The Wurzelweg of Larner’s Hill

I have walked this path up Larner’s Hill to Captain Cook’s Monument more times than I care to count. Where it winds past Round Hill Wood, exposed tree roots have formed what could generously be called natural steps. Supposedly, this is a Public Bridleway, though one would have to admire the optimism of anyone attempting it on horseback or bicycle.

To the left of the path lies an overgrown, sunken track, lined with an old cast-iron fence—rather extravagant for a simple field boundary. This, apparently, was the original route. Holloways can form through erosion by water or traffic, or perhaps someone, for reasons now lost to time, thought it a good idea to dig one. It seems that elsewhere considerable effort was once spent digging holloways for herding livestock or for marking the boundaries of an estate, yet neither scenario feels quite fitting here. Furthermore, as the track leads nowhere obvious, the idea of it once being heavily trafficked feels similarly questionable. The Public Bridleway now contours Easby Bank ending up, eventually, at Bankside Farm in Kildale.

This ancient trackway, once important enough to warrant fencing, has clearly been abandoned. Perhaps it became impassable, and rather than struggle, people simply took the easier route up the side. Now it is vanishing into the woodland, barely noticeable except in winter when the trees are kind enough to shed their leaves.

For those who enjoy obscure trivia, there is a German word for a woodland path crisscrossed by exposed tree roots: Wurzelweg, meaning “tree-root-way”. You have probably walked along many without ever realising they had a name. What a revelation.