people to find, follow and enjoy great routes that match their diverse interests and needs - making places more enjoyable and inclusive in the process.

We'll make the network much bigger and better, add more ways of getting around, enable groups and organisations to share routes for communities and develop website and app to make it all happen.

Slow Ways routes will always be publicly available and free for everyone to follow and enjoy.

We’ll be introducing memberships for people and groups that would like to support our work. In return, we’ll give you extra benefits, features and powers.

For less than the cost of a pair of walking socks and few coffees, as an individual member you’ll be able to enjoy special member-only benefits, including:

✔︎ Better features and functionality - See the table below!
✔︎ A growing calendar of talks, podcasts, meet-ups and workshops
✔︎ Votes on what we develop next

Community organisation members will additionally get:

✔︎ Tools to collaboratively develop route collections and networks
✔︎ Training, talks, workshops, newsletters, podcasts and online forums
✔ Public profile on the platform, with the same abilities as individuals

#419: Slow Ways: Walking in field margins

Often when walking in the countryside, a footpath will take you to a road and then expect you to walk along the road for a while to connect up to the next available footpath and continue with your journey. 

There are also paths which have not been used for a while, or have been deliberately (or accidentally) blocked by landowners for various reasons.

Some years ago, a deadline was set for footpaths to be recorded otherwise the right to use them would be lost.

This Guardian article outlines the 

During the COVID19 pandemic and lockdowns, one of the highlights of my day was when I closed my work laptop and went for a walk on a permissive path which completed a circular walk around my village, for my daily exercise. I did this for about a year.

On this (Boxing) day of walks, some good walking/access news—
c. 40,000 miles of historic rights-of-way in England & Wales have been reprieved from deletion from the “definitive map” of such paths.

Great work @ramblers.org.uk & other campaigners on this.https://t.co/yUTKXfUUCt

— Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) December 26, 2024

Good to contribute to @Matthew_Wright's @LBC show on better walking access to avoid dangerous roads with you @emilymnorton.

Agreed with your points, including the need for better driving!

We at @SlowWaysUK are working to find good ways where they exist! https://t.co/xbXYivQaqq

— Dan Raven-Ellison (@DanRavenEllison) December 27, 2024

#119: Take a hike

One of the best ways to see an area's Natural History is to take a walk (or cycle) along a long distance footpath.

The Sandlings Walk is a long-distance 59-mile path from the outskirts of Ipswich to Southwold ➡️

It really is a mixed bag of everything that makes the Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so special ❤️

Find out more 👇https://t.co/KMn7COvF59 pic.twitter.com/srpvkEfyTx

— Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (@SuffolkAONB) July 30, 2023

The Sandlings Walk is just one of many footpaths... every school will have one in the nearby area.

Why not carry out a sponsored walk to raise funds for setting up the new specification perhaps? There will be a reasonable set up cost for any new course offered at school, and one criticism of the new specification is that it may end up only being offered in schools which have additional financial 'capacity' for such initiatives...

One option for fieldwork would be to take a walk as well and observe what is seen along the route. I've already also suggested linking up with a local Slow Way.

There could also be a sponsored cycle perhaps on a Sustrans route - once again there will be one near you, and these will take you through areas of natural history.

I wonder whether there are also potential links to be made with the Volunteering section of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, or the work that goes towards receiving a John Muir Award.

#114: Slow Ways: a way to access the countryside

Post updated 3rd November 2023

How do you get out into nature and the countryside easily?

One way is to walk... it's the best way of course, although some would say cycling will extend your range and also provide better exercise.

Some early geologists used bicycles in the fieldwork. In fact, the GA President in 2019 was Grenville Cole, who was known as the "cycling geologist" because of the way that he worked.

Perhaps one way is to join with others and walk one of the Slow Ways.

We have some of the maps in the department and a print which is excellent.

This would potentially make for a good activity with students as at the time of writing there is still quite a lot of work left to ensure that the thousand of routes which connect places have been reviewed and checked for accuracy and safety.

Check out post #85 on the blog for more on Slow Ways, with a podcast with Daniel Raven Ellison.

Updated November 2023

“The Victorians left us street trees and parks. National parks were the legacy of the second world war. What will our legacy be? What if 75 years after the creation of national parks, our politicians created their own legacy for future generations – a proper national walking and wheeling network that’s as easy to understand as the road and rail network but far more joyful, healthy, green, relationship-building and community-connecting and inspiring? What’s not to like?”

Dan Raven Ellison from a piece by Patrick Barkham in The Guardian.

Remember also that the countryside is not equally connected.

#85: Always Possible Podcast

Bank holiday weekend is almost upon us! What are your plans? Going on any walks? Visiting an urban centre?

Listen to our inspirational podcast with guerilla geographer and creative explorer @DanRavenEllison. And check out #SlowWays https://t.co/DeaLVCvyh0. You're welcome! pic.twitter.com/32r2DBQcsl

— always possible (@always_possible) August 25, 2023

Check out the Always Possible Podcast for an interview with Daniel Raven Ellison.

It includes a mention of Slow Ways, and also how we can connect more closely with nature and heritage and culture through developing a walking infrastructure.

“Geography exists at all scales at the same time, so whether it’s the guerrilla gardener pulling up a paving slab and making that a bit wilder, or whether it’s thinking about where you want to go on holiday, that’s all geography.”

“Science and history have done a very good job of creating places where people are very aware that they’re recreationally engaging in science or history. Geography, people are playing with that all the time but because of so many boring, dry textbooks, people think that it’s something that it’s not.”