The Lost Paths is out now - order here
Hundreds of thousands of miles of paths reach into – and connect – communities across England and Wales. More than just a practical way for us to walk, ride and cycle, they are an inheritance from our past, revealing how our ancestors interacted with and shaped their surroundings. But thousands of miles are still missing from our maps, and they will be lost forever unless they are urgently reclaimed.
The Lost Paths is a history of the people who have used, and in some cases created, our paths – the drovers who herded their sheep and cattle to market; the wanderers who travelled between workhouses, seeking shelter and subsistence; the quarrymen carving away Welsh mountainsides; the wartime heroes who built up Britain’s defensive infrastructure. This incredible ‘ordinary’ history of the land beneath our feet reminds us just how precious these paths are, and have been, to the human story of this island.
This is a celebration of an ancient network and a rallying cry to reclaim what has been lost and preserve it for future generations.