Why Drovers' Roads Still Matter

Before railways and turnpike roads, cattle and sheep moved across Britain on the hoof. Drovers walked herds from the uplands of Wales, Scotland and northern England down to markets and fattening pastures in the lowlands. The routes were not built so much as worn — wide, generous tracks that had to accommodate several hundred animals at a time, plus drovers, dogs and pack ponies. Many survive. Some are quiet lanes, some bridleways, and a good number are footpaths carrying you high across hills you would never otherwise cross.

Walking them is a different pleasure from following a summit route or a riverside trail. You are reading a landscape shaped by trade: the widest verge you have ever seen, a wall running straight for a mile, a ruined building with no road to it. This guide covers what to look for, where the best stretches are, and how to use footpath guides to plan a day that suits your legs, your time and the weather.

Reading the Landscape as You Walk

Once you know what a drovers' road looks like, you will spot them everywhere. Signs to watch for:

• Unusual width. Drovers' tracks are often 10 to 20 metres across, far wider than a farm track needs. The width kept herds from being funnelled and trampled.
• Straight lines over high ground. Routes ran along ridges and watersheds to avoid river crossings and tolls, which is why so many follow a long, straight course over the hills.
• Isolated ruins. Drovers' inns, smithies and staging enclosures often stand alone, sometimes a mile or more from any current road.
• Walls and banks. Look for boundary walls with a wide gap between them, or low earth banks either side of the path, used for controlling stock.
• Place names. Names containing "drove", "calf", "pound" or "booth" are strong clues.

Walking a track that runs dead straight for four miles and ends at a gate in the middle of nowhere is one of the quiet thrills of British hillwalking. The route exists because of animals, not people.

Where to Find the Best Surviving Routes

Some of the finest stretches lie in the Welsh Marches, the Yorkshire Dales, the Northumberland hills and the Scottish uplands. The old drove roads of Wales — through the Cambrian Mountains and towards the English border — give long, high, airy walking with few fences. In northern England, the tracks that fed the great fairs of the Pennines and the Vale of York survive as green lanes and bridleways.

You do not need a famous route. Many counties have a local drove road that gives a half-day circuit. Good footpath guides often mark them, and national park authorities publish leaflets covering accessible stretches — firm underfoot, with gates rather than stiles and gradients that suit a range of abilities.

Using Footpath Guides Well

Leaflets and online route descriptions are useful, but treat them as a starting point rather than gospel. Footpaths change: a gate is replaced by a stile, a crop field is planted over a right of way, a bridge washes out in winter.

• Check the date. A guide more than three or four years old may describe access that has since changed.
• Cross-reference the map. Read your route against a 1:25,000 scale map. The right of way, field boundaries and contours all matter.
• Look for accessibility notes. Good guides say whether a route suits pushchairs, wheelchairs or less mobile walkers, and list gradients, surfaces and the number of gates.
• Ask locally if unsure. National park information centres and local access officers can confirm whether a path is open or diverted.

Practicalities on the Old Tracks

Drovers' roads are often high, exposed and far from shelter. Wind is a constant companion. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them, because phone signal on a ridge is unreliable at best. Wear boots with proper ankle support — surfaces are frequently rough, stony or boggy even in summer.

Livestock is a real consideration. Cattle with calves should be given a wide berth. Keep dogs close and under control, and on a lead around stock and near ground-nesting birds between March and July. Close every gate behind you. Take water, because streams on the tops are not always safe to drink, and pack a waterproof whatever the forecast promises.

Walking with Care

These tracks are working landscape as well as heritage. Stick to the path where it crosses farmland, avoid widening the eroded edges of the route, and take all litter home — including fruit peel, which takes months to break down. Report broken stiles and blocked paths to the local highway authority so the next walker has an easier day.

The reward is considerable. Follow a drovers' road for a few hours and you walk the same line as generations of herdsmen, through country that has changed remarkably little. Take a good guide, a decent map and a flask, and the old tracks will give you some of the best walking in Britain.