Читать книгу The Pennine Way - the Path, the People, the Journey онлайн

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The flagstones came from the floors of derelict mills in the West Pennines. They were destined to be broken up as waste but instead were lifted, packed in crates and flown by helicopter to the Pennine Way. The large rectangular slabs of Bacup sandstone were placed rough side (underside) upwards in order to give maximum grip to walkers’ boots. Laid directly onto the ground, in effect they float on the soft peat as their size spreads the surface area loading. As far as possible, they were laid in gentle curves following the natural undulations and contours and so avoided artificially straight lines. Since the stones were recycled and 150 years old, they were already weathered and didn’t have the look of newly quarried material. Some still had the drilled holes that were once used as the footings of looms.

‘We were aiming to recreate the traditional techniques of causey paving and stone pitching that have been used for centuries on the packhorse routes across the Pennines, but adapting them for a modern recreational route,’ explained Mike Rhodes. ‘Look at places like Blackstone Edge on the Pennine Way, or Stanage Edge in the Peak District, for examples of these old surfaced routes. We used natural local stone originally cut from the Pennine hills for use in the mills and factories. And now we were returning that stone to the same hills. The stones are natural products and part of the Pennine landscape.’