The Social History of Mountain Paths

Dr Lorne says travellers relied on to follow routes before modern maps became common.

Some routes were maintained informally by moving animals between seasonal pastures.

The yearly reopening of higher routes often depended on .

Disputes over land and access were sometimes marked by along the route.

Historians supplement maps with from residents who remember older uses of the paths.

The busiest movement through the valleys often occurred on , when paths became commercial routes.

Modern walkers sometimes defend access by appealing to a inherited from earlier local practice.

Growing visitor numbers can accelerate on fragile slopes.

Dr Lorne concludes that old paths survive through , not through nostalgia alone.