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Footpaths. A Lock Down View Of A Brilliant Resource.

paths

As the country is currently in lockdown owing to the virus that shall not be named, I thought I’d have a quick look at one of this country’s fantastic, hardly discussed resource, the Footpath.

There’s several different variations of “Right Of Way” across the land. For instance, there are Bridleways, Restricted Byeways, as well as footpaths. Some areas of great Britain also have open access, which enables you to wander all over, and then, of course, there is Common land and large public parks where you can wander where you will.

There are a staggering 140,000 miles of footpaths in Great Britain. Many are rarely used and offer an escape from modern life, plus there’s plenty of room to get your daily exercise and more. Many paths are wide and have plenty of room to pass should you meet anyone along the way.
Last weekend the wife and myself, thought we could use our daily allowance of outdoor exercise by going on a 10 miles or so stroll. The idea being we could leave early and avoid any awkward meetings on narrow pathways ( the 2m guideline could be a bit tricky on narrow tracks). By getting out the OS map we planned a large circular route. By having a good close up look at the map and a quick delve into the local history and archaeological sites a few landscape features popped up so they were incorporated into the route. They were then all linked by taking in wide tracks through woodland, a few roads, and some open fields.
We walked at leisure, stopping frequently and had a major stop for a mini mid-morning picnic. Time taken was around the 4 plus hours mark. Afterward, we both decided to do more outdoor activities. Some areas were stunning. The wildlife we saw was simply brilliant and quite a bit of wild Garlic was picked and brought home.

Essential Pack list:

Map and compass. A12 Sells a basic easy to use baseplate compass .
Waterproof jacket.
Food and Flask.
All packed in a good waterproof rucksack. We do stock some on the A12 Site. For one day use, I found a 25ltr to 40ltr capacity fine. Rucksacks in the A12Store

Links to further reading.

Uk Footpaths
O S Maps
Long Distant Walks (post lockdown)