Pathways > The Pathways book > Monks' trods
Monks' trods
After the Norman conquest there was a massive expansion in the monastic orders across Britain, supported by the new aristocracy. The Cistercians, in particular, spread their tentacles across England and Wales, taking over remote parcels of land and turning them into efficient farmsteads and religious centres. The abbeys they built, with their soaring architecture, dominate remote valleys from Tintern in Wales to Rievaulx in North Yorkshire.
Every abbey sat in the middle of a network of farms (granges) which supported the monks and the lay brethren who worked for them. Sheep farming became the mainstay of their burgeoning wealth, with the wool being traded across Britain and abroad.
Keeping a large monastic order, with hundreds of houses spread across Europe, was a monumental task. Control called for constant communication between the founding abbeys and their daughter institutions. If good roads to the remote locations did not already exist the monks built them. These 'trods' were designed to be ridden on horseback; by taking them the trip could be shortened from several days to a few hours.
The Welsh Monks' Trod walk, featured in the book, is free to download once you have joined as a member of Walkingworld.
There is a special thread in the Pathways forum on monks' trods, should you wish to join in the discussion.
Below is a list of other walks visiting monastic sites:
Huelva
Almonaster La Real - Acebuce Circuit is on old drove-roads and mountain paths through chestnut groves.... More info
Almonaster La Real to Los Romeros via the lost paths; a challenging circular walk taking in the San Christobal viewpoints - not for the faint-hearted.... More info
Jaen
This is a classic hike, the beauty and interest of which make it truly memorable experience. It starts and ends in Cazorla, which is a fascinating and historic old town in its own right.... More info
Monmouthshire
This short walk from Tintern Abbey along the Wye Valley to the Devil's Pulpit, takes in part of Offa's Dyke Path and combines historical interest with fine views of the monastic site and its surroundings.... More info
From the monastic site at Tintern, follow the old railway track acros the river and through the woods, climb to Offa's Dyke and the Devil's Pulpit and return through the woods.... More info
Powys
Follow in the footsteps of medieval monks on this trackway joining the Cistercian monasteries of mid-Wales. The walk samples two branches of the Trod, one passing just below the hill of Moelfryn, the other a spur heading towards Rhayader. It can be... More info
Rhone Alpes
A delightful low-level route through the hamlets and villages of the D'Aulps Valley, including the monastic site of the St.Jean d'Aulps abbey. The walk goes past traditional homesteads and through classically alpine woods and meadows.... More info
Shropshire
The walk, which starts and ends at the entrance to Ludlow Castle, uses mainly tracks and bridleways and is well-signposted, a bonus for Shropshire. It takes you to the village of Bromfield to the north, where there is a church of a Benedictine... More info
Yorkshire
A circular walk, with moderate climbs which provide wonderful views to both the north and south, it passes by a restored Tudor chapel and leads down the hill to the rare remains of a Carthusian monastery. After this it's back up the hill to proceed... More info
Franche-Comte
Baume les Messieurs is a beautiful monastery in a spectacular setting. This walk takes you from the monastery, past cascades and up the rock staircase the monks built to get to their lands above. Then it proceeds more gently through the woods and... More info
Mallorca
This walk has everything: a stroll through surprisingly remote countryside with wide open views, a stretch of spectacular coastal path, some breathtaking vistas from clifftop miradors and a visit to a monastery that has been abandoned for some 200... More info