Pathways > The Pathways book > Village walks
Village walks
The paths that run through and around our villages look timeless. But in the past their routes would have been the subject of continual change, as the pattern of village and town life mutated. Many of the classic 'nucleated' villages across England would have started out as dispersed farmsteads, as can still be seen in much of our uplands. As that change occured during the early middle ages the path network would have altered to accommodate new routes between neighbours, fields to be worked and centres of commerce.
A second massive change took place with the 'enclosure movement' that swept through Britain from the 17th century onwards. Enclosure brought much common land into private use; it was fenced off and paths were forced to go round the edge of the new fields. 'No trespassing' signs were seen for the first time and an age of poaching began.
The John Clare village 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 for village walks, should you wish to join in the discussion.
There are, of course, many walks in and around villages. Below is a list of walks relating specifically to the enclosure movement:
Lincolnshire
A village walk tracing the paths that the nature poet, John Clare, took as a lad, with pleasing landscapes, woods and plenty of historical interest. Clare was a vociferous opponent of the Enclosure Movement, which was sweeping the country at the time... More info