Straight Pond on Marldon Road to Dainton Hamlet
It is easy sometimes these days, in our modern Western world, the importance of foot travel both historically and culturally. In England, it was considered a given that historic footpaths give the public the right to traverse private property. Footpaths (and bridlepaths for horseback riding) are mentioned in an 1835 highway bill, but in England these paths are considered to be hundreds of years older than that - some tracking their lineage to the occupation of Roman troops. These paths have long been guides to human movement - showing the human ingenuity of finding the more direct route past obstacles in the quest to get to the desired goal.
In literature footpaths have long played a role as the setting for conflict. Robin Hood meets Little John on a footpath and narrow bridge spanning a river. Tess's downfall comes just off a footpath/bridlepath at the hands of Alec. Untold numbers of highway men, pilgrims, lost children and travelers found their literary fates along paths through forest and field. Poets, like Wordsworth, rambled along these humble byways, finding inspiration for their odes to nature.
Footpaths exists throughout the world and serve not only as a means for traveling from point A to point B, but as a connection to our shared past and a reminder of the simpler, but more physically challenging, lives of our ancestors. They also open a window on to a world that only those who slow down and take the time to move by foot will ever experience. But we can at least view images of those worlds until we ourselves find our own feet on the trodden path leading to... So for now - enjoy!
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