Today’s photo looks down the steep, green slope of Roseberry Topping’s northwestern flank.
Below, Newton-under-Roseberry sits quietly among ripening fields. To the right, thick woodland hugs Bousdale Hill in dark contrast.
What caught my eye was the wide grass path on the right. It appears to follow the Right-of-Way, though anyone trusting this blindly would end up staring down the sheer, impenetrable drop of Cockle Scar. I have rarely used this path although it’s always been there, yet it now seems more pronounced. Even reaching the bottom of the grassy stretch from the Brant Gate path means wading through chest-high bracken. Yet it is clearly being used, and often enough to stay visible. I must check out the desire path.
On the left, the new pitched path tells a different story. I will not dismiss the work put into it, or the cost, but I have not found it especially easy. This morning’s climb proved awkward in places: the risers felt just that little too high, and the descent no better. The angle is steep, the steps unforgiving, and the thought of tripping hard to ignore.
The grass path, steep though it is, may be the gentler way down. Perhaps others have thought so too. Perhaps that is why it is now becoming a more worn route.
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