Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Newly laid path Aireyholme Cottage to Roseberry

Resurfaced laid path to Roseberry

A brand spanking new path. The National Park has been hard at work upgrading the path between Aireyholme Cottage and Roseberry. Over the winter it had become impassable with a gluppy mud.

The farmer had, a few years ago, with good intentions, enclosed the path to the statutory 1½ metre width for a field edge. The trouble is with corralling walkers onto a narrow unmade path is that it just accelerates deterioration. I can think of two other examples where this has happened locally.

I have a pdf copy of 1913 booklet issued by the Peak District and Northern Counties’ Footpaths Preservation Society called “The Rambler and the Law” and in it, under the section “Ancient Highways”1“THE RAMBLER AND THE LAW.” A. R. MOON,LL.B. and G. H. B. WARD. PEAK DISTRICT AND NORTHERN COUNTIES’ FOOTPATHS PRESERVATION SOCIETY 1913 http://www.peakandnorthern.org.uk/pnfs-publications/documents/TheRamblerandTheLaw.pdf Page 11. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021., I read:

Should a bridleway, or footpath, etc., become “founderous” (in such a bad condition that in certain places it is really impassable – as when washed away in places by the erosive action of a stream or river) then a pedestrian has the right to walk on the adjacent land for the purposes of continuing his journey.

Such a good word ‘founderous’. From the Latin ‘fundus’ meaning ‘bottom’ or ‘foundation2“Founder | Origin and Meaning of Founder by Online Etymology Dictionary.” Etymonline.com, 2021, www.etymonline.com/word/founder?utm_source=extension_searchhint. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.. Hence a ship has foundered when it has run aground.

I have no idea whether this ancient right to deviate from a path when it becomes impassible such as boggy or rutted is still in existence. But I note that no less an organisation as the ‘The Motoring Organisations’ Land Access & Recreation Association’ (LARA) has a definition of the word in its glossary3“Glossary.” LARA, 10 Dec. 2016, laragb.org/glossary/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021..

To their credit, the National Park has also put in a new hedge, a second fence, and a kissing gate onto the permissive footpath that follows the old tramway.

Posted

in

,

by

Fhithich

Tags:

, ,

Comments

2 responses to “Resurfaced laid path to Roseberry”

  1. Janet E Cochrane avatar
    Janet E Cochrane

    Interesting read, as ever – thanks. And ‘founderous’ is certainly an excellent word which I shall make certain to include in a conversation at an early date!
    There is still a ‘right to deviate’ in existence but only if a right-of-way is obstructed, and only in certain circumstances. Regardless of the legalities, farmers have found that people don’t like walking or riding through deep mud (no surprise there!) and paths become ever wider – braided – as they seek firmer ground. This of course damages the crops. So the solution of fencing / hedging / surface-laying is probably the best compromise for a popular path such as the one to Roseberry.
    Incidentally the hedge appears to have been planted on a very narrow strip. As it grows, it’s going to encroach on the field or on the path itself – or both – and require significant annual work to keep it trimmed.

    Reply
    1. Fhithich avatar
      Fhithich

      Thanks for that. I had wondered about the hedge but assumed the contractor knew what he was doing. And I didn’t want to sound negative.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *