Walking an Ancient Path
Using our imagination
For thousands of years people have walked pathways across the English landscape. Many of those routes have long gone, but thankfully some remain. Some of these routes can be traced back thousands of years. Even some of today’s modern roads follow the route of ancient paths.
The Ancient Packhorse Bridge, Rode, Somerset
It’s a lovely warm day in the west of England. I find myself in the village of Rode situated in the north of Somerset. It’s a quiet village, but at one time it had several woollen mills and a brewery along with other trades. Nearby, the town of Frome seems to have taken the limelight and gradually businesses built up there which saw that town grow, rather than Rode.
I have explored this village many times and today my aim is to walk an ancient pathway. This pathway is a trade route. We will arrive at a packhorse bridge, just wide enough for a horse carrying wool and supplies to the woollen mills and village across the River Froome. The manufactured goods going in the opposite direction to waiting buyers.
The route will take me to the village of Woolverton and the busy A36 road that heads towards the City of Bath.
Please enjoy the video of this walk. It would be lovely to hear from you. Comment in the box below.
Thank you for watching!
Can you imagine the people and packhorses crossing the bridge, laden down with their cargo? Maybe you can imagine life in the period around the year 1600? It would be a hard life leading a packhorse, or a string of them to their destination. And yet, the world managed without thousands of trucks hurtling along routes hauling countless things for consumers.
Let me know your thoughts.