Quality
Work on paths not only must look good, but it must be well built to withstand time, use and weather. A little amount of sound quality is of far more value than rushing to do a large amount of work of poor quality. Re-routing, surfacing or steps badly done will all cause more trouble than they cure.
Desire lines and short cuts
Most people, when walking from A to B, will take the most direct route possible. This is called the desire line. The whole system of rights of way is built up of countless desire lines. Problems arise when the path does not follow the desire line for legal reasons, or where the desire line crosses fragile or unstable ground.
Enclosed paths
Narrow paths enclosed by hedges or fences are often a problem as concentrated use rapidly destroys the surface. In urban areas these alleys or ‘twitterns’ are usually paved or surfaced with Tarmac. In rural areas, if the choice exists, it is preferable to avoid fencing in a path. Use is not then concentrated on a single line, and the problem of cutting growth along fence lines is avoided.
The most satisfactory situation is where the path runs through pasture, and is managed as part of the field and kept short by grazing. Once the path is fenced it will either become overgrown, or muddy, depending on the amount of use. Trespass is likely to follow as walkers climb the fence in order to walk across the grazed part of the field. If there is a problem with walkers wandering off the path, it is better to try first by use of signs or marker posts to keep them on the path. If fencing is necessary to separate grazing animals, use the minimum number of strands which will still be stockproof, or fence on one side only, so that as much of the path as possible is still grazed.
Targets
All sorts of features and artifacts can act as a ‘target’ on a path. A target is anything that takes the walker ’s interest, and may be a natural feature that appears in view along the path, or something seen on a map or heard about from friends. The most frequent targets are high land, views, water and ancient buildings, but rare plants or birds, famous and infamous residences, ley lines and sighting places for UFOs can all alter, often unexpectedly, the way in which a particular path is used. Major problems arise when the target is off the path, and trespass becomes a recurring problem. Most targets are immoveable, but at least by identifying them one is able to understand why and how a path is used, and can then take action to re-route the path or screen the target from view.
Targets more easily dealt with are the artifacts that may occur along or near a path. These include information boards, seats, litter bins, cairns, collection boxes and even piles of rubbish which may attract the walker ’s eye and magpie instincts. If carefully placed, they can be not only functional, but also useful in drawing people in certain directions. More often though, they are just a focus for trampling and erosion.
The following stone, placed by an eccentric gentleman in the 1880s, still stands at Durlston Country Park, Swanage, Dorset. The irony is further increased by the fact that the lettering is now so worn it is necessary to get very close to read it.
Claustrophobia and agoraphobia
Paths that lead into dark woodland, and especially conifer plantations, can be very intimidating to some people. Grassy rides are the most pleasant type of forest walk, being wide and light and having the interest of the forest edge habitat. They often have straight sections and views of features which act as a point for walkers (see ‘straights and curves’ below).
Paths that have to go under the canopy are a different proposition , especially if there is ‘no light at the end of the tunnel’. A path clearly defined by surfacing, such as the woodchip path described here is the most satisfactory method of encouraging use, so that people are not worried about losing their way. Other methods include various types of waymarking, and having copies of maps available which can be taken on the walk. To those used to the countryside and the forest this may appear a minor problem, but it is in fact enough to discourage many people who are at all wary. The provision of targets (see above) in otherwise rather monotonous forest is useful both to relieve the eye and encourage the feet, and to help recognise the way back.
In the example below, it was found that after the car park had been constructed, walkers were reluctant to set off into the dark woodland. Extra waymarking was therefore provided.
At the other extreme, some people are hesitant about setting off across wide open spaces if there is no target at which to aim. The edges of a space or where two habitats meet will always have more interest and appeal than the middle, and unless a desire line exists across it, most people will tend to keep to the edges.
The understanding of how people use space is helpful in the management of recreation areas. Open spaces in parks and picnic sites are usually designed with convoluted edges to give the maximum edge where people will walk or sit. This links with the principle of carrying capacity. Varied landscapes with trees, water and plenty of ‘edge’ will have a higher perceptual carrying capacity, and probably ecological carrying capacity than monotonous landscapes.
Straights and curves
The great parks of the 16th and 17th Centuries were laid out in the grand manner with long straight rides and avenues, which was particularly suited to the flat landscapes of France, where the designs originated. A pattern frequently repeated was that of the pattern d’oie or goose foot, with three, five or seven paths radiating from a semicircle.
These patterns can still be seen in places such as the Forest of Fontainebleau. They were copied in England, but never very successfully, because the impact of straight lines was lost in the rolling English landscape. A quite different style emerged in Britain, in the work of Repton, Capability Brown and others, which followed the maxim that “Nature abhors a straight line”.
Most formal and informal parks contain some of each style. The view along a straight avenue gives a feeling of grandeur and space, and the winding paths give seclusion and interest. Most people tend to walk a short way up an avenue, and then turn to explore the more intimate paths on either side. The same pattern can be seen amongst visitors to a cathedral: not many venture straight up the nave, but walk up the aisles to either side, and across the transept to the chancel.
