Hugh Thomson takes a mule across the country to find that off-road travel on horseback is a mounting challenge
So I thought it would be intriguing and fun to do the same along the rough line of the Coast-To-Coast route across the north of England – although obviously I’d need to take bridleways, not the official footpath. After a bit of searching, I found a friendly mule called Jethro at an RSPCA rescue centre and set off from St Bees, the traditional starting point of the walk.
On reaching the Lake District, I wanted to take Jethro along the old pack-pony path that wound from the Honister quarries towards the ring of mountains of the Western Fells, centred on the domed anvil of Great Gable. That was the theory at least.
OLD MOSES TROD
The path was called Old Moses Trod, after a 19th-century quarryman who designed the route to contour beautifully around the mountain slopes and arrive at Ravenglass for the ships. But although Old Moses Trod had always been a bridleway in the past, constructed for pack-ponies, it had reverted to footpath status; so when we came to a boundary fence, there was a quite legitimate – and impassable – stile. It is one thing trying to wrestle a mountain bike over a stile. But it’s quite another to heave 300 kilos of mule. I had to turn back and find another route.
Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians. Livestock farming around the world is facing scrutiny because of its greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the sector contributes somewhere between 11.1% and 19.6% of total emissions. Meat production is roughly twice as bad as the production of plant-based food, according to some analyses. And beef is the worst of all. Study after study has suggested that, in order to curtail the devastating effects of climate change, we ought to shift to a diet containing less meat - or even go vegetarian or vegan.
Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks
Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks. I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me. The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.
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