The oldest road in England. A chalk trackway running along the spine of the Downs, maintained by volunteers and walked by shepherds whose families have known this path for generations.
The Ridgeway is the oldest road in England - a chalk trackway that runs for 87 miles along the crest of the Downs from Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon. It has been walked continuously for at least 5,000 years, predating Stonehenge, predating writing, predating every institution in the country. The path itself is maintained by volunteer wardens whose knowledge of its surface, drainage, and seasonal conditions keeps it walkable.
The Archive documents the Ridgeway wardens and the downland farmers along its route as Stewards of England's oldest continuous feature. The wardens are volunteers who clear scrub, maintain gates, and repair the chalk surface - work that sounds mundane until you consider that they are maintaining a feature older than recorded history. The farmers whose fields adjoin the path carry knowledge of the surrounding landscape that connects directly to the Ridgeway's purpose as a drove road and trading route.
The Ridgeway has been walked for five thousand years. The people who maintain it are stewards of England's oldest continuous pathway.