A combination of straight and curving paths works well in forest, particularly if the land is flat or the planting monotonous. The straight avenues give a sense of space and reference point against getting lost, and curving paths give interesting walking. For forest management, straight avenues give visual as well as physical access, with towers for fire watching and deer culling often positioned at junctions of avenues. A division of recreational users can also be made; the curving paths under the canopy reserved for walkers only, and horse riding allowed on the avenues or forest roads.
Dimensions
Visualising dimensions of paths and steps outside can be difficult, and should not be judged from interior dimensions. In the same way that the foundations of a house look ridiculously small before the walls are built, the widths of interior stairs and corridors will look too small if transferred to the great outdoors. Wide paths and steps not only function better, but ‘sit’ more easily in the landscape.
Permanent or temporary
Construction work can sometimes be avoided by using paths in rotation. This system is used in gardens and formal parks, where grass paths are closed off as soon as signs of
wear show. The grass is then either left to recover naturally, or hastened by the use of fertilisers, seed or spiking. A similar method can be used on grassland or downland, especially on hill forts and other ancient monuments, where any permanent construction work is particularly undesirable. At Uffington White Horse, Oxfordshire, simple barriers of wooden posts and single strand wire are used to control the flows of visitors and close off areas becoming worn. These barriers do the job without marring the appearance of the hillfort, and are easily moved as necessary. Here the aim is to allow access without allowing the formation of paths, by encouraging an even use over the whole area.
In rougher grassland, paths can be prepared for rotational use by mowing them a few times before the public are allowed on them. Mowing encourages the growth of a thicker and more trample-resistant sward.
Viewpoints can be opened up by mowing rough grass or altering the fence line to allow a greater spread of use. Temporary fences can be put up to divert walkers around a section of erosion, without necessarily fencing off the entire eroded area.
Temporary paths can also be used in meadow grass, by cutting a path through the tall sward, and mowing it as necessary through the summer. If this gets worn, a different route can be chosen the next year. This system provides a range of habitats for meadow plants, invertebrates and other animals. Few people will be tempted off the mown path, and any rare plants will be much less conspicuous than if surrounded by a protective fence, which will only attract attention. These type of paths are cut each year at Upton Country Park, Poole, Dorset, to make a network of winding paths in meadow and parkland. It also raises the perceptual carrying capacity by giving a sense of seclusion. The same grassland mown short, although with a much greater area available for use, would probably hold fewer people as the sense of seclusion would be lost.
Circular paths
Circular paths are usually popular as no retracing of steps is necessary. They are also easier to manage than a network of paths, as people’s behaviour is more predictable, especially if the route is one way only. Often circular routes are naturally walked in one direction only, if for example a target is in view from the car park. One-way use can be encouraged by screening or placing of targets, by the relative placing of the ‘entrance’ and ‘exit’, and by notices and gates. One-way use has the advantage that the path can be narrower, and waymarking and provision of leaflets is simplified, as they need only indicate or describe the route from one direction.
Short sections of ‘dual carriageway’ are useful for reducing trampling and erosion.
Side paths
One method of decreasing the number who visit a fragile habitat or feature is to alter the line of the path so that it is necessary to walk along a side path or cul-de-sac to reach it. Depending on the situation, some people will then fail to notice the target, and others will not bother to go out of their way. Screening with planting may be effective, although a partly concealed path can sometimes have more attraction than one which can be seen along all its length.
Re-routing
One of the most difficult jobs to do successfully is to re- route a path, where the original route has become damaged or eroded due to over-use. It is much better to ‘get it right first time’, than to have to try and change existing patterns of use. In nearly every case the existing use will follow the desire line, and physical barriers will be needed to block it off. Deep, wet mud is about the only physical condition on a path which discourages walkers from following the desire line.
If it is not possible to shut off the old route, there is no point in creating a new one. There is also no point in permanently re-routing a path if the same problem is going to occur as the new path is used. This just causes a gradual degradation of the area, as each new ‘permanent’ route is abandoned in favour of another. If it is not possible to re-route a path along physically more resilient land, then if access is to be maintained, the only alternative is to do some sort of constructional work.
Uphill and downhill use
There is a physical and a psychological difference between the uphill and downhill use of slopes, both of which tend to make downhill use the more damaging.
Physically, the added impetus of downhill use makes each step cause more damage than does the slow and careful placing of each step when walking uphill. The foot tends to slide, and to dislodge loose stones or earth. Walkers tend to move more carefully and slowly when climbing uphill, because it is tiring, and the line of sight is limited to the area immediately in front. Short cuts are less obvious, and the plodding walker is more likely to follow zigzags and indirect routes.
Downhill use is much more difficult to control. The view down is often clearer, and the line of path can more easily be seen, along with any potential short cuts. People going downhill also tend to be in a hurry, either racing each other, or running for the fun of it, or hurrying to get down before the light fails. Not surprisingly, the majority of hill-walking accidents happen as people are going downhill.
