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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » The Ridgeway » The Ridgeway Pilgrimage (Sacred Way) *UPDATE* |
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Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jan 28, 2012, 11:44
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flim wrote: juamei wrote: I have a book written in I think the 50s (at home, I'm at work) which describes walking the ridgeway. Apparently the largest material difficulty is water. As in you have to come off the ridgeway, in some cases several miles off the ridgeway, to find an available source of water. Plenty of livestock troughs along the way. http://backpackinglight.co.uk/product353.asp It's hard to imagine that our great ancestors would not have provided water along the way in some form if the Ridgeway was always intended to be a long distance route just for traders and the movement of armies as has been suggested. Unless of course it was originally intended to just link up local communities and not as a major neolithic highway but just grew in size. In that case water would not have been a prerequisite as the then farming community (supposedly) would have no reason to travel huge distances. I have two books on the Ridgeway Path, The Oldest Road and Elizabeth Cull's Walks Along The Ridgway and also R.Hippisley-Cox's 1914 book The Green Roads of England that gives it great mention and is a joy to read.
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tjj 3606 posts |
Jan 28, 2012, 17:35
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Sanctuary wrote: flim wrote: juamei wrote: I have a book written in I think the 50s (at home, I'm at work) which describes walking the ridgeway. Apparently the largest material difficulty is water. As in you have to come off the ridgeway, in some cases several miles off the ridgeway, to find an available source of water. Plenty of livestock troughs along the way. http://backpackinglight.co.uk/product353.asp It's hard to imagine that our great ancestors would not have provided water along the way in some form if the Ridgeway was always intended to be a long distance route just for traders and the movement of armies as has been suggested. Unless of course it was originally intended to just link up local communities and not as a major neolithic highway but just grew in size. In that case water would not have been a prerequisite as the then farming community (supposedly) would have no reason to travel huge distances. I have two books on the Ridgeway Path, The Oldest Road and Elizabeth Cull's Walks Along The Ridgway and also R.Hippisley-Cox's 1914 book The Green Roads of England that gives it great mention and is a joy to read. Yes, "The Green Roads of England" is a little gem of a book and very much evokes a different time. I walked up to the Ridgeway yesterday from Bishopstone which just below the spring line, on the way back we actually found the spring which feeds the streams and village pond in Bishopstone. I believe there are springs all along that stretch of downland - I know there is Woolstone spring at the bottom of Uffington Hill. Ancient travellers must have come off the path as juamei said .. it also begs the question of how did people get water to hillforts as many of them are close to the Ridgeway.
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Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jan 28, 2012, 18:23
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tjj wrote: Sanctuary wrote: flim wrote: juamei wrote: I have a book written in I think the 50s (at home, I'm at work) which describes walking the ridgeway. Apparently the largest material difficulty is water. As in you have to come off the ridgeway, in some cases several miles off the ridgeway, to find an available source of water. Plenty of livestock troughs along the way. http://backpackinglight.co.uk/product353.asp It's hard to imagine that our great ancestors would not have provided water along the way in some form if the Ridgeway was always intended to be a long distance route just for traders and the movement of armies as has been suggested. Unless of course it was originally intended to just link up local communities and not as a major neolithic highway but just grew in size. In that case water would not have been a prerequisite as the then farming community (supposedly) would have no reason to travel huge distances. I have two books on the Ridgeway Path, The Oldest Road and Elizabeth Cull's Walks Along The Ridgway and also R.Hippisley-Cox's 1914 book The Green Roads of England that gives it great mention and is a joy to read. Yes, "The Green Roads of England" is a little gem of a book and very much evokes a different time. I walked up to the Ridgeway yesterday from Bishopstone which just below the spring line, on the way back we actually found the spring which feeds the streams and village pond in Bishopstone. I believe there are springs all along that stretch of downland - I know there is Woolstone spring at the bottom of Uffington Hill. Ancient travellers must have come off the path as juamei said .. it also begs the question of how did people get water to hillforts as many of them are close to the Ridgeway. Check this out June http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=122938
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Andrew Joseph 13 posts |
Jan 29, 2012, 17:37
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Hi And again thanks for these great inputs so many great ideas to tackle the "water" issue! from the technologically attractive "travel tap" to mapping the springs great stuff! I will be including suggestions and ideas in the guide and then encourage innovation... But are they hill forts? I had a conversation recently which raised the idea that they were more likely used as places of trading, shelter for animals and celebrating festivals what do people think? :-) Andy
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Andrew Joseph 13 posts |
Jan 29, 2012, 17:46
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Your probably right my comment was a little glib... But I do have concerns about the preserving of our past in academic aspic when it could (in my humble opinion) be a more vital part of our now...
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Andrew Joseph 13 posts |
Jan 29, 2012, 17:46
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Thank you i will be in touch...
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Robot Emperor 762 posts |
Feb 12, 2012, 00:41
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Forgive my ignorance but does it sit on the same Jurassic escarpment that goes through Leicestershire and Lincolnshire? Belvoir Castle and Lincoln perched on its edge? If so, fuck the Pennine Way... I'm likely getting 5 out of 2 + 2 but having trouble reading the geological maps I'm pulling up on the internet. It would fit with my admittedly rudimentary British geography and what I understand the (pre)historical start and finish points to be. Afraid everything gets a bit hazy for me around the Cotswolds.
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tjj 3606 posts |
Feb 12, 2012, 10:55
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Robot Emperor wrote: Forgive my ignorance but does it sit on the same Jurassic escarpment that goes through Leicestershire and Lincolnshire? Belvoir Castle and Lincoln perched on its edge? If so, fuck the Pennine Way... I'm likely getting 5 out of 2 + 2 but having trouble reading the geological maps I'm pulling up on the internet. It would fit with my admittedly rudimentary British geography and what I understand the (pre)historical start and finish points to be. Afraid everything gets a bit hazy for me around the Cotswolds. Yes you are correct, it goes from Lincolnshire to Dorset (though interrupted by military activity on Salisbury Plain).
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VBB 558 posts |
Feb 12, 2012, 11:02
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For anyone that missed it Radio 4's 'Excess baggage' 11 Feb 2012 featured some interesting discussions on the pilgramage theme around standing stones. Podcast here; http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/excessbag
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Feb 12, 2012, 14:59
Feb 12, 2012, 14:58
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VBB wrote: For anyone that missed it Radio 4's 'Excess baggage' 11 Feb 2012 featured some interesting discussions on the pilgramage theme around standing stones. Podcast here; http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/excessbag Thanks for that VBB, I've just listened to most of it. About eight minutes in Martin Symington talks about stone circles and 'sacred' stone places (Karl Marx's tomb gets a mention as well). Book looks good Sacred Britain though has been covered by many other writers from John Michell to Paul Devereaux.
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