How England's Oldest Road Was Nearly Lost Forever

[UPDATE: As of 2024, the deadline for paths has extended to 2031.] The Icknield Way, in south-east England, is a road and footpath that's been part of the landscape for millennia. But if parts of it hadn't been legally marked down, then those parts would have become private land, gone forever. Who has the right to walk where?

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[voidmayonnaise]

YouTube’s compression algorithm **hates** all those tiny leaves...

[gammaphonic]

There’s an ancient right of way in my home town. When the Manchester ship canal was built, it crossed its path. Part of the act of Parliament that allowed the canal to be built also demanded that the canal company need to maintain the right of way. The cheapest and easiest way to do that was with a ferry service. And since the only thing that can repeal the right of way is another act of Parliament, that ferry service is still there. The canal company has to, by law, pay a person to sit in a little hut all day and row anyone across the canal who comes along and gives him 20p. I love the fact that this exists and I use the ferry whenever I can.

[TheSpacecraftX]

In Scotland you have the "right to roam" such that you can use any paths that exist without permission. Leave the place as you found it and you will be fine to go anywhere.

[skamiikaze]

“Militant walking enthusiasts” isn’t something I thought I would ever hear

[onionbot]

when i grow up i want to be a militant walking enthusiast

[renardmigrant]

We asked ramblers what they thought, but they just went on and on.

[jayl]

Once had a farmer fire a shotgun in my general direction for following a signposted (at one end) public footpath that went through his land.

At the far end of the footpath, my mates and I found the sign ripped up and tossed in a nearby hedge. We let the council know and a new sign was installed.

Two weeks later, the new sign was torn up and tossed in a hedge again.

[Codraroll]

Gotta love Norwegian legislation in this regard: Right of way *everywhere*. It is possible to fence off land for agriculture (although I think you have to apply for it) or security reasons, but the general rule is, anyone can walk anywhere as long as it's not right through somebody's garden. Camp anywhere too, if it's more than a few hundred meters from the nearest residence or source of drinking water.

[Ringsmith]

The Access department of the British Horse Society is doing an immense amount of work for the same purpose.

[ahistoryofbritain]

Brilliant, I feel you answer all the questions that I never knew I had!

[richardmoss]

My late father was part of a group in the 90s that walked in the Macclesfield area to ensure that public rights of way were not blocked by land owners.

[Chlorate]

A funny addendum to this is that trespassing in Britain generally isn't criminal offense, unless it's a restricted site like a school, military base, railway line etc.

[TianyuQi]

"There was no road in the world. Then people walked on it, and road formed."
- Zhou Treeman

[AnthonyHigham]

We are so lucky to have foot paths and bridal ways in the UK, it is such a gift to be able to walk in the countryside around fields and through ancient woodland. The rights of way need to be maintained for the future enjoyment and health of generations to come.
On a visit to some friends in central France I pointed out a route to the nearby town and suggested we walk it. They said "not if you want to get shot, that's hunters land, like everything around here"
We have a unique resource here and it needs protecting.

[mysteryshrimp]

Any time that Tom does a video of walking along, talking to camera, and it doesn't end with a joyful "One take!", I wonder how many takes it took.

[elcarrerdelsgaivots]

This reminds me of a project taking place in Galicia (NW Spain) for recording and saving from oblivion millions of microtoponyms. Every farm, stone, hill, fountain has a name here, and very often only elders know about it. Microtoponyms also give lots of information about history, land uses or legends. The project is called "Galicia nomeada" and they aim to register about 2.5 million names in a region that is about the size of Belgium.

[theafr]

A couple farmers who live near me always try to secretly damage or hide foot path signs. As an avid walker, this makes me mad.

[veemacks]

If you ever find yourself in southern Germany Tom, you might want to look up the "romantische strasse". It's hundreds of miles long and runs through where I live.

[l.n.]

In my teens, I tried to find every possible path in the area around my village. Well, I didn't finish - there where just too many of them. Most seemed to be shortcuts for people from the farmers' backyards to relatives or ended in a particular field.

[dustyarcade]

So glad you posted this video Tom, I was walking through the Surrey hills today and discovered public paths marked on OS maps that have been made "private" by land owners, fenced with barbed wire and intimidating signs, forcing me to walk further on the main roads with cars passing at high speed. I've joined the website, i hope these pub walks can be maintained for future generations!